Articles and Interviews

After driving by refulgent rhododendron and colonial houses in Brattleboro, Vermont, we notice the Kipling Café, named after the English author whose Jungle Book - set in India - was written here. The watering hole ironically sits beside an Indian-American grocer. At a nearby trattoria, I ask our waitress, a local university student, about the town's Kipling connection. "There are restaurants with that name," she reflects. "It must be some old family."

Resuming our journey to New Hampshire's White Mountains, I wonder if some US critics are right; is the country of my birth devoid of tradition and ignorant of its history? But traces of the nation's past, I soon learn, linger somewhere between the region's Home Depots and enchanting canyons.

The car's roof resounds with the drum roll of a sudden downpour as we head into rugged New Hampshire two hours later. We pass an establishment alleging to be the country's first general store and yard signs protesting a municipal dump. Anxious to arrive at our destination, we ignore a turn-off for the Kancamagus Highway, a scenic route especially worth taking during leaf season. The road was named after a Penacook Indian Confederacy ruler who tried to maintain peace between white settlers and local tribes before bloodshed sent the latter north. The area's indigenous heritage has since been relegated to the names of rivers and roads. Continuing north, the car ride feels monotonous and I question the point of so much driving. But the White Mountains suddenly appear, whale-like silhouettes emerging from turbulent water. A few miles later they become a patchwork of saturated dark conifers and lighter deciduous growth.

Six hours after leaving New York, we arrive in the town of Bretton Woods and settle into our cosy, rented condominium. We sip tea and enjoy its views of Crawford Notch State Park. Forsaking the place's wi-fi internet connection, we pore over maps and plan excursions. Unfortunately, rain falls for the next two days. When it finally ceases, we are hankering for the outdoors and embark on a gruelling hike.

Our walk begins at the historic Cog Railway, which was constructed by a Chicago meat-packing mogul in the 1860s. Its steam engines still carry visitors to Mt Washington's 6,288ft summit. We enter the railway's amusement park-like base station to inquire about our route. The place reeks of fast food and nobody knows anything about it. We eventually make it to the Ammonoosuc River Trail and cross affable, elderly walkers decked out in expensive hiking gear. The soggy trail navigates through forests of slender maple punctuated by knobby white birch. Ferns and origami-like flowers line our path as we traipse over mossy rocks and gnarled spruce roots. It's like taking a gentle stroll. But the White Mountains are punishing. We gain 2,500ft in elevation over the next three miles, grasping fallen tree trunks to scale vertical granite slabs. As we enter the alpine zone, pines grow awry and scant, offering views of bald, rocky Mt Washington, where the highest wind gusts on earth have been recorded. While I take in the colossal peak, I'm distracted by a black cloud of smoke below the tree line. Peering closely, I discern the Cog Railway crawling up a ridge like a caterpillar.

After testing our quads for a final arduous mile, we are rewarded with a treeless ridge walk on Crawford Path, with infinite views and minute alpine flora. The oldest continuously used mountain trail in the US, the path was cut in 1819 by Ethan and Abel Crawford, local innkeepers who were indispensable in developing the region for tourism. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote ebulliently about his stay with the Crawfords, whose "guests were of such a motley description as to form quite a picturesque group, seldom seen together except at some place like this, at once the pleasure house of fashionable tourists and the homely inn of country travellers". Conservation-minded Henry David Thoreau wasn't so optimistic. "I heard that Crawford House was lighted with gas and had a large saloon, with its band of music, for dancing," he wrote. "But give me a spruce house made in the rain."

As the US entered the Gilded Age, inns gave way to luxury hotels, only one of which - the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods - survives. After a rigorous day on the trail, I opt to take a tour of the mammoth multi-storeyed structure, which reflects the ambitions and opulence of the era. Two hundred-and-fifty Italian labourers finished constructing the Spanish-renaissance-revival-style hotel in 1902, when it became the playground of America's new royalty. Although it fell into disrepair during the Depression, the Mount Washington was revivified in 1944,when it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference at which the IMF and World Bank were founded. A peppy PR director shows me its basement, where guests once went bowling and kept track of their fortunes with a stock ticker. These spaces are now occupied by video games and a gift shop. The Mount Washington certainly mirrors the nation's past; lamentably, its gauche refurbishments fail to preserve the grandeur of the Gilded Age.

