Hiking in New England

Well, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted consistently on this blog. But I was determined to get this last post from our East Coast Road Trip published before the end of the year! It’s only 4 months late, but who’s counting?! I have a few exciting posts lined up for the coming weeks – stay tuned. I hope everyone had a wonderful 2019 holiday season!

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After an amazing and fulfilling 5+ weeks spent driving through the Maritime provinces, it was time to head back to Ontario. From the New Brunswick Fundy coast, we headed west back home via Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Our days in each state were limited, but we managed to squeeze in a bit of hiking in New England before we crossed the border a second time.

Hiking in New England

Maine

Unfortunately, we didn’t spend much time in Maine. When we were initially planning our trip, I had grand plans of driving along the coast, visiting the famed Bar Harbour and Acadia National Park, and experiencing the beauty of the area. With a cottage weekend in Ontario with a group of friends quickly approaching, we didn’t have time to travel so far off the beaten track. The parts of Maine we did see convinced me that I’ll definitely be needing to make a visit there at some point!

Machias River Corridor

So while we didn’t do any adventuring so to speak, we did stumble upon a really amazing (& free) campsite! Located literally right off highway ME-9, the Machias River Corridor is a protected area, with guaranteed water access for all time. A small “campground” (there are around 6-7 camping spots) is maintained by the State, and we felt like we had won the camping lottery! Half of the sites had direct river access, and each site had a flat spot, fire ring, and picnic table. There was a well-kept long-drop toilet area, and everyone we met was super friendly. Apparently the area is super busy in the high season and on weekends, and the sites are filled on first come first serve basis. If you’re making the drive between Saint John, New Brunswick and Bangor, Maine, I’d highly recommend this campsite!

New Hampshire

Our first (and technically only) stop in New Hampshire was the White Mountain National Forest. Filled with mountains along the Presidential Range and hundreds of hiking trails, we knew we were in for an adventure here. Mac and I stopped in at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and were inundated with information about hiking the famous Mount Washington. The summit of this mountain is the highest in all the Northeastern United Sates (6288f/1917m). While there is a toll road for cars that leads all the way to the summit, there are also several extremely popular and heavily-trafficked trails for hikers. We chatted with numerous volunteers and fellow hikers in the visitors’ center and left feeling stoked and ready for what would surely be an epic hike.

That night, we camped along an old forest road (dispersed/free camping is allowed within all National Forests) and fell asleep to lightning flashes and heavy rain. The next morning we woke up groggy, aching, and totally overwhelmed at the prospect of hiking 7.9 miles (12.7km) with an elevation gain of 4169 feet (1270m). So we made the decision to bail on Mt Washington and hike something more in our comfort range. A quick look at the National Forest map led us to hiking along the Imp Trail – a shorter circuitous route with supposed great views of Mt Washington.

Imp Trail

I wouldn’t call this hike difficult, but it was definitely very strenuous. We hiked up, up, up, in humid, hot, air and were thoroughly soaked with sweat within a few kilometers of setting out. Fortunately we were easily distracted as we came out of the forest and onto “The Ledges”. These large slabs of rocks provided an excellent spot to sit and scarf down our lunch, while also providing an epic view of the traditionally cloud-covered summit of Mt Washington (as well as the rest of the Presidential range and surrounding area). We made it back to the car 3 hours (6.6km) after we left, and promptly settled in for a wonderful car nap. Lack of sleep + strenuous hike = a very tired Mac & Tracey!

Vermont

Dog Mountain

Fully rested and recovered, we made tracks and headed for Vermont. At the visitor center along the border, we happened to see a poster for a free concert at a place called Dog Mountain. Hold on… dogs, concert, free…???? SIGN ME UP!!! We headed to the small town of St. Johnsbury and joined the makeshift parking lot FULL of cars and made our way to the grass in front of the main stage. We joined hundreds of people on blankets and lawn chairs, relaxing in the grass, eager for the music to start. Kids and dogs alike were running around and playing to their hearts content while their parents relaxed with some delicious eats from the numerous food trucks and stalls.

The live music (many of the acts were local too) was awesome, but we quickly became fascinated with the history of the area we were visiting. In 1994, the artist Stephen Huneck had a near-death experience which left him in a coma for two months. After he miraculously made a full recovery, he had a vision to create a Dog Chapel “a place where people can go and celebrate the spiritual bond they have with their dogs.” And so now stands the Dog Chapel – its walls covered floor-to-ceiling with notes from humans to their beloved pets (cats included), long gone and recently departed. It was so moving and you could feel the love within the four walls of the chapel.

Unfortunately, after a long battle with depression, Huneck took is own life in 2010. His loving wife Gwen tragically followed in 2013. Friends and family of the Hunecks came together and purchased the land and established non-profit organization – Friends of Dog Mountain – to honour their memories and ensure that this 150 acres of rolling green hills and trails remains a safe and protected space. They won a grant which helps produce the Levitt AMP St. Johnsbury Music Series – a set of weekly concerts in the summer, in which they’ve hosted for three consecutive years now.

What had started as enthusiasm for a free concert quickly turned into an eye-opening and touching experience and I’m so glad we spotted that small poster in the visitors’ center!

Mount Mansfield

Our hike up Mount Mansfield was rather impulsive. We had camped next to a lake just outside Montpelier and were debating the best way to head north to Quebec. I spotted Ben & Jerry’s on the map and we quickly decided to go on a factory tour! It was fascinating seeing how this famous ice cream was made. They have plenty of dairy-free and vegan options now too, so even I was able to enjoy a cone! After our tour in Waterbury, we continued north towards Stowe and stopped just outside the Stowe Mountain Resort; a huge ski resort on the slopes of Mount Mansfield – the highest peak in Vermont (4395ft/1340m).

As it was already afternoon we couldn’t really afford to do a multi-hour hike, and from what we gleaned from the visitors’ center, the summit circuit was a good 6-7 hours. After chatting to the park ranger, we discovered that while the gondola that goes near the top of the mountain is quite pricey to ascend ($20+USD pp), it’s free to go down! Problem solved! We quickly packed our gear in the parking lot near the trailhead and hit the ground running!… er, hiking. We hiked along part of the Long Trail – a 273mi/493km-long trail that runs the length of the state of Vermont.

The trail was rugged and rough and very steep. It was quite the exhausting adventure getting to the summit! After a quick snack break at the Taft Lodge, the oldest hut along the trail (built in 1920), we encountered some really tricky sections with precarious footings and limited protection from the elements. After we emerged from the tree line, we were quickly enveloped in mist clouds, and the visibility reduced almost as fast as the wind gained speed.

We finally made it to the summit and were actually treated to a few breaks in the clouds! The views of the surrounding mountains were incredible. After a refreshing break at the summit, we continued along the ridge line towards the gondola. This short section of the trail had some off the hardest, most technically challenging terrain I’ve ever hiked on. There were boulders as big as couches that we had to hopscotch, slippery slopes with nary a branch to hold on to, and terrifyingly deep crevasses that we had to leap over! Add to that the fact that we were in a rush to catch the last gondola down the mountainside!!

Luckily, we made it with a few minutes to spare and were able to enjoy the cushy (and free!) ride down to the car park. After a good long stretch in the parking lot, we continued north and crossed into Quebec to officially begin the long journey home. Between Quebec and our cottage weekend in Huntsville, we saw a marmot, encountered an eccentric Quebecois man who let us use his homemade DIY pump shower, met our friends’ 10 day old baby, and drove through beautiful Algonquin Park. What an incredible end to an epic road trip.

Tell me, have you ever been hiking in New England? What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream?

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