Hiking Mount Hunger - Waterbury, Vermont

Spending time with your favorite gal pals up in the Green Mountains on a sunny Saturday is the ultimate "reset" for the tired soul.  Friday at quitting time we packed up the car with 8 bags of snacks, roughly 200 spiked seltzers, and our best 90s playlist for the drive north to Stowe, Vermont.  We woke up early Saturday morning and grabbed some coffee, bagels, and bacon before heading to the neighboring town of Waterbury, Vermont for our hike.  We rolled the windows down as we drove to the trailhead, blasting our favorite 90s jams, singing all the words we thought we knew.  Every good adventure starts with the windows down and the music up.  

Citizen Cider - Burlington, Vermont

Citizen Cider

It is hard for me to go to Vermont without spending at least $100 in beer to bring back home to my well stocked fridge or to thirsty friends.  This trip was no exception and after biking Burlington for the day and a delicious lunch at Sweetwaters, I hopped back on my bike to check out the well known and loved Citizen Cider. 

Ferry Crossing New York to Vermont - Biking Burlington

Ferry entering Port Kent, NY 

When you spend four days in northern New York, you have some time to cross state lines and explore beyond the Empire State.  Up in Ausable Chasm, you can do this quite easily (and affordably) in neighboring Port Kent.  You can leave New York behind and take an hour cruise across Lake Champlain over to Burlington, Vermont.  One scenic boat ride is all it takes and you can swap quiet Ausable for bustling Burlington, home to amazing breweries, great food, and amazing bike paths.

Ausable Brewing Company - Adirondacks, New York

One of my favorite and I mean favorite ways to end a great day of hiking Indian Head Overlook is by sipping tasty local beer at a craft brewery (extra point if its a new one).  Trying new breweries is always fun, but beer just tastes so much better after a long hike, mowing the lawn, or in the back country areas of ski trails - can I get an amen?  When Ryan mentioned passing by a brewery on his way to the campground, we quickly added Ausable Brewing Company to our list of must-see before we leave.  Maybe it was the hike, maybe it was this gorgeous piece of property, but views of Indian Head followed by local cold beer in an oversized Adirondack is just about the best way to celebrate a Saturday. 

Indian Head and Lower Ausable Lake Hikes - Adirondacks

With all the New England summits down, I am excited to start expanding my "hike list" outside of some of New Englands famous high peaks.  Don't get me wrong, I loved standing at the top of Kathadin (ME), hiking the 13 mile loop around Greylock (MA), following the AT to the top of Bear Mountain (CT), seeing the fall foliage on Mount Mansfield (VT), and tackling famous Mount Washington (NH). But I was excited to escape New England for a long weekend in New York to see what hiking the Adirondacks was all about, to see a part of this big state outside it's famous city. 

Before I left for New York, I sent out a "call to action" for a list of everyone's favorite hikes in the area.  Google provided me with some pretty good options but when a friend posted on instagram about her favorite hike in the entire northeast which just happened to be in the Adirondacks, she caught my attention.  I changed my google search to scour the internet for pictures of somewhere called "Indian Head".  What came up on my screen was one of the most beautiful overlooks I have seen here.  It was a large rock cliff hovering over charming Lower Ausable Lake where you could take in the amazing view of the High Peaks Wilderness and the iconic lake below.  All it took was a few photos of this spot and my Saturday was planned in the land of no cell service, following pristine streams and wooded trails to this amazing vista.