Hey, you know how we’ve been to the “last” national park in the alphabet – Zion National Park? How about let’s go to the “first” one - Acadia National Park! These are the games Jim and I played as we chafed against the pandemic’s travel restraints. We’re vaxxed up now, got a pocket full of masks, so let’s get back out there!
Acadia has a reputation for summer crowds in normal times, but we (naively) hoped that the masses were staying home. The cruise ships were still on hiatus. The park’s reservation system was in place for visiting the summit of Cadillac Mountain, though, because everyone knows that it’s the first place in the good ol’ U.S. that the sun touches in the morning. I played along and booked a slot for 6:30 a.m. on our first full day in the park.
Our flight from Charlotte to Portland was delayed (welcome to the new normal of air travel) so we missed most of the first day of our trip. Upon landing, we grabbed our rental car and headed straight to Acadia NP.
Jim and I may be tourists, but we didn’t plan to spend much time in Bar Harbor, just passing through en route to our Airbnb at Otter Cove. Once we settled into our cozy basement apartment, we took a short walk to get our neighborhood bearings. Almost full dark when we returned to our place and we crashed for the night.
Well, it’s no surprise that we skipped our reservation at Cadillac Mountain this morning. Let’s just take that off the bucket list and keep moving.
Our host provided a wealth of information about hiking trails both in and outside the park. Our “warmup” hike started from the Quarry Trail trailhead a few hundred yards from our door – a nice early morning introduction to Mount Desert Island.
The Quarry Trail leads .5 miles to the Park Loop Road. We crossed Otter Cove and walked another half mile to the Fabbri picnic area.
On the return we explored Otter Cove’s rocky shoreline 
With lunch and a change of clothes, Jim and I ventured to the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island for today’s main event: hiking Acadia Mountain. Very excited to experience a five-mile loop featuring three mountain peaks and a waterfall!
We reached the trailhead at 10:00 a.m, late for us. In my eagerness to get going, we inadvertently started on Man O’War Brook Trail but quickly intersected Acadia Mountain Trail – here we go!
No more photos as I wheezed my way up the steep path to the summit of Acadia Mountain, topping out at 681 feet.
then the wide open Atlantic Ocean
Lots of folks at the peak lining up for their photo ops (hey, we got ours) so we didn’t linger. The broad summit continued for about .4 miles and then the trail plunged downward at a steeper grade than the ascent – a shock to the system!
Throwing my poles down and lowering my body with trembling triceps
Past the bridge, a short spur led to an overlook of Man O’War Brook Falls spilling into Somes Sound. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small boat anchored nearby and a man swimming near the base of the waterfall [nude? I can’t say for sure but…]
After the waterfall overlook, we came to a four-way intersection of Acadia Mountain Trail, Man O’War Brook Trail, Valley Cove Trail & Valley Peak Trail. We felt like we had more gas in our tanks, so we chose the Valley Peak Trail that took us up to the rock cliffs closer to the mouth of Somes Sound. First, the “up” part:
A closer view of Greening Island (center) and the Cranberry Isles on the horizonWe met some locals on the ledge who told us this is their favorite spot on this part of the island and they avoid the Acadia Mountain summit. Truly, this view is breathtaking and felt more intimate. I recommend seeing both!
By now Jim and I were feeling savvy and indestructible, so we skipped the shortcut to Saint Sauveur Mountain Trail and stayed on Valley Peak Trail. Like Acadia Mountain, the trail here is also mostly level across a broad summit to a signpost for the peak.
We turned right onto Saint Sauveur Mountain Trail to complete our extended loop. [Hello, uphill again!] While we were in the neighborhood, we tagged Saint Sauveur Mountain too (two feet shorter than Acadia Mountain).
From this point, the trail passed through masses of blueberry bushes that sometimes disguised slickrock and caught me off guard more than once. My invincibility index dropped along with the descent, feeling precarious with every step. I was glad to finish the hike with bones intact.
Don't be fooled, the downhill is right through those bushesAll in all, this hike was tougher than I expected. The trails were rugged and steep with boulders and some rock scrambling. [Some hiking blogs recommend hiking the loop counterclockwise so most of the scrambling is up instead of down.] In my mind’s eye I could see that the worn down rock “bones” were being uncovered as the soil washes away. We finished the hike in about 4 hours. Although our moving time was approximately 2mph, we stopped a lot to take in the views and catch our breath.
Where, O where can we wet our whistle after such a strenuous endeavor? The picturesque village of Southwest Harbor was bustling, but off the beaten path we found a little white tent with picnic tables by the docks. We kicked back with sodas and couldn’t resist clam chowder and lobster stew with cream and sherry – oh, yeah!
Thus forfified, we ventured to the southernmost point of MDI to see Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and were disappointed that it was not open. A bigger disappointment was the swarm of people, to the point that the parking lot was dangerous. The masses obviously did not stay home.
Maybe an adult beverage and more food is called for?
The shops were closing back at Southwest Harbor (Sunday). We stopped at the Upper Deck, a nice vibe with a harbor view, so we settled in for a second round and dinner. As the sun went down, it got downright chilly.
We were not quite ready to retire to our basement home-away-from-home. We took another scenic route (okay, they are all scenic) hoping to find ice cream. And whadda ya know? Acadia Outdoor Center in little Seal Harbor has gelato! Yum!
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find
the harder I work the more I have of it."
~Thomas Jefferson
No comments:
Post a Comment