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5 Favorite Travel Days in 2013, A Night at AMC’s Lakes of the Clouds Hut, New Hampshire

The conditions weren’t ideal when my wife, Lisa, and I decided to backpack hut-to-hut in the White Mountains in late June. The black flies were still biting and a daily dose of rain had slickened the trails, making that unforgiving White Mountain granite that much more treacherous. By the time we reached the third of the AMC huts, Mizpah Springs, after an incredibly humid day where I really felt my age, I was spent. I had more than enough material to write my story on hut-to-hut hiking in the Whites for The Washington Post and I just wanted to head back to civilization. Conditions needed to be ideal the next morning to walk the historic Crawford Path through the Presidential Range. Once you venture beyond Mizpah Springs Hut to Mount Pierce, you’re above treeline on a ridge walk, entirely exposed to the weather since there’s really nowhere to hide. 

 
Socked in to a large cloud with the threat of lightening the next morning, it was time to head down. Or was it? At a juncture just below the peak of Pierce, we had to make a decision—up or down. That’s when we ran into a couple we befriended the night before, on vacation from Beijing, happy to breathe in the fresh alpine air. “C’mon, I have sardines,” Micah said. The next thing you know we’re atop the ridge, the layers of mist disrobing, and we were treated to views of the bald knob atop Mount Eisenhower. It was like walking on a lunar landscape, bordered by velvety green sedge and moss, often staring in awe at alpine wildflowers in bloom like bog laurel, white bunchberry, and purple fireweed. 
 
Then we spotted the Lakes of the Clouds hut, our lodging for the night, and its lofty perch atop a 5200-foot ridge with stunning vistas of Mount Washington Hotel below and the Cog Railroad ambling slowly up to the Mount Washington summit. We spent the twilight hours looking at the glorious view and then peering at the twinkling stars above (no light pollution here). The next morning, after a filling breakfast, we climbed on hardscrabble rock the last 1.4 miles to the summit of Mount Washington, New England’s tallest peak. The winds subsided, the sun peeked through the clouds, and we were rewarded with wondrous views of Mounts Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Lisa and I were elated that we made the decision to continue onward. 
 

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Top 5 Travels of 2010, Visiting the Maasai at Shompole, Kenya

When visiting another country and booking a room, I always seek out local travel writers or outfitters who know every decent hotel in their country and have a basis for comparison. I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars, only to leave the important decision of where to stay to some stranger commenting on TripAdvisor. More than likely, it’s his first time in this country and it’s all bliss. But I know Africa too well and realize there are hotels that cater primarily to large tour companies from Asia and Europe, delivering the Disneyesque version of being on safari. So I asked Jane and Felix Pinto, owners of the Nairobi-based Micato Safaris, known for their boutique, small group outings, to find me the real thing, an authentic travel experience in the bush. They pointed the way to Shompole.

Less than an hour flight from Nairobi, you land in a grassy valley that feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. Giraffes and warthogs greet you, along with Maasai villagers dressed in their colorful garb. You look around and find no signs of civilization except for rocky outcroppings that look like rooms nestled into the hillside. On closer inspection, these rooms, less than a dozen, are suites with their own private plunge pools. There are no walls. You’re simply immersed in nature, sleeping in king-sized bed under a mosquito net. You awake to the sounds of tropical birds and the sights of baboons walking across the valley floor.

During the day, Maasai villagers take you on nature walks to show you the natural remedies they use to cure their ailments. I’m sure pharmaceutical companies have sent teams to visit the Maasai to hopefully recreate these cures in pill form at a much more exorbitant price. We also were guests in their small homes and took bush drives to spot lions, Cape buffalo, and pink flamingoes that stand in the shallow waters of Lake Natron, the volcanic slopes of Tanzania seen in the distance. Unlike the Masai Mara, there are no other Jeeps taking people on drives, because there are no other travelers within a 50-mile radius! One night at twilight, the local villagers performed a dance with Mount Shompole looming in the background. Unlike hokey Hawaiian luau dancers that I’m used to seeing, this felt genuine. See for yourself.

Watch the video below, or if you do not see it view it on YouTube.

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Top 5 Paddling Spots in America, Upper Iowa River, Iowa

Don’t worry about crowds on this forgotten run in the glacial-carved valley of northeast Iowa. The Upper Iowa can be paddled for 110 miles from Lime Springs to the Mississippi, but a good 31-mile jaunt from Kendalville to Decorah snakes through cliff-lined gorges below 200-foot-high chimney rocks. Bald eagles frequently soar over the limestone outcrops and deer, mink, raccoon and beaver call the area home. Chimney Rock rents canoes, offers trip planning, and provides a free shuttle. 
 

