July 22, 2012 - Sunday we headed over to Sieur de Mont Springs and parked the car. We walked through the woods and around The Tarn, where we found a few dozen small frogs (and one very large frog) sunning themselves. Once we were past The Tarn the stone stairs started up the mountain. We both enjoy the Ladder Trail approach to Dorr Mountain, it’s usually a quiet, pretty, mostly shaded hike.

The frogs were out en masse at The Tarn this morning.

Once we got to the top we took a break to admire the view and enjoy the nice breeze before heading down and then up the saddle to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Along the way Louisa had an unfortunate run in with a rock; fortunately her ankle sprain wasn’t too bad, and the gift shop at the top had free antibacterial ointment (probably thanks to all the tourists at the top who would do silly things and run into rocks that they shouldn’t be climbing on).

The Ladder Trail does, in fact, have ladders.

We like Cadillac, but tend to think people should respect the mountain, rather than using it as a tourist hot spot.  If you are not a fan of crowds, we would recommend visiting early in the day. We didn’t stay at the top, and instead quickly headed down via the Gorge and Hemlock trails. The Gorge Trail, then back to the car via a wide, flat, carriage-path style road.

The saddle between Dorr and Cadiliac helps when hiking both peaks at one time.

We headed into Bar Harbor for a few hours. First up was lunch at Gringo’s.  We ordered two large burritos, one fish and one steak.  Each was excellent, as were the drinks – a local beer (good) and blueberry margarita (excellent).  They also had house made lemonade and ginger tea which looked quite good.  We would definitely recommend Gringo’s for good burritos.

It was time to unwind at Gringos after a long morning of hiking.

Next we wandered towards the ocean walk and wandered down the shoreline. This is also a nice way to avoid the mass of humanity that seems to populate Bar Harbor during tourist season. We each got a medium waffle cone from Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium. Tony tried a triple chocolate concoction, while Louisa got a scoop of Moose droppings (chocolate mousse with malted milkballs) and birthday cake (rich and creamy vanilla birthday cake ice cream with fudge swirls). All the ice cream flavors were excellent, and we were fortunate to find an empty bench in the town square where we could sit and eat.

You will find frogs around the many lakes in Acadia.

On the way back to the car we stopped at a local olive oil shop called Fiore Artisan Oil & Vinegar; they offer free tastings (though we passed since we just had ice cream), many different oils for sale, and hand-crafted Canadian bowls to put the flavored oils in. We picked up one of the little dishes, and can attest that it’s perfect for holding flavored oils (for dipping bread in).

I-95 is a good spot to catch a sunset.

Then we got on the road, stopping at a rest stop to get Quiznos. The traffic wasn’t bad, except we did lose time near the NH border, and about 40 minutes to construction once we were in MA. It seems the best time to leave is either around 4:15 (if you do stop for dinner), or 5 (if you don’t stop for dinner).

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July 20, 2012 – On Friday night we headed north towards Bar Harbor, Maine. Our lodging for the weekend was the basic but more-than-adequate Robbins Motel.

The Bubbles are easily spotted from Jordan Pond House.

July 21, 2012 – Saturday morning we headed into Acadia National Park.  Our main hike for the day was the Sargent and Penobscot Mountain trail, near Jordan Pond House. They reconfigured the parking lot since we’d last been there; now the parking spots near the Pond House are just for the Pond House, and what was once the overflow lot is available for long-term parking (i.e., hikers). We got there early so there was no danger of not getting a spot, and set out towards the trailhead. The new parking lot location gave us a chance to walk along part of the Jordan Pond shoreline before entering the woods.

Cairns are used to mark trails on exposed rock.

