Most of our vacation days at Acadia began with a morning hike followed by an afternoon paddle in our kayaks. This day was no different. Leesa got up to see sunrise, as she likes to do. She took a short walk to the waters edge and watched the sun come up. We ate breakfast and geared up for our morning hike.
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| Leesa's sunrise pic |
We got out on the park loop road and our first stop was the Precipice Trail to Champlain Mountain. Leesa didn't want to do this one, but she encouraged me to do it, so I willingly agreed. She said she would explore the area nearby and we'd meet back in a little while.
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| This hike is only for those who like exposure |
This trail has iron bars for the majority of the trail, and they are needed! People who are afraid of heights or exposure should not hike this trail. And don't force your kids to do this trail. I passed a young couple who were forcing their terrified little boys to do this hike. The boys were screaming in terror. I felt bad for them.
The trail gets progressively more difficult as you climb. I won't lie, I found my palms were sweating with a little nervousness as I climbed.
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| The trail is not too bad here |
With that being said, it is a thrilling trail though. I'm amazed that the park service would construct a trail like this. I would think that it would be a liability for the park. If anything happened to one of the iron bars that a hiker was relying on, someone could be severely injured.
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| ... a little worse here |
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| This shot captures the feeling pretty well as you climb |
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| The warning sign at the top. A similar sign was at the bottom |
It took me a about 45 minutes to climb the trail to the top. I was rewarded with fantastic views. It was another perfect bluebird day. I talked with a nice gentleman at the top. I ran into him again the next day on a different trail.
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| The view from the top! |
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| Summit signage |
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| Bar Harbor, with Bar Island and a cruise ship behind |
After a snack I was going to head due north, but somehow mistakenly took the wrong trail. I knew there were two trails headed northerly, but I got on the Beachcroft Trail which went NW instead of North. I didn't even realize my mistake until I reached the park road. It gave me a longer walk back on the road to where Leesa was parked, but it didn't take be that long.
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| Nice stonework on the Beachcroft trail |
Once Leesa and I were back together at the car, we went to the Beehive to hike that trail. I forgot the camera at the car, so I don't have any pictures from that hike. There are a couple ways up. I climbed the steep trail that once again had iron bars. This trail is almost like the Precipice Trail, but a little easier and shorter. Leesa looped around on the side trail and up the easier trail. where she met me on the summit. Great views to Sand Beach.
Following the Beehive hike, we went to Long Pond for a paddle. We launched from a public boat launch at the south end of the pond and paddled north to the tip of Southern Neck. The freshwater was a little warmer than the ocean, but not much. It also cleaned the boats up a little.
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| Kayaking northward on Longs Pond |
It was the perfect afternoon for a paddle. It was close to 70 degrees with light winds and full sun. Still, it wasn't the end of our day...
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| heading south |
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| Leesa, enjoying the paddle |
After we loaded the boats back on the car, we had just enough time to go to Seawall and the Bass Harbor Lighthouse for the sunset.
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| Leesa, with the full moon rising at Seawall |
We got to the Bass Harbor lighthouse with minutes to spare before visitors hours ended. We caught the beautiful sunset from this spot.
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| Bass Harbor lighthouse |
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| Sunset at Bass Harbor |
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| A historic lighthouse |
We were quite tired when we got back to the campground. We sat by the fire for about 20 minutes, and we were ready for sleep.
There are more pictures on my Picasa Web Album
here.
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| Precipice Trail and Beachcroft Trail. |
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| The Beehive Trail |
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| Long Pond |
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