More Acadia

It rained on me the entire night at Blackwoods. My tent is pretty watertight but a few leaks came through. The rains stopped by morning although it was still really cloudy and foggy. My first stop was Jordan Pond House. The house had a bunch of tables set up to look over the pond and is apparently nestled into a valley surrounded by twin peaks called the Bubbles. However, thanks to the fog I only saw about as far as I could throw a stone. It was oddly peaceful though. Further on down the road I saw a sign for the Bubbles and I figured if I couldn’t see them from the bottom then I would hike to the top of the darn things. When I got to the top of North Bubble the winds were whipping the fog around and what I thought was a stream turned out to be the edge of the pond and I realized how big Jordan pond was. I excitedly hurried over to South Bubble (less than a mile away) hoping that by the time I got there the fog would have lifted even more. I was rewarded by a stunning vista and finally saw the entirety of Jordan Pond. It was gorgeous. I’m so glad I hiked the Bubbles and the trail was really easy. I saw a sign for Pemetic mountain trailhead that started across the road. It was only .6 miles so I figured it would be the same as the Bubbles. Not in the slightest! The trail was marked by blue spray paint on a rock covered mountainside. What wasn’t slick, wet rock was slick, wet leaves. I even got to a point where I saw this sign.

Really!? Those are my only two options, ravine or ledge? I chose ravine because I figured if I were to fall my body wouldn’t have far to go. It was a narrow gorge, covered in wet rocks and moss and slimy ladders. I made it through that and then the trail finally had some stairs built around the rock. I finally made it to the top and was greeted by this awe inspiring vista. Obviously the fog and clouds that had blown off the Bubbles had blown over onto Pemetic. I was pretty angry at this point. Plus this was no loop hike and I had to go down exactly the way I just came. It was worse going down because I just kept sliding. I adopted a crab walk and by the time I got to the bottom I was wet, bloody and my hands were raw from constantly grating against rocks. Ugh. I hadn’t planned on hiking so much but with the clouds I wanted to give Cadillac Mountain as much time as possible to clear up. Cadillac is the highest point along the N. Atlantic seaboard at 1532 feet. This was my view

It was absolutely brutal. I ran along the trail just to say I did and tried to take pictures but there was nothing to take pictures of. I raced away in my car because the wind was blowing so hard I feared it would knock my car over. I had a heck of a time just navigating myself against the wind. I was done with the 27 mile loop road at that point so I headed over to the lesser known side of Acadia, the Schoodic Peninsula. It’s visible from the loop road but you have to drive 40 miles to get there. I made one quick stop at Somes Sound. It is the only fjord in the contiguous 48 states ( FYI a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity). The sun came out and it was beautiful! I didn't know what to expect from a fjord but it was lovely. The drive was warm and sunny but as soon as I pulled into the border at Schoodic, the clouds descended again. I didn’t mind as much this time because there were so few people. I saw maybe 20 people the whole time. Schoodic is just a 6 mile loop drive but it’s worth it. The rocks and waves were calmer and it just seemed a much gentler place. Of course this is where I harshly injure myself. I drove out to Schoodic point and was rejoicing at the sun that was coming out. I took as many pictures as I could of the sun on the water. I was walking along the long line of rocks on the coast when I went to lower myself down onto a rock and somehow slipped and slammed face first into a crevice. I somehow managed to not hit my face but my right arm and leg were not so lucky. I immediately sprang up (lest anyone who somehow saw think I fell into the ocean) staggered a few feet and then collapsed on a rock in tears. Dang that hurt! On the bright side I did manage to find a lobster claw to take home as a souvenir. I had planned to do one more hike and I did it despite my throbbing pain. It wasn’t as bad as Pemitcan but not as easy as the Bubbles. The rain started moving in just as I got back down and I headed out to find my campground. Thanks goodness I hadn’t made a reservation for this one. I had wanted to get away from Acadia to get a head start on my trip to Canada the next day so I found a campground along the way. Let me set the scene: it was dusk, raining, and the driveway was covered in rain filled potholes. There was a truck parked in front of what I assumed was the office. I parked, got out and went up to the door. It was dark and locked so I figured I’d just grab a site and pay later. I drove around the campground and there wasn’t a soul in sight! It was beautiful, being right on the ocean, but I didn’t see so much as a seagull. I debated the wisdom of staying. I figured since I just needed a place to crash for the night I would take the spot closest to the bathroom/showers since there was a light. I went to the bathrooms which were ok and then I peered into the showers and that’s when I decided there’s no way I’m staying here. The area was dark and there was no light switch only a thing that looked like a timer on the wall, there was an odd token thing in one that looked half broken, and the token thing in the other was disabled and had electrical wires spewing out of it. No way. I ran to my car and hightailed it out of there. This whole time, I never saw the occupant of the lone truck parked out front. I drove on to the next town and got a room at the Red Barn motel.There were actually cars in the parking lot and I saw an elderly couple so I figured I’d be safe. My room was actually really nice. It was huge and there was a sliding glass door that opened to a deck and a view of the river beyond. I really enjoyed it and would recommend the Red Barn (despite the overabundance of cats everywhere).

