Joanna Walters' "
The Inns and Outs of Going Truly Wild" has gotten me pretty primed for snowfall. I was just mentioning the other day that I'm hoping to do plenty of cross country skiing this winter. Wondering if my brother had left his skis in the barn when he moved overseas, or if I'll need to purchae my own.
Why not plan a self-guided skiing excursion through
Inn to Inn? Imagine a multiple day back country adventure in a pristine winter wilderness, but as the afternoon turns into evening, you arrive at a charming country inn. The perfect balance of rustic and luxurious.
To the naysayers who assume that alpine skiing always trumps nordic skiing, Walters offers this reflection.
"Cross-country skiing in the backcountry can be as frightening as a [downhill skiing] black run. It's just a different kind of fear... But it does not get much more real than trying to ski up a steep creek bank through feet of powder snow on 'skinny skis', navigating across country, alone, through deserted forest."
But not to worry. You won't be abandoned to your own devices.
"'Innkeepers become concerned about skiers who have not checked in by 4pm,' said the instructions issued by Country Inns Along the Trail, the collective of Vermont guest houses that run a system where holidaymakers ski from inn to inn while their luggage is shipped by road."
And with the north country snow finally "repainting" the landscape, I suggest you figure out a long weekend for an invigorating cross country adventure.
