Snowshoeing and Cross Country Skiing

Bicycling

Join us October 12 - 18, 2010 for A Guided "The Best of Fall Foliage" Hiking Adventure

Overview

Our guided Green Mountain Fall Foliage Hiking Adventure captures the best of two of Vermont’s most scenic hiking areas during the most beautiful time of the year in the period immediately after the Columbus Day crowds.

The first part of our trip will be based in Stowe, the classically charming village in the Green Mountains with Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield.   Unlike most of Vermont, Stowe’s history does not center exclusively around farming and lumber.  By the mid-1800’s Stowe had developed into a famous summer resort due to its transportation connections and spectacular scenery.   In fact, the Toll Road to the Top of Mount Mansfield was finished in 1870.  Stowe can be considered the birthplace of downhill skiing in the U.S., and its historic trails, cut in Stowe’s Ranch Valley in the 1930’s, provide some great walking opportunities. 

After spending three nights in Stowe we’ll transfer to Goshen, Vermont in the heart of the Moosalamoo area of the Green Mountain National Forest.  We’ll explore “Robert Frost Country” during the day, with outings to Frost’s cabin, Silver Lake, and Rattlesnake Cliffs, where we’ll enjoy Adirondack Mountain views.  We’ll return nights to be pampered by the gourmet fare, wood fired sauna and unpretentious New England charm of our inn.

Bredeson Outdoor Adventures will share our passion for the Green Mountain State, along with verses from our dog-eared copy of Robert Frost’s poetry, during this memorable trip.

Highlights

Trip Rating

This trip is rated moderate, with some easy and more challenging options.  Walks and hikes will range from two to eight miles.  We will, as necessary, modify the itinerary to suit the needs of the group.  Participants must be comfortable walking up and downhill on trails that are uneven, rocky and slippery in places. 

Price

$1,975 USD (per person double occupancy).  $400 USD single supplement.  $500 USD deposit.  Payment in full required 90 days before departure. 

Detailed Itinerary

Tuesday, October 12:     Stowe - Sunset Hill Walk, Trip Orientation and Welcome Dinner

2 miles, moderate

We’ll greet you at 1:00 p.m. at the Burlington, Vermont Airport and transfer to Stowe by private van.  We’ll have a warm-up walk right from the center of Stowe up Sunset Hill for a marvelous view of the village, a perfect introduction to our Green Mountain week.  We’ll enjoy a welcome drink (compliments of Bredeson Outdoor Adventures) and orientation.  Our dinner together this evening will be a convivial, icebreaking taco party in a gourmet Mexican restaurant in Stowe.

Overnight:  Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe

Wednesday, October 13:  Stowe – Mount Mansfield and Smuggler’s Notch

3-5 miles, moderate to challenging

Early risers will enjoy a walk on the award winning Rec (Recreation) Path that meanders along a river from the Village.  After a hearty hot breakfast we’ll take an historic journey today up the Mount Mansfield Toll Road to the visitor’s center at the top of the Mountain.  19th Century visitors changed from coach to horse part-way up, but our van will make the journey all the way to the top.  We’ll hike in this arctic landscape along the ridgeline on part of Vermont’s famous Canada-to-Massachusetts Long Trail from the Nose to the Chin of Mount Mansfield and back.  The views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks to the west and the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the east are breathtaking.  After our hike we’ll take another drive back in time to Smuggler’s Notch, the road between Sterling Peak and Mount Mansfield.  The huge boulders next to the road make this drive a dramatic adventure and you can easily imagine the early 19th Century and Prohibition era smugglers sneaking their wares to and from Canada.   This afternoon you’ll have a chance to explore Stowe village on your own, or, if you wish, go for another walk. We recommend a visit to the Vermont Ski Museum right on the main street in Stowe for a flavor of Stowe’s rich and nostalgic winter sports history.  Lunch is on your own.  Dinner tonight will hopefully be at a classic New England church supper.  

