Jaime wanted to get out and do some hiking and was itching to see the waterfalls she missed out on last week. And I needed to go back to the same falls because as it turns out, those were just the lower portion. The bigger Millbrook Fall was upstream a few hundred feet. I swear, I do this every time and always wind up needing to go back to every place I visit. So back to Acadia, before the big snowstorm hits tomorrow, kicking off second winter. The lower falls didn't have quite as much water as last week but they were still flowing hard.
We went up the old road a few hundred feet further and could see the upper falls through the trees. I had no idea what to expect as I've never been able to find any pictures of this rather out of place cascade but wow. It was not what I expected. Acadia continues to surprise me even after writing an entire book about its secrets.
The mile long stretch of abandoned road ended at another current road with a sizeable parking area so we decided to drive around and see if we could get to it without trespassing. And sure enough, we found our way and parked at the other end, turning the mile long hike out to the falls into a tenth of a mile hike. I went to other side of the falls and got some pictures from the rock slab beside the cascade. I later found out that this area is part of a preserve and despite its close proximity to some really nice houses, we are indeed allowed to be there.
My next stop was a crag on National Park land, just above Somes Sound near Richardson Cove. The trick would be finding a place to park on the busy road but surprisingly there were multiple pull-offs right near my starting point. But of course I picked the wrong one and had to walk a little longer than I would have liked down Route 3. And then I picked the wrong stream to follow. What, leave me alone, there were three of them all a hundred feet apart. Oddly enough I encountered a couple paths out there, one of them a road, another one a clear hiking path. I followed it a short ways but it was leading me in the wrong direction so I crossed a small swampy area on the ice and made it up the ridge I was looking for. A faint path led to the top where there was a beautiful but somewhat limited view. The trees were too tall so despite the twenty foot cliff, they were still in the way. I did get a great view over Somes Sound and the surrounding mountains though, namely Norumbega Mountain.
I could see more open areas up higher and down lower so I checked them both out. The ledges below were great but the powerlines kind of ruined the view. Up higher the trees were way too plentiful and blocked any view whatsoever, but there was an old hammock at the top which would have had an amazing view before the trees got too tall. And it turns out I needed to go about 300 feet further to hit the ledge I was aiming for. So, yeah, I'm gonna have to go back, like always. I doubt the view will be any more open from the next ledge but you never know. At least it's a short climb.
Afterward I checked out a northern cove of Somes Sound across the street. And the view from the shore might have been a little better than the view from the small ledge. So sometimes easier is better.
Our last adventure of the day was the Kittredge Brook Forest located behind MDI High School. We had a late lunch in the parking lot, chicken salad wraps with grapes, and hit the trails we didn't know existed. To be fair, they were only created a few years ago. I wouldn't have known they were there but I saw a neat looking ledge on Google Earth last night right behind the high school so I did some research, figuring it had to have a trail. It turns out it does. So after missing our turn and walking half a mile in the wrong direction, we doubled back and found our way to the correct trail. Normally not a big deal but the sun was going down and I got really cold in just my t-shirt. Just before reaching the ledge, there were signs telling us to keep out due to it being a waste water treatment area. There were sprinklers scattered all over the place that apparently spray the treated waste water throughout the forest. Yet that's clearly where the well marked trail went so we continued on, telling ourselves if they sprayed us with waste water, we'd return the favor and tinkle on them for revenge. Luckily there was no Bodily Fluid War of '18 and we made it to the ledge.
Again, some trees were in the way but it offered a nice view of Acadia Mountain, Beech Mountain and Western Mountain which is exactly what I was expecting when I spotted the ledge on good old Google Earth.
There was also a view in the other direction back towards the mainland mountains on the horizon.
We took the short way back down around the athletic fields and headed home. I could have maybe squeezed in another hike but with only 20 minutes of sunlight, not to mention me begin freezing, it wasn't worth it. But that's another two destinations for The Acadia You Haven't Seen Volume Two.
