Happy Mid-Summer! Scandinavians reference the longest day of the year as “midsummer”. (We have many great memories from hosting the Concordia Language Villages Swedish Camp, where they celebrated this day.) At Maplelag we are “celebrating” Midsummer with the completion of many projects. And, as always, the constant trail work, keeping the nearly 100km of ski, mountain bike/fat bike trails, free of trees and debris. There hasn’t been many storms but plenty of wind, which has resulted in having several trees to clear. We have been focusing on the bike course as we prepare for the 34th running Laddies Loppet mountain bike race over Labor Day weekend but working on ski trails as well.
Highlights on some of the projects:
Big Dipper: One of the first cabins at Maplelag, “LapLand”, has gone through an incredible remodel and a new name. We have added a very spacious kitchen and living room, still highlighting with original Maplelag signature paneling and great views to Little Sugarbush Lake sunsets. We are super excited to complete this project and are now renting it! If you are interested in renting for the winter time frame, we suggest doing so soon! A few photos below and more info on the “Big Dipper” page.
The Brant cabin project began last summer, as we turned the cabin into a day lodge area featuring a store, rental shop, warming/visiting/lounge area and the most recent project, adding two additional bathrooms on the main level. We have used as many timbers and lumber as possible reclaimed from the lodge destroyed by fire in October of 2022. The bathroom is very unique in that we harvested an oak from a storm blow down to use in the vanity for sink bases. Keith did an amazing job in this remodel and restoration and Jonell’s decorating is evident.
Painting and Staining
The other big spring and early summer project has been the staining and painting of the other cabins at Maplelag. As you can expect, there is much upkeep keeping everything in operation and the staining was much needed. Everything looks fresher and newer and big thanks to Pat for his fantastic work.
Other Happenings
We upgraded the heating and cooling systems on two of the other available lodging options at Maplelag, the Candy Store and Six Swedes, by adding heat pumps. This will be a nice second option for heating in the winter and also cooling in the summer or a warm fall day.
