Fall Foliage In Acadia

Now that October is underway, I figured I'd share with you some photos of Fall foliage in Acadia National Park. It may not last long, but while it's here, it is beautiful. So get out there and enjoy it while you can.

The following three photographs are taken from the trailless Halfway Mountain as described in my off trail hiking guide, The Acadia You Haven't Seen.

These next two pictures are from the Beehive Swamp, also found in The Acadia You Haven't Seen. In the first photograph you can easily spot the abandoned trail that once skirted the picturesque swamp.

 

This next photo is taken from Enoch Mountain, that rocky knob you see from the Beehive Swamp, looking down at the swamp in all its autumn glory.

During the spring time, Bowl Stream is an amazing cascade laden brook with a number of falls. But for the rest of the year, it's a lazy trickle of a mountain stream. Once the leaves have fallen, the camouflaged brook becomes a highway of autumn colors.

 

The low lying bushes on Beaver Bowl ledge are some of the last to lose their leaves.

The foliage seen from the former McFarland Mountain ski slopes makes it seem almost arbitrary to visit any other time of year.

 

The creepy Stone Tower takes on an even more haunted feeling the closer we draw to Halloween. Walk this trail in the dark and try to convince yourself you don't hear footsteps rustling in the leaves behind you.

 

The wildlife seem to enjoy the colors as well. Some will even pose for pictures.

If I were a bear, I bet you would find me hibernating in Bear Den. And with the Park Loop Road being closed in winter there wouldn't even be any noise from traffic to wake me up.

The steep talus fields of Earthquake Ledge always look menacing. I'm not sure if the autumn colors soften its image or only make it more intimidating.

 

A bit of color going up Dorr Mountain in late October. I love the leaves that line the stone stairways like red carpets.

 

Well I think that's about enough fall foliage for one post. This is an excellent time of year for bushwhacking and seeking out old trails as the woods are open, revealing many of the secrets they once hid.

For more abandoned trails and forgotten places in Acadia National Park be sure to check out The Acadia You Haven't Seen, available now on Amazon in E-Book and Black & White format or http://www.matthewmarchon.weebly.com for your color copy today. Over 50 destinations including many you won't find anywhere online.

TRIP REPORT - Monument Cove (Acadia)

        Monument Cove appears on many modern maps, yet it isn’t mentioned in any of the trail guides nor is there a sign pointing the way to the natural stone monolith. Despite its inclusion on the map and it being located on the tourist filled Ocean Path, it is rarely visited. Only a handful of photos turn up on an internet search, most of them from the ledge above. After seeing the freestanding spire of granite, you’ll understand why it received its own chapter.

    Getting there is easy, parking on the other hand might be a little difficult. Along the one-way section of the Park Loop Road, just a quarter of a mile after Thunder Hole is the parking lot for Gorham Mountain. The tricky part will be finding a parking spot. Across the road, a couple stairs lead you onto the always crowded Ocean Path. Follow it to the right for just a few feet before a side trail takes you down over some roots towards the ledges. Once you reach the ledges go left and you’ll find yourself at the top of a shady ravine overlooking Monument Cove. There are traces of what might be an old paved path between the walls of stone, or perhaps they’re merely chunks of tar from the road above, but today it’s a bit of a scramble over the pile of rocks.

    At the bottom of the small ravine, the granite tower comes into view across the rocky beach. Unlike some of the other shoreline attractions in this book, Monument Cove is accessible even at high tide. After 250 feet of hopping across smooth rocks you’ll find yourself at the base of the 20 foot tall monument. You are able to get pictures of the granite monolith from all sides and even walk in between it and the rock wall it separated from long ago. This one is nice and easy to get to and although you’re directly below the droves of tourists walking the Shore Path, you’ll probably have the magnificent cove all to yourself.
  

For more abandoned trails and forgotten places in Acadia National Park be sure to check out The Acadia You Haven't Seen, available now on Amazon in E-Book and Black & White format or http://www.matthewmarchon.weebly.com for your color copy today. Over 50 destinations including many you won't find anywhere online.

TRIP REPORT - The Devil's Oven (Mount Desert Island)

       For as long as man has been on Mount Desert Island, strange lights have been seen coming from inside the ‘oven’, a ten foot high cave with a skull-like appearance when viewed from the sea. The native tribes were weary of the cave-like overhang, claiming it was a portal to the underworld. It gets worse. As a form of punishment, particularly against the white man invading their land and massacring their people, they would tie the worst offenders to a stake in the cave and let them drown as high tide rolled in. Deeming it a gateway to Hell, they were essentially damning the souls of their victims for eternity. Kind of makes you want to visit this place, doesn’t it?

        Along Route 3, heading towards Bar Harbor, just before arriving in Hull’s Cove you’ll pass the Bar Harbor Campground, followed by the High Seas Motel. Approximately 0.3 mile after the motel take a left onto Sand Point Road. Follow it for a 0.1 mile where you’ll take a right onto Degregoire Park. The road is narrow with very few places to park. If possible, do this in the off-season when the summer homes are vacant as to not disturb the residents.

        Follow the clear path to the shore. As soon as you hit the rocky coastline there will be a drainpipe spewing water onto the ledges, creating an interesting little waterfall. There are numerous potholes formed by waves at the base of the cliffs on your left known as ‘ovens’. The hollowed out shallow caves are located along the high tide line and are home to tons of neat overhangs and jagged crevices. Now keep in mind, you’ll need to do this during low tide or you’ll make it almost all the way there only to find the ovens submerged.

        After half a mile of walking along the rocky beach you’ll pass by an incredible private staircase owned by the Inn At Bay Ledge. Both Cathedral Rock and the Ovens are located on their property as well, so be respectful and if at all possible visit this one between November and April when the inn is closed for the season.

         Immediately following the wooden staircase is a protruding ledge known as Cathedral Rock. It was once a popular tourist attraction, complete with its own postcards. Today it is mainly visited by kayakers and patrons of the inn. Vertical fractures in the rock have been eaten away by the waves, forming a small arch. What we’re left with is a doorway, a passage through the rock ledge known as Via Mala, road to evil. Although this natural tunnel is only a few feet long, I’ll be damned if my heart doesn’t race while walking through it.

         On the other side of the passageway lies the infamous Devil’s Oven. Slightly deeper than the other ovens, it is tinged with an eerie aura. Strands of yellow sulfur cut through the cave walls, a chemical element closely associated with the depths of Hell, once referred to as brimstone. Coupled with the plentiful red and orange iron ore, the cave takes on a fiery appearance. If you look at the rugged rock outline from inside the ovens, you can make out silhouettes of faces, one in particular bears a striking resemblance to the devil himself. Whether or not the oven is a gateway to Hell is debatable but it certainly is a remarkable place.

For more abandoned trails and forgotten places in Acadia National Park be sure to check out The Acadia You Haven't Seen, available now on Amazon in E-Book and Black & White format or http://www.matthewmarchon.weebly.com for your color copy today. Over 50 destinations including many you won't find anywhere online.