Following this experience, I remain unconvinced of the vitality of the region's historical traditions. Then I read about Philbrook Farm, the US's oldest continuously run family inn, which was founded in 1861. After getting on to the internet, I finally find its number and make a dinner reservation. The immaculate establishment is located near the Maine border and we make the 45-minute drive there on a rainy evening. Hummingbirds feed in front of the expansive wooden home; an American flag adorns the yard. Connie Leger, 89, welcomes us into the house's warm den filled with old books, including a 1934 copy of Webster's New International Dictionary. A fourth- generation descendant of the inn's original owners, she shows us how a home-made chair transforms into a cribbage table.

Connie's daughter Ann leads us into the kitchen, which she single-handedly runs. An ashtray brims with butts and a sign quips: "We have a tourist season, so why can't we shoot them?" Freshly picked rhubarb rests on a wood-burning stove, which was procured in 1905. It not only heats the house's back rooms but is still used for cooking. In the dining room, Ann treats us to her inspired New England fare, which is infused with a cosmopolitan flair. Besides broccoli and cheddar soup, she serves us home-made bread and an avocado, dried fruit and mixed leaf salad. Our main course consists of grilled salmon and stuffed aubergines garnished with flowers. We douse our accompanying baked potatoes in butter, cottage cheese and fresh chokecherry jam.

Ann's brother Larry chats with us in between clearing plates and tending the fire. The inn sits on 1,000 acres, for which developers offer large sums of money. "I could be in Key West throwing 'em back," Larry laughs. But the family is working with conservationists to protect it permanently. He tells us how foreign competition forced a nearby paper mill to close down, which devastated the local economy. Afterwards, I ask about the antique player piano in the corner. "I have to save 6,000 bucks to get it fixed," Larry says. "My grandmother got it second-hand from somewhere. But to be honest, it really doesn't matter," he surmises. "It's just nice stuff."

Getting there:
From New York City, take I-95 North and merge onto I-91 North at exit 48 in New Haven. Continue on I-91 North through Connecticut and Massachusetts and into Vermont. For a backcountry route, take exit 17 and then follow US-302 East to Bretton Woods, NH. Alternatively, for larger highways, take I-91 North until exit 19 and merge onto I-93 South; from I-93, take exit 40 and follow US-302 East to Bretton Woods. The total driving distance is approximately 360 miles. Brattleboro, VT makes an ideal lunch stop.

Lodging:
A two bedroom townhouse at the Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods costs $249 per night. The historic Mount Washington Hotel, owned by the Resort, offers room and suite packages ranging from $99-1000 per night. +1 800.314.1752; www.mtwashington.com.

The Philbrook Farm Inn is located off US-2 in Shelburne, NH. It has 18 guestrooms that range from $120-150 per night (double occupancy), which includes breakfast and dinner. Housekeeping cottages are available for $800 per week and are pet friendly. +1 603.466.3831; www.philbrookfarminn.com.

Things to do:
For information on hiking in the White Mountains, visit the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Mountain Center at Crawford Notch on US-302 in Bretton Woods. www.outdoors.org.

Robert Frost Place, located at a farmhouse where the poet resided, is a museum dedicated to his legacy as well as a non-profit center for poetry and the arts. It’s located 18 miles west of Bretton Woods in Franconia, NH. Take exit 38 from I-93. +1 603.823.5510; www.frostplace.org.

The scenic Kancamagus Highway spans the heart of White Mountain National Forest between I-93 in Lincoln and Route 16 near Conway. Besides breathtaking autumn drives, it offers boundless picnic possibilities.

The three hour roundtrip journey to Mt Washington’s summit on the historic Cog Railway costs $57. The railway is located on Base Road in Mount Washington, NH. +1 800.922.8825; www.thecog.com.

Eating, drinking and shopping:
North Conway, NH is 30 miles southeast of Bretton Woods on US-302 and has Indian, Italian, Thai and American restaurants. My favorite lunch spot is the Stairway Café (+1 603.356.5200) in North Conway Village, whose specialties are pancakes, eggs Florentine and New England clam chowder. The town is also known for its factory outlet stores.