As always, the trail is a pleasure to hike. It passes through woods, over a carriage path, then up a steep, rocky, more technical section (we recommend you have your hands free for this part, and watch your camera on the rocks). The steep climb is rewarded with great views of Jordan Pond, as well as a nice natural rock bench. We continued up the trail, reaching Penobscot, then down to the bottomless lake which was calm and clear (and had frogs sitting on logs – Louisa tried to pick it up, when it didn’t move she gently poked it instead and it jumped into the water), then up to Sargent’s summit. There were hardly any bugs along the trail, and there was a breeze most of the hike, which was good since it was also fairly warm and humid for Maine.

The water at Sargent Mountain Pond was like glass.

We got picnic supplies at IGA, including lunch meat and sharp white cheddar cheese, croissants, and spicy BBQ ruffles (which were fantastic). We headed back towards the picnic grounds by Seawall Campground and got a table right by the ocean.  After enjoying our lunch and staring down an inquisitive seagull who appeared just about ready to jump up on the picnic table, we tried to find a bog by the campground. There was a bog/marsh type, and there was a trail headed through the woods towards Seawall. A few hundred feet in and the trail was overgrown, so we headed back to the car and towards Bass Harbor Lighthouse.

The clouds provided welcome shade on the way to Sargent Mountain.

Bass Harbor Lighthouse is still a functioning lighthouse and Coast Guard station; you can’t go inside the house, but you can walk on the grounds and along an oceanside trail. The trail is similar to the walk near Sand Beach in Acadia National Park, but slightly less crowded (partly due to the very small parking lot near the lighthouse).

There is plenty of beautiful coastline around Bass Harbor Lighthouse, and the rest of Mount Desert Island.

Time for one final mini hike of the day; our selection was Beech Mountain since we were already on that side of the island. We weren’t feeling like doing the entire hike, so we drove to the parking lot at the top. Then we set off down the wrong trail toward Canada cliffs. The woods were pretty, but the mosquitoes were brutal. Louisa got bitten by… something… that made the top of her knee swell up like half a baseball (we got Benadryl cream later on from the Hannaford’s in Bar Harbor; that seemed to help quite a bit).

We may have played “name that cloud” on the way up the mountain.

Once we were finally on the correct trail, we realized there was still quite a bit of climbing to do. Which prompted Tony to wonder if he was the only one who thought the parking lot at the top would be, well, at the top (he wasn’t). On the way up the rocks we got some great views, and heard the “danger” cry from two peregrine falcons. We also spotted one zipping overhead, riding the wind current over and down the mountain.

Be sure to take the loop around Beech Mountain to get the best views.

Beech Mountain is topped with a mostly unused fire tower; we weren’t quite sure how stable it was so we didn’t climb up it. (It was actually closed at the top, so we wouldn’t have gotten very far.)  Besides, there were plenty of nice scenic vistas from the solid rock we were already standing on. The trail back afforded some excellent views of Long Pond.  Although we could see some of the pond from the Perpendicular Trail that we climbed a few weeks ago, the views from Beech Mountain showed us how the pond got its name.

The fire tower at the top of Beech Mountain is closed to hikers.

Our last adventure of the evening was to find parking in town (which we eventually did successfully) and get dinner at Side Street Cafe. We didn’t have reservations, but it was late enough (after 7:00pm) that we were seated immediately. The appetizer special of that night was a pound of mussels, cooked in butter, wine, garlic, and a bit of chorizo.  We’d never had mussels before, and these were quite good – very tender, mild, and buttery.  As good as they were, we both agreed that 1/2 pound was about as much as each of us would want to eat.  The rest of dinner was also good, Tony had the lobster mac ‘n cheese (always a favorite), while Louisa had a great BLT with avocado (called a BLAT – pronounced “blat”) on focaccia with house made chips.  The focaccia also made the perfect dipping bread for the leftover butter from the mussels.

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July 6, 2012 – Friday night we drove to Bangor, Maine; we were going to camp the following night at Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park, and wanted to make sure we were there by the noon deadline for checking into the campground.

It’s been quite a while since we’ve been tent camping.