Acadia National Park

I wasn't expecting it to be so warm camping. I wore my Under Armour to bed and woke up in the middle of the night because the bottoms were cutting into my skin. Apparently I got too fat for my Under Armour. I stepped outside to go to the bathroom and was amazed at how warm and bright it was. The moon wasn't that bright but there was a glow to the warm air. The other mishap of the night was thanks to Vern (my cot). I enjoy him for his ability to convert to 6 different positions. However, I like to be in control of those conversions. In the middle of the night he decided to fall down into Position 5! After packing up in the morning I headed out to Bass Harbor Head lighthouse. It's the only lighthouse you can drive to Acadia. It was tiny and really cute. There was a little house and a lighthouse keeper still lives there year round with his family. My next stop was Pretty Marsh. It was beautiful. It's a picnic ground and there was no one else there. I scurried down the mountain to the rocky shores and it was absolutely quiet and still. All I could hear was the occasional sound of a loon. I could have stayed there a while but I still had to make it to the heart of Acadia. First though, I had to stop in Bar Harbor. It was a bustling touristy town. There was even a massive cruise ship docked off shore. I wandered along the waterfront and bought some blueberry iced tea and post cards. I was eager to get away from all the old people on tour buses. Acadia's main attraction is the 27 mile loop road. I meandered along, stopping at overlooks along the way. I parked at Sand Beach to do some hiking. In researching this trip I came across two insane trails in Acadia. Both featured iron rungs and climbing along cliff faces. I passed on the Precipice trail just because it was rainy and driving by I couldn't even see the mountain. I thought I could handle the Beehive though. It actually wasn't as scary as I thought. There were iron rungs nailed into the rock and I had to be very careful with the slipperiness from the rain but I relied on my arms a lot to haul me up. The views were incredible. I started heading back down the loop when I saw a sign for the Bowl. It wasn't too far away so I walked over that way. It was a really pretty pond surrounded by forest. It actually reminded me of Rocky Mountain National Park. I continued on to go back to Sand Beach when I saw a sign for Gorham Mountain. I had planned on hiking this anyway later but I figured I could come in from the back way. The views were amazing as well despite on and off rain. I finally made it back down to the loop road and decided to hike the Ocean Path down to Otter Point. The Ocean Path parallels the loop road and allows more opportunity to take some turnoffs and go play around on the rocks. At one point I saw people rock climbing down towards the ocean. Insanity! I also came across one point where there were washed up lobster points. This was the only place I saw them which I thought was odd. Thunder Hole wasn't very noisy because the tide was low. By the time I got to the end of the Path I realized it was a 2 mile walk back to my car. At least it was fairly level. Sand Beach was amazing because it is the only beach with sand in Acadia. I asked an older gentleman to take my picture and he asked where I was from and then patted me on the arm and wished me a happy trip. How nice. I hiked a lot but because it was around sea level so it was very easy. It started raining more so I decided to head to Blackwoods campground. I misread the map though and what I thought was a turnoff was actually a bridge OVER the road. It took me a bit out of the ways but oh well. Despite all the rain I had an amazing day. Maine just has this atmosphere that it so cool. The coast is rocky, the waves are pounding, the weather is temperate, the buoys are dinging, the foghorns are sounding and the loons are calling. I love it.

