Northeast Passage: Acadia National Park (Part II/II)
Oct 7, 2014 19:25:12 GMT -5
Post by GaliWalker on Oct 7, 2014 19:25:12 GMT -5
My "Northeast Passage" trip had begun with a glorious day of hiking and photography in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Now I proceeded to move further northeast to Acadia National Park, on the Maine coast, where I would spend two nights.
Acadia National Park... Salmon pink granite cliffs, fending off an angry ocean; rocks slabs, spearing into crashing surf. Sinuous lakes, nestling amongst dramatic, low elevation peaks, with a distinctly alpine feel. A blanket of mist draped over it all.
Sep 29: Cadillac Mountain, The Beehive, Jordon Pond, Bass Harbor
A surprisingly long 4.5hr drive from New Hampshire deposited me in Acadia National Park around 10:00am. Acadia is known for its sunrises, so my first destination was a drive to the 1,530ft high summit of Cadillac Mountain. My aim was to scope out shooting locations for the next morning. Unfortunately, thick mist cloaked everything, so I failed miserably in my objective. After messing about for 15min or so, hiking around the little loop trail at the summit, I headed back down.
My next destination was Sand Beach and a hike up The Beehive. The summit was hidden by a low cloud deck, but the conditions were dry. This was important, since the next half an hour to get up to the summit would have been mighty interesting if the conditions had been wet. An ingenious series of rock ledges took me straight up the face of the mountain. Iron rungs bolted into the granite provided the occasional helping hand. There was a bit of exposure; I saw a few other parties turn back about halfway up. The views from up top were magnificent though, and well worth the price of admission. From the summit, I looped back down via The Bowl trail, past the namesake lake. Stats: 2mi, 450ft gain, 1.5hrs.
The Beehive, from Sand Beach
With my hike done, I played tourist: after a late lunch at Jordon Pond, I finished off my day under the light of the beautiful Bar Harbor Lighthouse, just before a squall of rain descended on the park.
Jordan Pond
Bar Harbor Lighthouse
Sep 30: Cadillac Mountain, Bubble Pond, Hadlock Brook Loop, Schoodic Peninsula, Monument Cove
I woke up to rain. I knew my sunrise shots were ruined, but did my due diligence by beginning the day with a drive up Cadillac Mountain. Visibility up top was less than 30yds, so I left before dawn had even arrived.
I caught the first of the light at lonely Bubble Pond, which was a largish lake tucked between Cadillac and Pemetic Mountains. I had originally planned to hike up Pemetic Mountain, but decided to delay that to the next day in the hope of better visibility.
Bubble Pond at dawn
One of the touristy highlights of Acadia is a system of carriage roads. These are multiuse trails, where horses, bicyclists and hikers have to share. I had selected the Hadlock Brook Loop from my guidebook, mainly because it allowed me a chance to get up close and personal with a 40ft waterfall. I began at the Parkman Mountain trailhead, heading up the flanks of the mountain for a bit. Near the top I reached my waterfall; unfortunately it was bone dry. A little miffed I headed south for a while before looping back, past Upper Hadlock Pond. Not a hike I'd recommend, unless the waterfall is flowing. Stats: 3.9mi, 500ft gain, 2hrs.
Upper Hadlock Pond
It was only 9:35am as I headed off to the Schoodic Peninsula, which had been recommended to me by several people. The Schoodic Peninsula was about an hour's drive away. A loop road took me around the peninsula, right next to the coast. The scenery was lovely, so I made numerous stops to sample the beauty. I even tucked in a short 0.5mi hike to Schoodic Head; unfortunately, once again, mist blocked the reputedly fine views. Schoodic Point, at the southern most point of the peninsula, was the highlight of the trip, with a large expanse of pink granite slabs angling down into the ocean. Little nooks and crannies amongst the slabs were a lot of fun to explore.
Raven's Head
I finished off my day by heading back to Mount Desert Island, which forms the main part of Acadia. The dramatic Otter Point area was my destination. I waffled between Boulder Beach, just north of Otter Cliff, and the hard to get to Monument Cove, a little further north. I settled on Monument Cove, especially once I'd worked out how to get down into the secluded cove.
Monument Cove
Heart-shaped rock in Monument Cove
Oct 1: Cadillac Mountain, Pemetic Mountain
My final day in Acadia meant I had one final shot at catching a sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. No dice...the mist was as thick as ever, so I bailed prior to sunrise once again. Similar to the previous day, I headed to Bubble Pond. However, this time I didn't plan to spend any time at the lake. Instead, I was going to use the Bubble Pond parking lot to access the north ridge trailhead for Pemetic Mountain.
I began my hike at 6:20am, hiking in dull and lifeless conditions. At least it wasn't raining, as it had all of the previous day. The hike up the ridge was steep, much more so than I'd expected. There were even a few sections where I had to scramble up some boulders. Near the top of the mountain I broke out of the forest I'd been hiking in. Thankfully, the cloud deck lay just above me, because the views were superb: Bubble Pond to the east, Eagle Lake to the north and colorful mountain slopes all around.
The 1mi or so of my hike along the mountain top, hiking on granite pillows, amongst the mist, was right up there with the best of Acadia. I took my time wandering the summit area, before descending the south ridge. At the end of this trail I headed northeast on the Bubble and Jordon Paths trail. The final 2mi or so were on a gravel carriage road, but since this took me the length of Bubble Pond, the hike remained good. Stats: 6mi, 1350ft gain, 4hrs.
