BOOTPRINTS Volume 5 Issue 5 September 2001
Acadia National Park
"The Grand Tour"
A whorl-wind tour of every major hiking feature within the
Acadia National Park in Maine.
by John Klebes
They don't call them National Parks for nothing and as the only major National Park in New England, Acadia lives up to it's fame as the crown jewels of Maine.
Seventeen of us arrived at our basecamp at the Blackwood Campground on Friday afternoon. Our group camp site was a little on the small side and quickly took on the feel of a major expedition as we erected close to a dozen multi-colored tents and a screen house. As a finishing touch we hung the PVHC banner out to warn unsuspecting visitors of the terror that awaited those that might wander into our tent city.
After setting up camp many of us took the short walk down to the ocean cliffs to climb on the rocks and watch the sunset by the water.
The Beehive
On Saturday morning we started out on the famous "Beehive" trail. zigzagging up ledges, switchbacks, and near vertical rock faces. We scrambled up with the help of iron ladder rungs drilled into the rock. From our vantage point at top the 520 feet tall rock we had spectacular views of Sand Beach, Great Head, and Frenchman Bay. The waters of Sand Beach were a bright blue/green in the sunlight andthe view of the islands was fantastic.
We continued around the backside of the Beehive to a large mountain pond called "The Bowl"
and followed the Bowl Trail across Halfway Mountain to the Gorham Mountain Trail. As we climbed the ridge to Gorham Mountain we had vast panoramic views of the Atlantic coast. Descending from Gorham we discovered huge boulders and ancient sea caves of the Cadillac Cliffs before stopping for a lunch on the rocks. Our return was by way of the "Ocean Path" that follows the rugged shoreline from a little north of Otter Cliffs back to Sand Beach. Along the way some of us found spots to try out a little boulder climbing along the shore before reaching the famous "Thunder Hole" where the waves crash into a channel-like pocket in the rocks to create a loud thunder noise.
Echo Lake
On Saturday afternoon a group of us spent the late afternoon on the beach of "Echo Lake" swimming or enjoying the sun. Echo Lake is surrounded on one side by tall cliffs. As tired as we were it did not take long to realize the fantastic view that could be had by climbing to the top of those cliffs. Up the more adventures went via the Beech Cliff's Trail, a steep rock path that included four vertical ladders, to the top of the cliffs that towered over the beach.
The Grand Acadia Traverse
We got up early on Sunday morning for this was the day planned for "The Grand Acadia Traverse". The Acadia Traverse is the brainchild of Michael Lanza and is listed as one of the top ten Hardest Day hikes in the Northeast. The traverse covers the six highest summits in Acadia and zigzagges through most of the steepest trails in the park. Most of the time you're above treeline overlooking the surrounding ocean, islands, ponds and rugged glacial terrain.
For most of us this was our first trip to Acadia and I was glad to see all seventeen of us make the arduous, but awe inspiring, route to Cadillac Mountain.
We started up the Bear Brook Trail past a beautiful mountain pond with a large beaver house visible in the middle, to the summit of Champlain Mountain. Within minutes of beginning our hike we enjoyed expanding views of Frenchman Bay spotted with islands.
We then followed the Beachcroft Trail over Huguenot Head. The trail swings around the summit of Huguenot on a long flat ridge walk with steep cliff sides. As we walked 270 degrees around the summit we had more great views finally spotting route 3 below us in front of another mountain pond named appropriately "The Tarn" (ponds formed high in the mountains are called tarns)
Here we were high on Huguenot Head with a road barely a few hundred feet away yet we were towering above it. How could this trail possibly lead down to the road in such a short distance? Well we quickly found out. The trail dropped off the ridgeline by way of stone terraces and steps that switched back and forth and seemed built directly into the side of the mountain. The rockwork was a piece of art as we rapidly descended the granite pile of boulders.