100,000 Miles and Counting

I woke up at the hotel and turned on the news and found out that there was an earthquake 10 miles north of the hotel. This now makes 2 earthquakes in 6 months that I've been through that I haven't felt. Dang it! Anyway, I got ready and headed out for the day. Along with National Parks, I can't pass up a scenic byway, so I planned to go on a couple and I found one that was only a mile long in Manchester, NH. Apparently I hadn't written myself very good directions because I ended up dead ending at some ball park in a shady part of town. Oh well. I struck out east on the Independence Byway and turned left when I hit the ocean. The New Hampshire coast (all 18 miles of it) was beautiful. I walked along the sand in the Atlantic surf collecting some shells. I took the Coastal Byway all the way up into Maine and the houses were gorgeous (although most were for sale). Very ritzy. Although the coast was beautiful the drive was terrible. It was a Sunday and there were tons of tourists walking and driving around. I like to avoid interstates though so I stuck it out all the way up to Freeport. I went over to the Desert of Maine. I knew it was a tourist trap and would cost money but I thought maybe I could get a picture for it. It was all fenced off and I just caught a peek through the gift shop. It looked like someone just bulldozed some sand in the forests of Maine. I left there and went to L.L. Bean. I knew Freeport was associated with L.L Bean but after going there it's obvious L.L. Bean OWNS Freeport. There's a hunting and fishing store, home store, bike and canoe store, retail store, and outlet store. I went through all of them and ended up buying a coat at the outlet store. I can't resist a great deal. I headed up Route 3 to get to Acadia. On the way, my car hit 100,000 miles. Ever since I started planning the trip I knew I would be hitting the mark somewhere on it so I kept an eye out. Such a milestone. It's kind of sad actually
Acadia was a weird park. Most of the parks out West were started as whole tracts of land but Acadia was cobbled together by summer people donating land. I kept waiting to drive into the park because I kept driving through residential areas. I drove to Seawall campground and set up my tent and had some dinner. It was still light out so I walked across the street to check out the ocean. I'd never seen tide pools before and I had a good time walking over the rocks and seeing what was down there. It was too cloudy for a good sunset so I went back and settled in for the night.

Kickin off Fall Foliage 2010

Well this is a first for me, blogging the day of the trip. The reason is because I am in a hotel. Don't worry, I haven't gone soft. I have an ever dwindling supply of discount tickets from Hilton so I decided I'd rather spend the same amount of money and stay in a hotel instead of a campground. I had an amazing first day. I headed out at 8am and before I even left New York I ended up on a dirt road. It turned out really well because I came across a covered bridge. After that I was on a roll and hit up 6 more covered bridges through Vermont and New Hampshire. The Henry bridge is a 127 foot town lattice truss. My next stop was really pretty. The Paper Mill Bridge went over a nice little waterfall.
Right around the corner was the Silk Road Bridge which is an 88 foot town lattice truss.
My next stop was the Molly Stark Scenic Byway but as I was driving through Bennington I come to a round about and in the middle is a massive stone tower. I couldn't even see the top from trying to crane my head around in the car. I decided it was worth a stop. I wandered over to a little gift shop to see what the heck this thing was and it turns out it marks the site of a critical military supply depot and is the tallest thing in VT at 300 feet. It only costs $2 to go to the top so I bought a ticket and rode up. The leaves were just starting to change. Vermont is the Green Mountain state and the mountains were really pretty but with the added color interspersed it was gorgeous. It was then that I fell in love with Vermont. One of my favorite movies is "Runaway Bride" and VT reminded me a lot of the setting of that movie. It's just so freakin quaint! Rolling hills, church steeples, falling leaves, farms...it's lovely.
Next along the scenic byway was the Hogback overlook where you can see VT, NH, and NY. I stopped by one more bridge in VT. It's a 80 foot long town lattice truss with a sidewalk added to it.I then crossed the border into New Hampshire. I saw a sign along the road that said gorge so I pulled off and saw it was a .7 mile trail to the Chesterfield Gorge. I thought it would be a good way to stretch my legs so I walked along. New Hampshire's motto is "Live Free or Die" so I was shocked when I saw a chain link fence and a railing along the trail. It wasn't even that deep of a "gorge". So much for that motto New Hampshire.
The covered bridges continued into NH. I had written directions to one but couldn't find the thing. I drive around Henniker but apparently my directions weren't that good and I didn't find the damn bridge. I finally gave up and drove on to the Rowell Bridge. Fun fact: A short time after it was constructed, a herd of cattle, driven faster than they should have been, moved the bridge off its abutments.My last bridge for the day was the Railroad covered bridge. This bridge is the oldest covered railroad bridge still standing in the United States. I actually waded out into a creek to get this picture. Downstream there were some kids on a rope swinging into the creek. Seriously, Vermont is like a postcard everywhere you look. What a great first day on the road and still so much more to see!!