The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-08-05
the ADIRoNDAcKs AWnEEL.
There are Better Regions for Bicycle
Touring, But the sceneryIs
Grand.
Correspondence Of the Press.1


for this little city, and they make consider
able too. But for a bicyclist to leave st
Johnsbury is an undertaking Of some magni
tude. Mountains, nothing so significant as
hills surround II, and wheelmen of that city
when they 20 out for a ride usually walk
True, that Is not the best way to eDjoy bicy'
cling, but the country makes 1t necessary.
The return must be enjoyable, but 1t was
not our luck to be returning. To Danville II
is eight miles up grade, frequently unridea-
Bile. BY rail it is 10 miles, the mountains
necessitating much curying In the track.
Eight times the highway crosses the rail-
road, so that there is considerable clrcling
for teams and trains alike, although trains
do the larger part. The altitude is $50 feet
higher than st. Johnsbury, and 1t Is a pleas
ant little town. ranking second in Vermont
In the matter Of farming. Some fine noun
tain views are obtained from that elevation,
and there are excellent accommodations for
the traveller.
The road still inclines upward, though
more gently than before, to West Danville'
and from thence way down to Burlington
through Montpelier. the average grade Of the
highway is downward, and there are many
enjoyable coasts, one being certainly three
miles In length. The surface Of the roads
is very good on the whole.
Marshfeld was our resting place the first
night. The hotel is one OF those old-fash-
ioned country taverns which will never be
celebrated for beauty Of surroundings, but
which always afford substantial meals.
Cake fl osted with maple sugar was one of
the dellcacies on the table. The proprietor
was Yankee, every inch Of him. and In
physical appearance nearly the counterpart
Of the vender Of butter in "Old Jed Prouty."
OF course he Queried US vigorously. and
equally certain was his talk entertaining
He told us it was Zine gigging" to Montpe-
lier; that Au Sable chasm was "a sight," and
that "by jumping jack, Elizabethtown Is one
of the prettest places yer ever see, vow!"
One Of the curious farmers we passed seemed
much astonished to think we were going any
distance on the bicycles, exclaiming: "You
fellers don't expect to get to Montpelier on
them things, do yer?" And when we told
him that we hoped to travel over northern
New York, ''w-h-e-wp' was the only COM
ment his surprise allowed him to make. AT
'Mashfeld." as the vernacular of the inhab-
itants calls it, we were decided curiosities,
and probably the natives have not yet ceased
commenting on our antics.
The valley of the Winooski is a charming
place, and we had most enjoyable ride
down its banks. AT Montpelier our stop
was brief, merely for dinner. and yet it was
long enough for the forming of the opinion
that it was pretty town, although not spec
tally lively in the matter of business. Wat
erbury is an attractive town, the state in
sane asylum being the principal building.
We were over night in Burlington and In
the morning embarked in the steamer for the
sail across Lake Champlain. This is a de-
lightful trip, in many respects rivGlling the
sail in Casco Bay, and the steamers are far
superior. being almost as large as the Boston
steamers and elegantly furnished.
Au Sable chasm is three miles from the
lake and is certainly the wonder of the
Adirondack region. "The Yosemite In min
iature" the guide books term 1t. The fiume
at Franconia notch is Of minor consequence
in comparison, In the latter merely brook
tumbles through short gorge, but at Au
Sable good sized river goes tearing for a
mile and half down through veritable
chasm, the sides Of which rise perpendlcu-
larly for hundred or two feet above the
rushing water. Down there in places where
the sun never shines Is wonderland of the
works of nature, and sufficient material to
busy geological student for months. The
various ages Of the world can almost be de-
ciphered by the untutored eye in glancing up
at the abrupt walls which often tower two
hundred fee above. Stairways. galleries and
bridges enable visitors to walk through the
of the journey. half a mile, is made In a boat
and although apparently trip OF some dan
ger there Is said to be no cause for alarm.
The trip through the rapids In the dory Is,
to say the least, alittle startling, as Is also
the floating over waters Of unknown depth.
But the excursion is always safely completed
we were told.
Keesville is few miles further along, and
Is lively town Of two or three thousand in
habltants, several iron mills constituting the
chief industries Of the place. It was only IS
miles to Au Sable Forks, but the road was so
strange and so bumpy that we were more
than two hours In covering the distance.
Planks about six feet long, laid crossways,
constitute the highway. and they were so
worn with age as to make tbs riding worse
than over any paving ever laid. Bumpity,
bump, was the way we jolted along. But the
next days experience SO far discounted that,
we have almost forgotten the former For
Is miles more. over mountains and down into
valleys, we followed that plank path III
ought not to be called road. through the
wilderness, and then we reached the end OF
IL. But we had not proceeded mile when
we l0nged with all our might for planks.
The saLd was often six inches deep, and for
a mile at a time all we could do was to labor
iously trudge along beside our wheels and
push. Then we knew why plank roads were
Duilf, and only wished they had been laid all
through that part Of the country. But 1t is
expensive exp E,S for % country road. costing more
plain about Maine roads; they are not very
good, but they are infinitely better than the
sandy apologies for highways found In the
Adirondack region. To incur the Ill will OF
any wheelman it would only be necessary to
recommend tour in Essex county, N. Y.
Ii any are contemplating such a trip, they
better take the advice Of those VINO have
been there, and tour in some other direction.
The sand of the Adirondacks is unexcelled,
unless probably by desert. Long hills
ana loose sand are disheartening combina-
tion for bicycling.
But at 80 we reached Saranac Lake far
into the wilds, having covered 35 miles, and
we were tired too. We Jared we'll for eata-
bles, however, some delicious brook trout
being served for dinner ap Freneh's lonely
hotel back of the Whiteface mountains, and
smacking supper OF lake trout at the Sara
nae Lake House. The situation Of this ho-
tel Is pleasant in the extreme, on the shore
OF the picturesque lake, with mountains ris-
Ing to quite height in the rear.
Next day we started for Lake Placid, II
miles only, but 1t was an all days trip, sand
and showers forming an sgyravating con-
spiracy to keep us back AT o'clock We
got there" though, and were finely quar-.
tered at the Stevens House, which com
mands some charming mountain and lake
views. The following days ride took us out
OF the densely wild and mountainous region
down to Elizabethtown, beautifully sit
uated town, but it was a hard days trip iu
spite of the fact that half Of the 26 miles was
all down hill. But the part M hill was the
worst OF any sandy highway encountered
and mnst have served to develop our mus
cles greatly
Saturday we rode down to Westport, had
tine sail down Lake Champain by steamer
stopped brief while at Ticonderoga, AM
rested all day yesterday on the shore Of thi.
picturesque lake. From the foot of thi.
sheet of water we are promised good ridinr
all the way down the Hudson. But wheel
men should take warning and avoid the
Adirondacks. For wheeling the White
Mountains are preferable in every respect.
NOW lt Is over, we are glad we went, but VIZ
would not go again, awheel at least. S.B.
The Old Orchard CampmeetIng.