Sometimes I get asked how I find the variety of spots we visit across the state and New England. The amazing secret is incredibly simple.
I usually choose a destination by researching key words that may or may not involve a general location, and then I search for things en route. For example, I had Kent Falls on a bucket list for the summer, which I had found by researching hikes in Connecticut. Knowing that I had this destination in mind, I decided I would break up the distance traveled. So I took a look at Google Maps and poked around online at the towns along our route. I then researched where we might stop to have lunch and where we could find a playground to break up our drive. In doing so I found an adorable country deli and ice cream shop in Roxbury, discovered they have a fiddling festival, and we visited a really fun local playground. We also found an adorable bookstore on the way and discovered there is a lot to do around some large lakes out towards Kent Falls.
When we pulled the boat, Kevin and I knew we wanted to do some great hikes for the fall.
I’m able to do more and more all the time and we are exploring the boundaries and limits of my new physicality. We decided that with the long weekend, for what I’ll call Indigenous Peoples Day, we would head up to New Hampshire. It is getting into foliage season in New England and so for a long weekend this time of year the rates for hotels were insane and everything was booking quickly. So we decided not to head out to the Whites and to instead go for Monadnock.
Now, this mountain is special to me.
It has been a goal ever since the train whistle started blowing, ever since I knew change was coming. I always said maybe when I lost 100 pounds, maybe not even until 150, I would be able to do Monadnock. It was this random goal, a symbol of what I would eventually be capable of. I’m now down 80 pounds and guess what I did this weekend? But you can read about that here.
Anyhow, when we decided we would hike Monadnock we started looking at what we might do the day before to break up our trip to Brattleboro.
We wanted to get the kids into the climbing harness again, and I did some research on things we might do in Massachusetts on our way up. I came across Chesterfield Gorge, something I had never heard of. Kevin did some research on where we might rope up with the kids and there was a spot called Chapel Ledge within 20 minutes of Chesterfield Gorge. Perfect. Afternoon planned.
So we packed all of our gear, a process that always takes us until 3:00 AM the night before.
I mean, seriously, we cannot win on this point. Kevin and I always joke about how other people act like they can pack for trips, wrap presents for Christmas, make Halloween costumes, clean the house and prep for birthday parties, or even move houses without looking like they’re staying up to the wee hours of the morning. Magicians. Anyhow, we can’t handle that. We stay up until as late as 5:00 AM for these sorts of things. Packing for a trip usually gets us to 2:00 or 3:00.
Anyhow, that side note was to not leave out the reality of traveling with kids. It sure isn’t easy, not even for people who do it all the time. So after getting all of the things packed and shoved into the car we traveled up to Chesterfield Gorge in some disappointing overcast weather given that we were promised partly cloudy. But the visit to the gorge ended up being superb despite the clouds. We were able to eat a packed lunch at a picnic table overlooking the most impressive features of the gorge, and then we took a hike along the river exploring our surroundings. The colors were vibrant. Leaves are changing up north already whereas they are only just beginning to turn in Connecticut.
The river was so clear, with beautiful orange hues from the bottom and rocks mixing with the blues and browns of the water. The edge of the river was studded with vertical sheathes of rocks and later on dotted with boulders. There were a lot of kettle holes and interesting features including various streams and trickles running down to the river. At one point, looking down at a bend in the river, we could see three different streams running into the main body, and the tree line was patches of yellow, orange, and red in the swath of green. It was breathtakingly New England. We walked out onto the river via a line of rocks with a smoothed dip running the length of it and enjoyed the fresh air by the riverside before heading out for our next adventure.
Chesterfield Gorge is a great spot for families.
The path down the river is drivable, as it turns out, but it
is worth paying the small amount to park at and get into the actual gorge. The hike is very easy terrain and runs seven miles total, though you can turnaround and head back at any point and will find it interesting to see the same sights over again. It is super easy on small feet. This is a hike you can do with any aged child, or a child with any ability level, honestly, and the payoff will be great given the lovely views.
Want to hear more about our adventures that day? Check out our climb at Chapel Ledge.
