Mar 8

Mar 8 The Adirondacks: A Trip Across the Lake

My friend David at the top of Mt. Philo on the Vermont side.  The impressive Adirondacks are always with us here in Charlotte. — My friend David at the top of Mt. Philo on the Vermont side. The impressive Adirondacks are always with us here in Charlotte.

Just across the lake, 30 watery minutes away via ferry— there is another world altogether. Rugged, wild, ancient. The mountains are higher, the trees taller, the lakes more prevalent. But the Adirondacks have less as well — less industry, less options, less people. It is a realm unto its own. I just love it. Vermont's landscape is green and open and pastoral, the Adirondacks of New York state are darker, closed in, wooded. Both beckoning in their own right, but very, very different.

The famous 46 peaks are visible on this vintage map from 1901

The Adirondack Park is vast, over 6 million acres, but there is something elemental about the convergence of water, rock and sky within its seemingly boundless perimeters. The scent of pine is inescapable, the pristine blue lakes around every other bend in the road you may share with no other car. Dramatic rock faces line the quiet turnpikes, until a long, glorious vistas open up, and you can see for miles and miles without a single structure to obstruct your view. Oh and there is shopping. And oh, there is eating too. But more on that later.

From a different time, but still impressive

The Lake Champlain Ferry takes you from Charlotte on the Vermont side to Essex, New York — entire town on the historic registry and for good reason. Essex is quaint and very small, less than 700 inhabitants in the charming hamlet. A few shops, a few cafes but tons and tons of charm.

250px-Octagonal_Schoolhouse,_north-western_face.jpg

Thanks to my good friend and neighbor, Sharon — who took me on my first outing across the lake in the early days when I moved back to Vermont full time, a tried and true loop was established. It takes all day, about 6+ hours, but I always feel like I wanted to stop one more place, explore a little more. I will definitely map out an excursion that includes an overnight stop, stay tuned!

So, once on the New York side, the first stop is the Essex Farm Stand. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. A book about farming, but not. It's more about falling in love, pushing boundaries, having faith, growing (see what I did there?), learning and... eating. A great read.

A nice little farm stand at the Essex Farm

Cindy, Cheryl and I did the ADK loop on a glorious Autumn day a few years ago. Inspired by the homemade sauerkraut and other fall vegetables at the Essex Farm stand, Cheryl made us a delicious Dutch stamppot for dinner. It pays to have talented friends...

So the next stop on our little tour is The Birch Store in Keene Valley. Even if you don't need a thing, you would be very hard pressed not to come away from The Birch Store without some treasure. Cindy bought that great purple jacket, Tracy bought not one, but two dresses, AP found a lovely antique sign. Home goods, beautiful books, cashmere sweaters, gorgeous scarves, a wall of soft and cosy throws in every conceivable hue, one of a kind vintage finds, an eclectic mix of jewelry and best of all — a sale porch filled with bargains. Sharon first brought me here years ago and I have been a devotee ever since. She was inspired in part, by The Birch Store, to open her own shop, the rustic and magnificently curated Common Deer, right here in Burlington.

Next to The Birch Store is the Noon Mark Diner. An old-school, very serviceable diner specializing in homemade pie. They have dozens of varieties, and you may just want to take one home if you can choose from their imposing wall of pastry. This place is quaint and charming, exactly the way a diner should be and better still — is representative of place. No generic Waffle House or Cracker Barrel here. The Noon Mark belongs in the Adirondacks and helps you feel immersed in the experience. The bear guards around the dumpster out back and the big sign in the front heralding 'a mountain of home cooking' helps. We usually save our dining out for later, however — more on that in a bit.

Shopping bags stuffed in the car, pies secured in the cooler you remembered to bring, now it's time to head north along Route 73. They don't call it 'scenic' for nothing...

Our next stop — Dartbrook Rustic Goods. If The Birch Store with it's sunny light and pretty aspect has a more feminine vibe, (this despite it's respectably-sized mens' section), Dartbrook is all masculine. Dark, brooding, wood-toned magnificence. I adore this place. Specializing in Adirondack inspired home goods, especially handmade furniture in the 'Great Camp' style, I don't often need to buy a thing here, but I just love the experience. Teddy Roosevelt meets Davy Crockett meets Thoreau meets Ralph Lauren. Plaid, pine, porcupine-quilled lamp shades, perfection! Room after room filled with vignettes of layered, lovely scenes that suggest curling up with a good book by the fire, weary after a long day of tramping through the woods or paddling a canoe. This store pays loving homage to the bygone era of retreats to the great camps, it even smells good. If that's not enough, there is a new location, Dartbrook South, just steps away, which also specializes in home furnishing but has a delightfully bright atmosphere reminiscent of a natural history lab with it's glass cabinets filled with beaver teeth and framed bugs.

And then, there's more pie. Can you stand it? More pie. This is a special pie, even Noon Mark doesn't make this pie. I am speaking of course of the famous Shaker Lemon Pie at the ADK Cafe. Tart, custardy, impossibly lemony — it's like a lemon meringue without all that bothersome meringue. My Dado would have loved this pie, he was a big lemon meringue fan. They don't have it all the time, and there are long faces on some weary travelers when told 'sorry, not today.' They will tell you that Bon Appétit tried to secure their recipe to no avail, this just adds to the rarefied experience that is Shaker Lemon Pie.

Now, shopping done, it is time for lunch. Restaurants are thin on the ground in this corner of the world, but luckily, just a short drive away is The Lake Placid Lodge. Unimpressive on approach, more Motel 6 than mountain chic, all is forgiven upon entering the foyer. A polished tangle of branches that instantly transports you to the natural world and civility, all at once. A few steps in, and there is a wood burning fire and champagne. The interior is absolutely gorgeous — everything you'd expect from a topnotch adirondack lodge: exposed beams, field stone fireplaces, sumptuous plaids, richly textured Persian carpets, hand carved whimsical woodland creatures, Remington sculptures, artwork form the famed Hudson Valley school. Their website is loaded with photos, please take a look.

Lunch, available at Maggie's Pub can best be charitably described as... spotty. Expensive and uneven, the view makes up for it and why despite lackluster fare, I'll always come back. Weather permitting, sit outside with a glass of wine on the porch and enjoy the stunning view. Wrap a cosy blanket around you, supplied here for just that purpose.

The wait staff, is friendly and competent and like many of these resorts, is from far flung places like Thailand and Belarus. And speaking of far flung places... it's time to double check the ferry schedule and head home. And how lucky I am, to board the ferry and have Vermont waiting for me on the other side.