Day 3: Waterfalls in the Clouds

On our last morning in New Hampshire, we sleep in (no alarm time, thank goodness) before packing our stuff back into the trunk, clearing the condo, and heading out for breakfast. We grab coffee/hot chocolate and breakfast sandwiches at Mello Moose Coffee House, a charming spot a few miles north along the highway. Afterward, we return to Weirs Beach to take one last relaxing walk along the lakefront and an absolutely silly selfie with the giant neon sign at the entrance to Lakeside Avenue (Lindsey’s idea). On our way out of town, we make a pit stop at Kellerhaus, the chocolate and confectionery store near our condo, coinciding with a Thursday morning opening-hour tour bus (again, mostly geriatric-leaning). I pick up a box of truffles and chocolate expresso beans as a gift and thank-you to Jane for holding down the fort for the past several days. Then, we’re off again to the northern reaches of the lake.

Our destination this morning is the Brook Trail, a short but spectacular trail down a forest glen at the foot of the Ossipee Mountains (near the mountaintop estate known as the “Castle in the Clouds,” which we choose to skip). The trail follows the course of the Shannon Brook, which descends a series of seven cascades in half a mile as it plunges toward Lake Winnipesaukee, ultimately culminating in the Falls of Song, a 40-foot cataract set amidst a beautiful glade of mixed oak, birch, and pine trees. We take our time soaking in the forest scenery and taking photos of the moving water; in addition to taking portraits and selfies together at the falls, I ask Lindsey to walk ahead and pose for me at a few open spots in the forest, to provide a sense of scale among the tall trees. For a woodland-leaning landscape photographer such as me, this trail is a pinnacle experience and pleasurable delight; there is no place I’d rather be on a beautiful October morning, with sunlight streaming in through the canopy, and glorious golden foliage painting the scene.

Back on the road, we head westward, preparing to connect back up with the interstate. At Center Harbor, we deviate north to pass through the town of Holderness on the shores of Squam Lake. After a brief photo break and bathroom break, we rejoin the highway and leave the Lakes Region behind, cruising south on 93S on a two-hour ride into Boston with my driving playlist on. Traffic into the city on Storrow Drive is, predictably, fucked for no discernible reason, but we make it back to Brookline with plenty of time to play with Jordan as he wakes up from his afternoon nap. In the early evening, Lindsey and I go out for dinner in Brookline Village before returning home. After spending the evening with Jane and Jordan and putting baby to bed, I drive Lindsey to the airport for her late-night flight back to Baltimore, capping off a wonderful few days of exploration, rest, and re-connection.

Day 1: Welcome to the Kingdom

Many well-laid plans have fallen apart this year. We aspirationally booked a weeklong Japan trip for spring 2022, but due to ongoing pandemic restrictions cancelled this and went exploring in the Four Corners region instead. In May, a trip to British Columbia was dropped last minute after our new adoptee Phoebe (a cat with behavioral history and a sensitive disposition) went to town on my leg. And in September, we had planned a hiking trip to the Canadian Rockies, but swapped this to a more tame weekend getaway in midcoast Maine after finding out we were expecting. Thus, for the second year in a row, we stuck to New England during peak autumn, taking a four-day foliage trip in Vermont spanning the holiday weekend. We visited Vermont exactly a year prior, but hadn’t spent enough time to truly explore the state’s northern corner, a beautiful region of forest, lakes, and pastoral villages known as the Northeast Kingdom. Since our brief morning in Peacham last fall, I’ve been dreaming of re-visiting this place, and have spent many hours scouting Google Earth and reading guides to get a sense of the region’s photographic opportunities. This trip, our final vacation as a travelling, childless couple, became one of the most memorable fall shoots I’ve ever had - a restful and much-needed creative boost to close out the year.

We leave Boston on Friday afternoon before the October holiday weekend; traffic is absolutely atrocious - essentially bumper-to-bumper from our home in the Longwood Medical Area, onto Storrow Drive, and all the way north to the New Hampshire state line. It’s already pushing 7 PM by the time we leave Massachusetts, and what was supposed to be a three hour jaunt to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has been drawn out to a five-hour drive from hell. Passing through the White Mountains of Franconia Notch in the rain, we enter Vermont and leave the highway at the gateway town of Lyndonville. We drive along the shores of Lake Willoughby in the dark, reaching our accommodations (a cozy cabin on a hillside in Westmore) after 9 PM. For us, it’s a fancy instant ramen dinner (replete with vegetables and canned fish) before settling in for the night.

In the morning, we pack our breakfasts and head to the south shore of Lake Willoughby. It’s a cloudy, blustery morning; the wind comes whistling across the water, funnelled down the glacial trough between Mount Hor to the west, and Mount Pisgah to the east. Although the sunrise is muted, I shoot two timelapses on the beach here, using a group of boulders are the near shore as a foreground. Afterward, Jane and I drive up to nearby Long Pond, where the morning mist is beginning to dissipate. We shoot another timelapse here, along with several other lovely long shots - the mist clearing along the treeline; Bald Hill looming in the distance; and a pair of northern loons on the water, their signature clarion call a signal that we have come to the northern woods.

After our time beside Long Pond, we explore a nearby trailhead in the woods, admiring the beautiful colors carpeting the forest floor. Back on the road after a breakfast in the car (bread rolls, milk, chocolate, and dried fruit), we head southward toward Burke to explore a number of scenic viewpoints on the crest of Darling Hill. It is mid-morning now, and the sun is shining.

