Romance: It’s not all hearts and flowers

ERIC WILBUR

HUGS, KISSES, AND HUTS

Maine Huts and Trails is a not-for-profit offering plush, full-service backcountry lodging options. Their eco-friendly huts can be linked via a new system of trails that can be hiked, biked, or skied. The Flagstaff Lake Hut has another unique approach my fiancé and I took: a two-hour kayak paddle along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in the shadow of the Bigelow Mountains. After a dinner of pork loin and squash soup, we sank into leather couches and listened to the crackling fire. A late-night swim under a full moon prepped us for a quiet night in our lakeside cabin, radiant floor heating and thick bedding keeping us warm and rested for the next day’s adventures.

BRIAN IRWIN

A TREK TO REMEMBER

We had planned a romantic Maine escape, complete with cozy inn and gourmet dinner. Hoping to do some snowshoeing, we arrived early. Our innkeeper recommended a nearby trail. “Should take you about an hour-and-a-half,’’ he estimated. What he had failed to add was, “by snowmobile!’’ On foot? Well. . . . We merrily tromped along, until we noticed we were following deer tracks, not footprints. Trail signage was obscured by snow cover. “Let’s build a snow shelter,’’ I suggested. That AMC course would finally pay off. “I’m a city boy from Newton. We don’t do snow shelters,’’ my husband said. He searched his backpack for flashlights and the space blanket and found - Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and Skittles! We had grabbed our son’s backpack by mistake. Hours later, we stumbled upon a house, with a nice lady who drove us to our car. We missed our gourmet dinner, but we had shared an adventure (and burgers at a local pub).