Home

10%

Chase the Fall

Reflections from a leaf peeping road trip through the Canadian Maritimes and New England

By Steven Yan

September 22^nd, 2020

The Green Mountains

September 22nd, 2019 • By sheer coincidence, we arrived in Vermont on the eve of the autumnal equinox, just as we arrived in Alaska on the eve of the summer solstice earlier in the year.

The next day, we enjoyed a classic Vermont autumn drive on VT-100, northbound through the Green Mountains. The road wound its way through small towns, picturesque steepled churches, and those stores that you have to stop at because that’s just what you do on road trips. A half dozen cider doughnuts, infinity cheese samples, maple syrup, a few packs of hard cider, and the requisite stop at Ben & Jerry’s will make anyone feel just a bit more American. 🇺🇸

The Fire Tower at Mount Elmore

September 25th • Old fire towers + 🍁🍂 are a classic fall combination. On a rainy morning turned gorgeous afternoon, 4.5 miles and 1,400 feet of climbing took us to the tower on Mount Elmore, with a sweeping 360 degree view of the Green Mountains and the Presidential Range. The pup loved the hike but the stairs on the fire tower were too steep for her.

Summiting Mount Carleton

September 29th • We spent our summer amongst the tallest mountains in North America, which made us a bit skeptical when the East Coast advertises their hills as mountains. Mount Carleton is the highest peak in the Canadian Maritimes…at 2,690 feet. Against the backdrop of the golden autumn foliage of New Brunswick, however, it was a stunner. There’s an old fire tower at the peak as well.

They say you can see 10 million trees from the top of Mt Carleton.

We returned to our campsite to find that, being Sunday evening, almost the entire campground was empty. We raided the empty campsites for abandoned firewood and enjoyed a sunny day along the lake.

Freezing conditions the next morning yielded magical conditions on Nictau Lake.

On the trail at Mt Carleton Pronvincial Park

The Peat Bogs of Miscou Island

September 30th • We headed for the Acadian Coast of New Brunswick and Miscou Island, which has a unique form of fall color: 45% of the island is covered by peat bogs that turn bright red in the fall.

Despite peak colors, the island was shut down for the season, which became a theme as we made our way through the Maritimes. All the fishing boats on the island were dry docked, the only restaurant of note on the island was closed, and the lighthouse was closed as well.

And yes, that appears to be a whale rib that the pup found on the beach.

On the plus side, situations like these usually leads to really peaceful boondocking — in this case, 50 feet from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, next to the picturesque Miscou Island Lighthouse.

Our first east coast sunrise was a beauty.

Lobster Supper

October 6th • We spent an odd few days on Prince Edward Island. Two truths:

1. Don't visit Prince Edward Island in October. The entire island is shut down.

2. While the island is known for its mussels (get your fix at the delicious Blue Mussel Café in North Rustico), don't sleep on the lobster.

One of the local customs in the Maritimes is "lobster supper", where you go to a large dining hall, order a steamed lobster by weight, and eat it with drawn butter. You also complement your meal with all-you-can-eat dinner rolls, salad, and mussels. After much thought, we concluded there’s no way it can be that good at the scale these lobster supper halls operate at, despite the glowing TripAdvisor reviews.

As we exited PEI, we passed a lobster pound. After some hesitation, we turned around and bought a pair of two pound live lobsters for a paltry $8.24 USD (!) per pound. That evening, on our first night in Nova Scotia, we created our very own lobster supper. Was it good? Yes, yes it was.

The Cabot Trail

October 10th • The Cabot Trail circumscribes Cape Breton Highlands along the northern coast of Nova Scotia. It's one of the most beautiful drives in North America. This year, salt spray from Hurricane Dorian damaged a lot of trees in the highlands. We still found plenty of near peak foliage in the valleys, plus a moose.

Taking in the fall foliage along Warren Lake

Ingonish along the eastern side of the Cape Breton Highlands

The Malagash Peninsula

October 12th • Some of our best days came from broken plans. We bailed early from the Cabot Trail due to an incoming storm and unwittingly stumbled across Canada's oldest commercial oyster farm, perched on the shores of Tatamagouche Bay along the northern coast of Nova Scotia.

We bought a dozen each of the Thrumcaps and Bistro Thrums, the more expensive of the two costing $0.84 USD each, which is a glitch in the matrix when you’ve been paying $2-$3 USD per oyster your entire life. The lovely owners, Nancy and Charles, offered for us to stay on their property for the night, but we decided to move on.

Charles insisted we check out the local farm and cidery up the road. As we walked toward the tasting room we met Sebastian, who started this farm over six years ago with his wife and holds a PhD in agronomy. Sebastian is a bit of a mad scientist, growing over 100 varietals of apples to create some really unique ciders. We met other locals, including Todd, who had come by to pick up a leg of ham that Sebastian had cured for him over the last year — it was Canadian Thanksgiving, after all. Before he left, Todd also gave us his phone number in case we needed a place to stay.

As we were leaving with a couple of cider bottles in hand, Sebastian offered for us to park on his property just down the road, right along the bay. If the third offer in two hours isn’t a sign to stay a while, what is?

We spent a drizzly afternoon shucking oysters and sipping cider a short walk from where they were harvested and produced. The Malagash Peninsula evokes what the wine regions of California must have been in their infancy — great products crafted by a burgeoning community, guided only by instinct and terroir. We felt privileged to discover and experience it, even if just for a night.

Free camping right along Tatamagouche Bay

These oysters were delicious -- creamy, briny, and smooth.

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, the easternmost point in the United States.

The Morning Scramble up Beehive Trail

October 19th • Beehive Trail at Acadia National Park was one of the best bang-for-your-buck hikes we’ve done anywhere. It’s a rapid ascent to Beehive Summit, which on a crisp, clear Maine autumn day afforded an amazing view of the fall foliage and the coast. The hike up was a fun scramble across giant boulders and up ladders bolted into the rock.

A hard to beat view from the top of Beehive Trail

The colorfiul sheer cliffs of Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, ME

The White Mountains

October 20th • Sunny days became precious as the season wore on. We quickly headed south along the Maine coast and turned west to the start of the Kancamagus Scenic Byway in New Hampshire to catch a good weather window and the very end of the fall foliage in the White Mountains. A recent storm had blown most of the maple leaves onto the ground and a carpet of reds and browns blanketed the forests.

A chilly night in the White Mountains. Gail River Road Dispesrsed, NH. Site #6.

South for the Winter

November 4th-14th • The days started to grow short and bitingly cold. Ready or not, the coming northeast winter decided that it was time for us to make the long journey home. We spent a last few days in upstate New York with family and friends.

The seasons reversed as we sprinted south, staying just ahead of the arctic blast sweeping south from Canada. We made our way through Shenandoah National Park, Natchez Trace State Park, and the Ozarks, where fall was just peaking.

R&R with friends and family in Kerhonkson, NY

A late night in George Washingon National Forest, VA

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, VA

At last, we found shorts weather. We spent our last few days in the southwest, soaking up some sun in Palo Duro Canyon, the Bisti Badlands, and, finally, a few days in Sedona, where we were lucky to meet up with a nearby friend.