Overnight:  Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe

Thursday, October 14:  Stowe – Little River State Park

3 miles, moderate

Little River was once a settlement, home to 50 pioneer families in the late 1700s. This evocative woodland walk takes you past remnants of old town buildings, a saw mill, and cemeteries; all are evidence of a once-thriving community. Following a picnic lunch we’ll return to Stowe for a visit to the Von Trapp Family Lodge.  We’ll enjoy the views from the lodge and learn about the history of the Sound of Music fame Von Trapp family after they settled in Vermont.  Today would be a good day to treat ourselves to a piece of Apfelstruedel in the Lodge’s Austrian tea room before heading back to Stowe.  We’ll have dinner together tonight in a classic, historic Stowe restaurant.

Overnight:  Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe

Friday, October 15: Stowe – Bull Moose Pasture - Goshen

4 miles, moderate

We’ll take a walk in a classic Vermont landscape today through sugar maple groves, past old cellar holes in the woods, and next to fields of Holstein cows straight from central casting to Bull Moose Pasture.  We’ll follow this walk with a trip to a cider mill and perhaps a farm visit.  We’ll then say good-bye to Stowe and head south (in relative terms) to Goshen, Vermont.  Our drive will take us down the scenic Route 100, once known as the Vermont’s Ski Highway since there were so many rustic, one-rope-tow “Mom & Pop” downhill ski areas that sprang up along this road in the 1940’s to the 1960’s.  We’ll stop at the quaint Warren Store and then we’ll head west from Route 100 up the Middlebury Gap, stopping by dramatic Texas Falls along the way if time allows.  When we check in to our inn, we’ll enter the peaceful, off-the-beaten path world of the Moosalamoo part of the Green Mountain National Forest, which has been designated a National Recreation Area.  Our inn has pretty views, a spring fed pond reflecting the foliage, a wood fired sauna, and fabulous cuisine.  It is surrounded by hills, fields, woods and trails. 

Overnight:  Blueberry Hill Inn, Goshen

Saturday, October 16:  Goshen – Silver Lake and Rattlesnake Cliffs

5-7 miles, moderate to challenging

Early risers will quietly head off on a pre-breakfast walk on the Beaver Dam Loop in search of wildlife, returning on Truck Trail.  (Let’s see who can guess the reason for naming a trail in the woods Truck Trail).  Today we’ll hike up by the Falls of Llana, and then up to the Rattlesnake Cliffs (not to worry:  we have never seen a Rattlesnake there) where we’ll enjoy stunning views of Lake Dunmore and the Adirondacks.  After that we’ll journey up to Silver Lake, scene of a now gone resort hotel and religious revival meetings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.   Dinner is at the inn tonight, perhaps preceded by a visit to the wood fired sauna.

Overnight:  Blueberry Hill Inn, Goshen, Vermont

Sunday, October 17:  Brandon Gap –  Hogback Mountain Loop – Robert Frost Cabin

3 miles, moderate to challenging

In case we have not yet seen a moose, we’ll take a dawn drive up to beautiful, remote Brandon Gap in search of a moose.  After the Inn’s wonderful hot breakfast, we’ll hike directly from the door of the inn and explore Hogback Mountain.  Our hike will take us through woods to awesome views at the blueberry picking area on a search for remnants of the downhill ski area that was here in the 1940’s.  We’ll make an afternoon visit to that Vermont “pilgrimage” site, the Robert Frost Cabin, soaking up the view from this movingly humble building and beautiful setting.  We’ll follow that up with a visit to one or our favorite, authentic country stores.  Tonight we’ll toast each other and our accomplishments during our last fireside gourmet dinner in the inn.

Overnight:  Blueberry Hill Inn, Goshen, Vermont

Monday, October 18:  Addison, Vermont, 4 miles, moderate

After breakfast we travel out of the Green Mountains and over to the Champlain Valley for a hike up Snake Mountain (again, no snakes) and final, fabulous Lake Champlain and Adirondack views at the site of the former aptly named Grand View Hotel.  Time permitting, we’ll also visit a local cheese farm or winery to sample some of the products enjoyed by “localvores,” proponents of the local food movement supported so enthusiastically in Vermont.  We’ll return you to the Burlington Airport by 3:00 p.m.

Group Size