Hiking in Acadia National Park

Hello, all!

I’ve finally returned from my vacation and am just now getting caught up with the all the commotion that my previous posts had generated. I had no idea that Maine, and my travels in general, would generate such interest.

As most of you know, I’ve been unable to post all week due to the lack of internet service at the cottage we rented while vacationing in Stonington, Maine last week.

We stayed at [this place], located on a peninsula directly between Burnt Cove and Crockett Cove, on the west (Sunset) side of Deer Isle. It’s a great place, but was billed as ‘secluded’ and it was not. But no complaints. It was well-apportioned and the nearby hiking was wonderful. MDI (Mt. Desert Island) is about an hour and 45 minutes away and is where Acadia National Park is located. This park is a must-see and is a gem in the nation’s list of national parks. We visited there twice while staying on Deer Isle last week.

I’d like to address a couple of the comments I’ve read since getting the internet going again. I’ve only been able to read through about half of them but one or two things keep coming to surface, so I’d like to address them, if you’ll be so kind.

YES, when you throw a live lobster into a pot, there is sort of a slight commotion (very slight) and a sound like your tea kettle has come to a boil. And then it ends as quickly as it happens. I’m not sorry that I love lobster and how it tastes with butter and lemon. I worked hard to eat lobster for three of the meals I had while in Maine. Hiking some of the trails at Acadia National Park are just a little bit more than I’m used to and there’s nothing better than tucking into a good lobstah meal!

And yes, you need to visit Maine in the summertime. I can’t recommend it in the winter, but only because I’ve never visited at that time of year. I would think that if you liked snow and cold that it would be awesome. I like snow and cold, in moderation.

 

AND NOW, here is the post I attempted to do on Friday, when I arrived at the local community store and found a parking lot full of some sort of fair, which I later saw was a big farmer’s market.

Twice this week, we headed to Mount Desert Island to hike a couple of trails in the park there. If you haven’t been to Acadia National Park, I suggest you go. It’s one of the most beautiful parks in the country.

On Tuesday, we hiked the Great Head Trail which is listed as a moderate hike that leads you to beautiful vistas of the water as well as an excellent view of Sand Beach. If you look closely at the photo above, you’ll see George and my husband, just around the middle. My husband wants me to hike the Beehive, which is in the photo below.

The Beehive is on the right and we can’t take George on the trail (yay!) so we won’t be hiking that one (secret *Yay* here) . It’s a “ladder” trail, which means that in several spots, you’ll either climb a ladder or hold onto one as you ascend the hill. An even more strenuous hike is The Precipice. I’m not even going to discuss that one. I will say, though, that in my youth I would have been all over it.

Oh, and notice that there’s not many people in the water on the beach above. It’s because it’s fricken freezin', that’s why! But it’s beautiful from here. And it’s getting hot hiking . . .

 

Thursday morning brought us back to MDI, driving up the Cadillac Mountain Drive for a view of Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands in the fog.

 

Somebody’s watching me taking photos from the roadside on Cadillac Mountain.

 

We followed the Park Loop Road to the parking lot at Jordan Pond. We’ve never been able to park here before, due to the throngs that visit this spot. But if you get to Jordan Pond before 9 am, the parking lot is quite empty. Just as we begin our hike around this beautiful lake, we see a carriage tour going past. The park is filled with wonderful carriage trails where you can either walk, bike or take a ride like this. No cars permitted.

 

View of Jordan Pond with The Bubbles (the two hills) in the background.

For about a mile around the lake, the trail is on planks like this, sometimes as high as 4-feet off the ground. George did quite well, in case you’re wondering~

We got nothing but compliments on him and he’s doing much better around lots of people. He’s still a little funny around small children, though. They sort of freak him out a bit.

After our hike, we left the Park Loop Road and took the road into Northwest Harbor which is way too swanky for my tastes. Beautiful, yes. We stopped at The Colonel’s to get a lunch to go, which was served in little cardboard boxes. I had a lobster roll and my husband had fish & chips. And let me tell you, it was the best lobster roll I’ve ever had and it even came with seasoned fries.

I promise to go on a diet really soon.

We drove along with the scent of our boxed lunches filling the car and making our mouths water. We were looking for Sergeant Drive which runs along the Somes Sound and has many little pullover areas. This is where we finally stopped to eat our lunch. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of the little box but it’s up there on the right. I was too hungry.

I don’t mean to sound like a hog, but we’d hiked all morning and I’d only had a power bar and that smell was driving me . . . crazy . . . who cares about taking pictures for the blog . . .

 

Home again. This is the scene we see as we look to the left (the south) every time we pull into the road that leads to our cottage in the woods.

I haven’t even been able to read any of my mail this week so am not able to respond to any comments. I’ll try to get up to the Community Center here on the island this morning to post this. Today is our last day here and it looks like another beautiful one. We were thinking of taking the Mail Boat to Isle Au Haut this morning but we’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to leave this place. It’s just too beautiful!

Until next time, my friends . . .

PS ~ Thanks to all, regular readers and all the new faces, for your comments and visits. Glad to have you along!