Last year I took a day in the fall to do a scenic drive around northern New York. Armed with a coffee and apple fritter from Stewart’s (opinion: Stewart’s makes great apple fritters, but not the greatest coffee) I spent a few hours zig-zagging through towns you likely have never heard of…Lewis, Reber, Boquet…with a phone map on the dash, a notepad in hand, and an eye for wider road shoulders and safe downhills, I created a route that would take us from Elizabethtown all the way to the Essex/Charlotte ferry.
When we held our fall training camp in Lake Placid a few weeks later, the final workout was to ski all the way home from camp. It was a success with beautiful weather, amazing new roads to see after so many trips to Cochrans and the Range, and a fun challenge to conquer.
It was a memorable enough endeavor that the consensus was that this ski should be an annual event, even if we aren’t at a camp in the area.
Although the weather and foliage hasn’t been as epic this fall, we nonetheless got up early on Sunday and drove over to Elizabethtown. One thing about an long early drive: when you’re skiing all the way back to Vermont, it makes the return trip in the van a lot shorter (well, if you’re an athlete doing the skiing, that is!).
We experienced chilly temps, with some donning long spandex for the first time this year. But we met some new fans, including a friendly resident of Hyde Road near Lewis, who came out to say hello and tell us her son was an XC runner at Bates. She was therefore somewhat familiar with rollerskiers, which was not what we expected for the area! She was even kind enough to offer us hot coffee or water, which we politely declined and continued on our way.
Starting off fairly bundled-up with temps around 40F. This is the climb up from Elizabethtown to Lewis, NY
We gradually made our way down from the hill High Peaks region and into the west side of the Champlain Valley, where we saw some of my favorite houses and spots ever on Leaning Road near Wadhams. The temps were now comfortable, and the kilometers were ticking by.
“Leaning Road” in Wadhams, an area full of beautiful colonial-era farms and houses
Emily and Virginia cruising along! The foliage was still hanging on nicely in spots
After crossing Rt22 at the Whallonsburg Grange, we approached what is possibly one of the most scenic roads in the valley. Whallons Bay road steadily climbs out of town, and enters rolling fields for a few miles as it crests and then trends downward to the shores of Lake Champlain. If you’re heading east, you ski into sight of the Green Mountains and the lake. Behind you, the Adirondacks ride majestically in the distance. You can’t beat it!
Now THAT is a view for your workout! You just have to remember to turn around if you’re the one skiing!
The squad taking their “album cover” photo upon a farm fence
From Whallonsburg it’s all flat and downhill to the Essex Ferry. We timed it perfectly…or, almost perfectly. But the kiosk attendant was nice enough to hold the boat for us as they were JUST getting ready to shove-off. We enjoyed the 25 minute break across a smooth ride.
We made it into Charlotte in the early afternoon, but our ski wasn’t over just yet. From the eastern shore of the lake everyone popped their rollerskis back on and began climbing out of the Champlain Valley from the Vermont side, heading up Church Hill in Charlotte and toward the foothills of the Green Mountains. We then turned north and made it to the Linseisen home in Shelburne where we were greeted by hot cider, baked goodies, and other snacks! What a great day!
Climbing east from Charlotte, with the Adirondacks (where we started) getting ever-more-distant in the background!
The full route: what a day!