We passed the side of "The Tarn" and headed up another steep trail up Dorr Mountain. From the summit of Dorr we had unobstructed views back toward Champlain Mountain, Bar Harbor, and the islands of Frenchman Bay. Looking forward we saw the crowds scattered over the summit of Cadillac, our next destination.
We headed down the Dorr Mountain Notch Trail, which drops into the rugged and distinctive notch between Dorr and Cadillac, and up the open rock slopes to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac, at 1530 feet, is the highest elevation on the Eastern seaboard.
Since Cadillac Mountain's summit is accessible from the park loop road there were a lot of non-hiking tourists joining us for our lunch break but it was nice to stop into the gift shop for some ice cream at the top of Acadia's highest peak. This first 1/3 of the 14-mile Acadia traverse was a difficult but immensely rewarding hike with fantastic views and terrain. I'm proud to say all seventeen of our party made it and probably saw in one day more then most people see of Acadia in many cumulative visits.
At this point some of our group left the summit by car to try out biking on the parks many carriage roads around Jordan Pond and Bubble pond our returned to camp. Eleven of us continued on descending the Cadillac South Ridge to the West face of Cadillac and steeply down to Bubble Pond.
The north end of Bubble Pond had a picturesque beach that looked very inviting as we descended the step trail to the water. Much to our disappointment a sign warned that the pond was used as a water reservoir and no swimming was allowed. We crossed the carriage road and headed up Pemetic Mountain. The constant up and down was starting to take its toll as we became weary during the midpoint of the afternoon. Finally make the summit we continued south over the long, rocky ridge before descending to Jordan Pond and finally to well needed rest at the Pond House Restaurant. We filled our water bottles and stretched out for a short rest on the beautiful lawns of the Pond House that overlooked Jordan Pond.
Two of our group took the convenient Park Shuttle bus back to Bar Harbor while the nine remaining members of the original seventeen pushed on to the final leg of our grand traverse.
We left the pond house by way of the Penobscot Mountain Trail, at one point climbing straight up steep and rocky terrain then over the rocky open summit of Penobscot. We then found the Sargent Pond Trail, which brought us to a tiny alpine pond nestled in a forest of conifers. From here we started our gradual, but constant, climb up the long ridgeline to the summit of Sargent Mountain. We hiked on large slabs of granite rocks and through alpine meadows but the constant up hill and many many false summits, Stephanie counted five, dulled our senses to the fantastic views that surrounded us.
The last section of the hike had some confusing turns but we all made it over Parkman mountain - not all off take the same route - and then down to our car for the return home. After a hot shower most of us found our way into Bar Harbor for a traditional New England seafood dinner. My fourteen-year-old daughter Stephanie said if she did the full hike I had to deliver on a lobster dinner!
The Precipice
Monday was a more open day with many of the group going to see different parts of the Island. Some went into Bar Harbor to see the shops and find a Island boat tour, others to hike the Great Head Loop trail and enjoy Sand Beach, and others to enjoy the park by horse drawn carriage.
Despite the difficulty of the long hike the day before I was able to scare up a group of seven brave souls to try out the famous Precipice trail. The Precipice trail to the Peak of Champlain Mountain is considered Acadia's most challenging hike. It traverses huge boulders, steep overhanging rock ledges, and many iron ladders with breathtaking views and perilous drop offs.
On our return from the Precipice we stopped to explore the hidden "Anemone Cave" at the Schooner Head Overlook. This mysterious cave is only accessible at low tide and while there were no sea anemones it was filled with iridescent plants and small crabs and fish in the tide pools and swallow nests in the caves ceiling.
The Park Loop Road
During the afternoon a small group of us took the 27-mile Park Loop road tour around the park with stops to walk through such features as Otter Cliffs, Otter Point, Sand Beach, the carriage horse stables, the Bubbles, Sieur de Monts Spring, and the Visitors Center.
On Tuesday we broke camp, and after a nice breakfast in Bar Harbor and a walk down to the docks to see the fishing boats, we took the long ride back home. Fantastic!!!