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Inaugural Crossroads International Celtic Festival to Be Held in Western Maine

Just in case you need another excuse to visit the glorious mountains and large lakes of western Maine, the region is holding its first Crossroads International Celtic Festival September 11-15. More than 100 entertainers including musicians, singers, dancers and storytellers from all over the Celtic world will descend on the region for a series of performances. The unique choice of venues include Stratton Brook, the newest hut in the Maine Huts and Trails system, and Church of the Good Shepherd in one of my favorite towns in the state, Rangeley. One performance that should not be missed is the “Fiddles on the Frontier” show Thursday, September 12th at 7 pm at the Eustis Community Building in Stratton. The list of impressive fiddlers includes Cape Breton’s Dwayne Cote and Rachel Davis. Better be ready to dance! 

 
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Maine Windjammer Week, The Majestic Maine Coastline

“Heave Ho!” went the cry as all hands pulled down on a thick rope to haul up the mainsail. “Heave Ho!” the crew chanted again and the schooner headed upwind, all sails gleaming white against a cloudless blue sky. The Captain took the wheel as the boat quickly gained momentum passing another anonymous island crowned with pines and rimmed with the ubiquitous Maine granite. Behind us was the vast expanse of the Atlantic, dotted with multi-colored lobster buoys and lined with the only mountains on the coast north of Brazil. The crew were passengers from around America and Europe who delighted in the chance to hoist the sails, bilge the pump, even take a turn at the wheel sailing this big boy.

 
Maine’s 2500-mile stretch of jagged coastline, where long inlets form sheltered bays, is tailor-made for sailing. No other sport gives you the freedom to anchor in a pristine cove, hike on an untrammeled island, and sleep with a lighthouse beacon as your nightlight. There are more than 30 lighthouses in the Windjammer’s cruising grounds, from Mt. Desert Light and Saddleback Ledge, built in the 1830s, to Pemaquid Point, showcased on the backside of the Maine quarter. At night, you’ll anchor under the stars in the calm waters of Pulpit Harbor on North Haven or perhaps Islesboro’s Dark Harbor. Longer trips might stop under the cliffs of Acadia National Park. There’s no better way to see Cadillac Mountain in the summer than from the water, far away from the maddening crowds. Indeed, the fleet could be scattered anywhere from Boothbay Harbor to Bar Harbor. 
 
All of the Captains have favorite anchorages. The Lewis R. French’s Captain Garth Wells looks forward to going to Burnt Coat Harbor on Swan’s Island. “I enjoy talking a walk out to the lighthouse. It’s cozy, protected and I love showing people an island where a year-round population lives,” says Wells. Captain Noah Barnes aboard the Stephen Taber loves pulling into the harbor of Somesville on Mount Desert Island, part of Acadia National Park. “To get to Somesville, you have to sail up a fjord and when you get there you feel as though you’ve shown your guests something extraordinary. By the time we get there, we’re pulling in at sunset and it’s just breathtaking,” notes Barnes. Captain Dennis Gallant, at the helm of Angelique, savors Winter Harbor on the island of Vinalhaven. “It’s stunningly beautiful, quiet, peaceful and off-the-beaten path,” says Gallant.
 
I don’t want to share all their secrets. You’ll simply have to book a cruise and see for yourself. 
 
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Idaho’s Often Overlooked Sawtooth Mountains

Near the Oregon border, the Sawtooth Mountains are 10,000 foot peaks that are just as majestic as the Tetons, but with 1/10th the traffic. Fly into Sun Valley (1-hour drive) or Boise (3-hour drive) and make your way to the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, a vacation retreat for close to eight decades. Then get ready to play. Immerse yourself in the stunning surroundings by climbing 1700 feet to shimmering Sawtooth Lake, the “crown jewel” of the Valley. In July, the wildflowers are at their peak, and you can find lupine, sego lilies, Indian paintbrush, shooting stars, blue penstemon and many others. The region is also known for epic mountain biking, hooking brookies, rainbow, and cutthroat trout, rafting on the nearby Salmon River, and this being a ranch, guided half-day and full-day horseback riding adventure. Afterwards, you can soak yourself in the hot spring-fed pool, before dinners of elk, salmon, and Dungeness crab from the Washington coast. At night, people gather on the outdoor patio to gaze at the sparkling sky and listen to foot-stomping live music. This is mountain living at its best. 

 
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Top 5 Adventures in Florida, Sailing the Keys

With first rate charts and other navigational aids, the Florida Keys are an ideal cruising ground for all sailors, regardless of experience. The famously warm, clear waters of the Keys are a snorkeler’s paradise—shipwrecks and coral parks are plentiful—and secluded beaches number in the hundreds. If you crave terra firma, you can always stop at Key West for a nightcap at Sloppy Joe’s, a favorite hangout of writer Ernest Hemingway.  One full day’s sail west of Key West brings you to the Dry Tortugas, home to Fort Jefferson, which dates back to Civil War days. This is a popular sailing route. If you feel like you’re off the charts, anchor at any harbor and ask the nearest boater for directions. Thankfully, yachting is no longer a sport only for the affluent. Florida Keys Bareboat Charter Company in Marathon bareboat charters a 27-foot Catalina for a cost of $899 per week (7 days/6 nights). 
 

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