We meander along Darling Hill Road, stopping the car along the way to photograph the lofty valley views to either side. Dappled light is dancing across the ski slopes of Burke Mountain to our east, while to the west, the landscape rolls away clear toward the Green Mountains in the distance. Before Lyndonville, we swing back north and turn off onto Lost Nation Road, a well-maintained dirt road that climbs into the hills near East Haven. The autumn colors are at peak here, the hillside a glowing sea of red maples, birches, and oaks; we get out of the car to take a selfie at a particularly colorful overlook. Afterward, while Jane waits for me on the road, I descend the nearby stream to capture a few long exposures along Jack Brook. Afterward, we continue northward to the town of Island Pond for a refueling stop and a lunch break. We eat at the nearby Kingdom Grille (a burger and fries for me; a French dip sandwich with au jus dip for Jane), and I photograph a loon on the pond surface before we return south to Jobs Pond, a beautiful pond tucked beneath wooded slopes and granite cliffsides.

Here, during a routine battery change, disaster strikes: the battery mislatches and swells inside of my RX-10, becoming instantly stuck inside of the non-functioning camera. We quickly drive back to Ace Hardware in Island Pond, where the store employees kindly give us access to anything we need in the store to pry out the stuck battery. Jane and I hop around the aisles, trying unsuccessfully to McGyver a lever system using superglue, a fishhook, and a pair of kitchen knives. Finally, the cashier calls over a friend working in the construction department. Thanks to Grant and his “redneck ingenuity,” the battery is quickly dislodged. We offer to pay for the tools used, but the friendly folks at the store refuse to take a payment for anything except the super glue (thanks, Ace Hardware in Island Pond!). Having had enough excitement for one afternoon, we head west over the hills, back to our home in Westmore.

In the late afternoon, after a snack and a long nap, Jane and I drive to a hillside a few minutes up the road from our cabin to watch the sunset. We walk out a little distance across an open meadow, where the view faces downhill, opening up across miles of rolling hills and woodlands, westward toward Lake Willoughby and the setting sun. I set up the tripod for a sunset timelapse here, which Jane dutifully watches over as I walk around the meadow, shooting close-ups of the nearby trees and burning-bushes aglow in the golden-hour light. Afterward, we return home, enjoying a peaceful TV night with our snacks and our typical ramen dinner.

Day 2: Mist and Light

The next morning, we head west past the north shore of Lake Willoughby and toward the village of Barton. We arrive at May Pond just as day breaks; it’s another misty, overcast morning, and aside from a momentary bloom of violet clouds, sunrise is muted yet again. I focus on shooting the far shore’s foliage with my long lens, along with some peaceful intimates near the pond’s outlet. There is a fine drizzle in the air as we leave the pond and pass through Barton. Driving south, we follow the highway past Crystal Lake to Wheeler Mountain Road, a fine dirt road that winds up through the forest to the marshy edge of Wheeler Pond. We take a selfie here, and I attach my CPL to dampen the reflected light glinting off the surface of the pond’s lily pads and other vegetation. On our way down the mountain, we stop in a dirt turnoff so that I can shoot into one of the most beautiful woodland scenes I can ever remember seeing, the canopy glowing brightly with a full pallette of golden-orange maple, elm, and birch leaves.

Further east, we make a brief stop on the shore of Bean Pond before continuing down the highway toward Lyndonville. We decide to take a detour south to the village of Sutton. Winding along the backroads and dairy farms on Pudding Hill, we catch fanstatic scenes of cows at pasture, distant hillsides in the mist, and dirt roads lined by majestic golden trees. We reach Lyndonville in the mid-morning; the local bookstore is, unfortunately for me, closed, but we stop at the Freighthouse Market and Cafe to eat brunch (bagel breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and smoothie) and browse the candle store upstairs. I shoot the colorful maple tree in the yard outside the farmhouse before we return to the car, driving the short distance back to Lake Willoughby and our cabin in Westmore. With rain clouds blowing in from the west, we spend the mid-day relaxing at home; Jane takes a nap while I take a timelapse of Mount Hor over Lake Willoughby, and walk a ways down to road to spend some time with the local dairy cows.

After a restful early afternoon, we head back out to shoot golden hour on the shores of Lake Willoughby and Long Pond. We initially stop by the Willoughby Lake Store hoping to find a maple cremee (unfortunately, we find, these ubiquitous frozen Vermont treats are only available during the summer). On Long Pond Road, we take a brief walk into the golden forest at the Mt. Pisgah trailhead before proceeding back to the Long Pond boat launch. I shoot a series of timelapses here as the storm clouds blow across the hills to the south. Eventually, rain drops begin to speckle the surface of pond. This peaceful scene transforms into a downpour a few minutes later; we beat a hasty retreat back down to Lake Willoughby, where sunset is in full swing. We shoot the dramatic, cloud-strewn skies from the lake’s boat access, before returning to the cabin for our final night in Westmore. In the evening, we spend don our outer layers and do some constellation-watching in the backyard. Unable to sleep that night, I watch the cloud inversion flowing down and over Lake Willoughby under the light of full autumn moon, grateful to have more waking hours in this beautiful place.