July 7, 2012 – Saturday morning we drove over to the Seawall campground, got our assigned spot and set up camp. We had a walk-in site of about 300′; it was set back in the woods, but still quite close to some other (very loud and rude) campers. If we go back to camp there, we’d probably try to get a spot closer to the ocean. Of course, it also depends who else is camping near you.

After setting up camp, we started our hiking at the Perpendicular Trail.

Next we got lunch at Quietside Cafe in Southwest Harbor. The clam chowder was basic but good, and the fried popcorn shrimp were excellent.  Now that we were fueled we drove on over to Long Pond for an afternoon hike up the Perpendicular Trail, and down the Razorback Trail. The Perpendicular Trail is almost literally named, consisting of stones stairs that almost spiral up a mountain. There are some great views of the lake from the trail, which eventually entures an evergreen forest. Once we reached the junction we chose to head down the Razorback Trail, based on a recommendation in a guide book. Normally this book is quite good at providing suggestions; in this case, we found ourselves climbing down a mountain side almost as steep as the one we had climbed, but without the benefit of stone stairs. Going was slow and tricky, and even once we reached a smooth rocky section the trail continued downhill at a pretty steep decline. We would probably not hike either of these trails again, given the technicality of the decent (and our lack of interest in hiking up and down the same set of stairs if we were to make the Perpendicular Trail an out-and-back).

The Perpendicular Trail is strenuous, but short, and offers great views.

After the hike we were ready for some relaxation over dessert. We headed back to our lunchtime spot in Southwest Harbor and got a slice of warm blueberry pie and a root beer float with vanilla soft serve. The pie was good, with wild blueberries, but the float was fantastic on such a warm day.

“We have to hike down that?!”

We drove over to Eagle Lake and headed down the carriage path going away from the lake. It’s a pretty mile walk, passing a beaver pond and winding its way through deciduous woods.  For dinner we stopped at the IGA near Seawall and picked up some supplies for a picnic at the picnic area across from the campground.  Lunch meats and cheeses make for a great picnic dinner.  After dinner, we bought some firewood, and went to the general store to pay for their showers, which are still just $1 for 2 minutes.

Carriage Roads and arch bridges go together like beer and peanuts. (Thanks Dr. Arthur)

Time for a fire, s’mores, a bit of star gazing (with a bit of a view of the galaxy cloud) and citronella candles to fight the growing mosquito population. Fortunately there were no bugs in the tent. And very few bugs outside of the campground, of course.

Nothing like a campfire to end the day.

July 8, 2012 – Sunday morning we tore down camp and got a breakfast of coffee and thick, hearty popovers with home made blueberry jam at the Common Good Soup Kitchen near the campground. The cafe is run by volunteers during the summer, and in the winter turns into a community center/soup kitchen/whatever the community needs. Definitely a cool concept.

You get great views of the bay and Sand Beach from the Beehive trail.

Our chosen hike for the day was the Beehive. We powered past some slower groups in the beginning part of the trail and eagerly began the climb up the large granite rock. We had fun on the ladders, and the views were fantastic, without a hint of fog. Once we reached the top we continued down to the Bowl and then took a new-to-us route up Champlain. The hike was fairly easy, and Champlain is just a pretty mountain to hike. It offers some great views, too, particularly down the south ridgeline back towards the Bowl. We continued back to the car via the quick Bowl trail (the shortest one). The path up Champlain was pretty quiet, too, so it was a nice break from the more crowded Gorham Mountain trail we usually take.

If you have some extra time, hike up the Champlain South Ridge Trail after completing the Beehive.

We enjoyed an al fresco lunch at The Chart Room; selections were chowder, house smoked salmon with capers and dill sauce, and fried fish and chips. The food was good as usual, and the windy view of the water was enjoyable (though we did have to grab our water glasses several times to keep them from blowing over).

Because of the traffic delays, we ended up catching the sunset on the road.

We headed out around 3:30 and caught some fairly bad traffic at the ME-NH border, beginning around mile marker 19.  Fortunately we’d already gotten dinner and Starbucks.

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