Maine Livin': Fall Excursions

Fall is by far my favorite season. There is something about the crisp, fresh air that is so invigorating and exciting. I'm such a sucker for all of the fall traditions that have a way of bringing me back to my childhood - raking piles of crunchy leaves, warming up with a cup of hot apple cider, picking apples at a family-run orchard, and choosing a pumpkin to carve for Halloween.

We have gotten outdoors a lot this fall and have taken full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. In September we hit two major Maine fairs - The Common Ground Fair in Unity (a celebration of everything organic) and the Fryeburg Fair (one of the oldest, largest traditional agricultural fairs in New England). We didn't take any photos since we took so many last year (see the post from last fall). It's always a fun experience and a glimpse into the farming lifestyle that we in our city-life don't often see.

One of our first hikes of the season was to Speckled Mountain in southwestern Maine. A bit off the beaten track of the heavily used White Mountains, Speckled Mountain overlooks the beautiful mountains and lakes of the region and was a relatively easy hike for a really rewarding view. Although the leaves hadn't started to turn yet, we were greeted with chilly winds on top of the mountain, as well as a blanket of fluffy white clouds over the valley.

Another excursion took us with our road bikes out to the Kancamagus highway (known locally as "The Kanc," which is less of a highway and more of a winding, twisty road that takes you straight through the heart of the White Mountains. It's one of the most beautiful drives in New England, and in the fall leaf-peepers come out in droves to experience the natural fireworks of the trees. We started out at the Covered Bridge Campground and rode down the Kanc for a few miles before turning into Bear Notch, which led us up and over the notch and through some beautiful country roads before looping around back down to the Kanc and our car. All in all it was about 40 miles of riding and a great way to spend a fall day.

After our ride, we were on the search for an orchard to pick our own apples. The locally grown apples are delicious and I wanted to stock up to make apple pie and applesauce. Finally we found a place tucked away on a country road in Western Maine. The orchard overlooked the mountains, and the late-day sun made everything feel warm and atmospheric. After we filled half a crate with the crispy sweet apples, we took our loot and headed home.

Our most recent trip was back to the Whites to climb Mt. Chocorua (pronounced cha-KORE-wa). For those of you not familiar with camps Newfound-Owatonna, Chocorua is the home of the fabled "Grand Shaman." The mountain has a distinctive beak-shaped summit that is very exposed and striking. We climbed the mountain on the Piper trail, a very popular and challenging route to the summit. So many people were out enjoying the hike, and it seemed that 4 out of 5 people had also brought their dog along for the day too. When we finally reached the summit we were shocked to see over 60 people there, including a few couples with infants! Talk about hard-core parents!! The fall foliage is almost at its peak, and the views from the top were stunning. We noticed some weather moving in from the direction of Mt. Washington, so didn't linger too long at the top before descending on a different route that would be a little easier on our legs going down. All in all it was a 10 mile loop, and as we neared the bottom, the skies turned gray and drizzly, finally erupting in a heavy downpour right as we emerged into the parking lot. Talk about good timing!