Bubble Pond
And that was pretty much that. After my hike I drove down to Massachusetts, where I stayed the night, before finishing off the trip with the drive back home to Pittsburgh.
Acadia National Park... Salmon pink granite cliffs, fending off an angry ocean; rocks slabs, spearing into crashing surf. Sinuous lakes, nestling amongst dramatic, low elevation peaks, with a distinctly alpine feel. A blanket of mist draped over it all.
Sep 29: Cadillac Mountain, The Beehive, Jordon Pond, Bass Harbor
A surprisingly long 4.5hr drive from New Hampshire deposited me in Acadia National Park around 10:00am. Acadia is known for its sunrises, so my first destination was a drive to the 1,530ft high summit of Cadillac Mountain. My aim was to scope out shooting locations for the next morning. Unfortunately, thick mist cloaked everything, so I failed miserably in my objective. After messing about for 15min or so, hiking around the little loop trail at the summit, I headed back down.
My next destination was Sand Beach and a hike up The Beehive. The summit was hidden by a low cloud deck, but the conditions were dry. This was important, since the next half an hour to get up to the summit would have been mighty interesting if the conditions had been wet. An ingenious series of rock ledges took me straight up the face of the mountain. Iron rungs bolted into the granite provided the occasional helping hand. There was a bit of exposure; I saw a few other parties turn back about halfway up. The views from up top were magnificent though, and well worth the price of admission. From the summit, I looped back down via The Bowl trail, past the namesake lake. Stats: 2mi, 450ft gain, 1.5hrs.
The Beehive, from Sand Beach
With my hike done, I played tourist: after a late lunch at Jordon Pond, I finished off my day under the light of the beautiful Bar Harbor Lighthouse, just before a squall of rain descended on the park.
Jordan Pond
Bar Harbor Lighthouse
Sep 30: Cadillac Mountain, Bubble Pond, Hadlock Brook Loop, Schoodic Peninsula, Monument Cove
I woke up to rain. I knew my sunrise shots were ruined, but did my due diligence by beginning the day with a drive up Cadillac Mountain. Visibility up top was less than 30yds, so I left before dawn had even arrived.
I caught the first of the light at lonely Bubble Pond, which was a largish lake tucked between Cadillac and Pemetic Mountains. I had originally planned to hike up Pemetic Mountain, but decided to delay that to the next day in the hope of better visibility.
Bubble Pond at dawn
One of the touristy highlights of Acadia is a system of carriage roads. These are multiuse trails, where horses, bicyclists and hikers have to share. I had selected the Hadlock Brook Loop from my guidebook, mainly because it allowed me a chance to get up close and personal with a 40ft waterfall. I began at the Parkman Mountain trailhead, heading up the flanks of the mountain for a bit. Near the top I reached my waterfall; unfortunately it was bone dry. A little miffed I headed south for a while before looping back, past Upper Hadlock Pond. Not a hike I'd recommend, unless the waterfall is flowing. Stats: 3.9mi, 500ft gain, 2hrs.
Upper Hadlock Pond
It was only 9:35am as I headed off to the Schoodic Peninsula, which had been recommended to me by several people. The Schoodic Peninsula was about an hour's drive away. A loop road took me around the peninsula, right next to the coast. The scenery was lovely, so I made numerous stops to sample the beauty. I even tucked in a short 0.5mi hike to Schoodic Head; unfortunately, once again, mist blocked the reputedly fine views. Schoodic Point, at the southern most point of the peninsula, was the highlight of the trip, with a large expanse of pink granite slabs angling down into the ocean. Little nooks and crannies amongst the slabs were a lot of fun to explore.
Raven's Head
I finished off my day by heading back to Mount Desert Island, which forms the main part of Acadia. The dramatic Otter Point area was my destination. I waffled between Boulder Beach, just north of Otter Cliff, and the hard to get to Monument Cove, a little further north. I settled on Monument Cove, especially once I'd worked out how to get down into the secluded cove.
Monument Cove
Heart-shaped rock in Monument Cove
Oct 1: Cadillac Mountain, Pemetic Mountain
My final day in Acadia meant I had one final shot at catching a sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. No dice...the mist was as thick as ever, so I bailed prior to sunrise once again. Similar to the previous day, I headed to Bubble Pond. However, this time I didn't plan to spend any time at the lake. Instead, I was going to use the Bubble Pond parking lot to access the north ridge trailhead for Pemetic Mountain.
I began my hike at 6:20am, hiking in dull and lifeless conditions. At least it wasn't raining, as it had all of the previous day. The hike up the ridge was steep, much more so than I'd expected. There were even a few sections where I had to scramble up some boulders. Near the top of the mountain I broke out of the forest I'd been hiking in. Thankfully, the cloud deck lay just above me, because the views were superb: Bubble Pond to the east, Eagle Lake to the north and colorful mountain slopes all around.
The 1mi or so of my hike along the mountain top, hiking on granite pillows, amongst the mist, was right up there with the best of Acadia. I took my time wandering the summit area, before descending the south ridge. At the end of this trail I headed northeast on the Bubble and Jordon Paths trail. The final 2mi or so were on a gravel carriage road, but since this took me the length of Bubble Pond, the hike remained good. Stats: 6mi, 1350ft gain, 4hrs.
Bubble Pond
And that was pretty much that. After my hike I drove down to Massachusetts, where I stayed the night, before finishing off the trip with the drive back home to Pittsburgh.