January 27, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Après ski in a yurt

by Marty Basch/

Frost Mountain Yurts in Brownfield, Maine, are reachable on short treks through the woods, and gear can be transported with sleds. (photo: Marty Basch)

Frost Mountain Yurts in Brownfield, Maine, are reachable on short treks through the woods, and gear can be transported with sleds. (photo: Marty Basch)

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This is one cool tent. After imitating a pack mule during a half-mile journey through the forest, hauling everything in a sled behind me, we arrive inside the mountainside yurt to find plastic wine glasses, fondue pot and mini-espresso maker.

A quick inventory finds items such as a cork screw, cheese grater and pancake skillet. Warm embers left by previous guests glow in the wood stove.

And there are even tiki torches by the outdoor portable toilet.

For those who think a tent means roughing it, get to a yurt.

A yurt is an ancient circular tent with Central Asian roots. Modern versions come with wooden lattice frames and are situated atop wooden platforms.

Three of them are found along a small trail network on the 60 wooded acres of Frost Mountain Yurts in rural Brownfield, Maine, not far from the slopes of Shawnee Peak. Opened in 2004 and owned by husband and wife Patrick and Erika Fagan, the yurts offer a backcountry experience not far from civilization. A short drive from the region's hub in North Conway, N.H., the yurts are a funky alternative to the motels, inns and B&Bs.

Going skiing? Try yurt après ski, perhaps with the fondue recipe — equal parts Emmentaler, Gruyère and cheddar, 1/2 cup white wine and 1 tablespoon white flour — we found in the yurt's log book. Use the yurt as a game parlor, as we did for cribbage, first by glow of the gas lamp and then by flickering candlelight.

The yurts are a springboard to lesser-used hikes in the White Mountains. It's possible to hike or snowshoe up Frost Mountain, about a 90-minute-or-so round trip, to a Presidential range vista. Short drives reach other winter hikes such as the leg-stretcher up Fryeburg's Jockey Cap, with its bronze profile on top naming the area's natural landmarks. An off-the-beaten-path trek is a short mile from the yurts, Peary Mountain. Snowmobilers also use the old logging road to the bald summit of the small peak named after Rear Admiral and polar explorer Robert E. Peary, who lived in adjacent Fryeburg. The relatively easy trek leads to commanding vistas of New Hampshire peaks such as Kearsarge and Washington and western Maine's ponds and peaks.

Housed in the yurts is well-researched area information provided by the Fagans, a couple of canvas concierges.

"We want to be sure we answer all of the questions people have in the yurts," Erika said.

In it are maps and directions to hikes and area attractions. The couple rates its favorite area restaurants. Staying at the yurt for a couple of days and need that hot shower? There are even driving directions to those, more than 30 miles away.

Sometimes people just want to stay in the yurt.

"The yurt is the entertainment," said Patrick, a handy man who makes much of the yurt's furniture.

At night, we lazed on the outdoor hammock. When we wanted a break from the quiet, out came our hand-cranked radio (about the only thing we couldn't find at the well-stocked yurt). First for a slow dance to an Aerosmith ballad and then as Skynyrd and Zeppelin came on, the wooden platform became a stage for an impromptu air guitar concert, with legions of trees as fans and tiki torches twinkling.

About the only other wildlife we saw during our stay was a group of about seven wild turkeys going through the woods. I hope the concert didn't disturb them.

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