So much better at getting up early to start my hiking days than I used to be. Oh yeah, 6:45 baby, I used to struggle to be up by 8:00. Hives were kind of bad already, holdovers from the night that never went away, and now even spreading to my feet, but I decided I wasn't going to let that stop me. I needed some fall foliage or just better photos in general from a few summits for the upcoming book and fall foliage was already on its way out. Hives prevented me from going already so I was determined to power through, luckily they all faded to nothing along the drive. Hit the gas station for some breakfast on my way through Ellsworth before parking along the side of the road and following the trail to Cox Summit, known formerly as Blueberry Mountain. Despite an easy trail which is actually marked, it is owned by Bar Harbor's College Of The Atlantic and not advertised or shown on any maps.
Well, there was still some color but what little was left was definitely not showing up in the photos so I snapped a few pics before heading out, not able to waste any time if I planned on getting through the day's loaded itinerary. On my way back to the car, Jaime called to tell me about a mass shooting that took place in Lewiston the night before, 22 dead with the shooter still on the run. They considered shutting down the state until he was apprehended but ultimately decided not to. Shootings shouldn't have become so commonplace that we don't shut down over them but this is the world we've created. I continued on to the Park Loop Road and set out on The Gorge Path to see if the Hemlock Trail still existed, it's not appearing on all maps anymore. The leaves in the pine forest were beautiful.
I also needed to see if the Hemlock Trail was an easier way up Kebo Mountain if it did still exist. Yes it exists, good lord no it was not easier. That trail was so rocky it must have thought it was somewhere in the White Mountains. And then onto Kebo's summit which required not one but two ascents since Kebo is a twin peak with two nearly identical humps, both short, but I sweat equally on them so I wouldn't make one feel inferior. I'm sure they appreciated the effort. Looked for the side path to the overlook below the summit but couldn't find it, made it all the way to the ledges above the trailhead where there's a nice view of Great Hill yet still no side path.
I knew I wasn't crazy, I'd been to the limited viewpoint before and it was listed in multiple hiking guides. Well, I want my hiking guide to be as comprehensive as possible so back up Kebo I went. Mystery solved, the path is no longer marked or really visible and the old viewpoint doesn't have much of a view anymore. But I got a couple pictures and once again made my way down.
Explain to me why it's 70 degrees at the end of October. The fact there's no wind made the unexpected and unwelcomed heat even less bearable. But I moved on to my next destination which meant parking at the Precipice lot, yet not climbing the Precipice trail, though the view of the cliffs from below set behind the autumn trees was quite the spectacle.
My goal today was much smaller, easier and less known; a small trailless peak known as Cranberry Hill. So I strolled along the Murphy Lane connector path to Schooner Head Road.
Every time I'd made the extremely short trek up Cranberry Hill in the past I'd climbed the loose rocks and ledges just below the summit. I'd also oddly only ever done it when there were no leaves on the trees so my photos were beyond bland, they may as well have been in black and white. Today I opted for a different approach along the ridgeline, so much easier, and the color of the few remaining leaves on the trees made for a stunning view of Champlain Mountain.
Next on the agenda was The Triad. Last time I climbed it the sun was going down, rendering my photos pretty much useless. Not sure why but I decided to go up the hard way yet again and quickly realized it had indeed rained here recently, making the giant rock slab a lot wetter than I'd like. The fallen leaves and pine needles didn't help matters any but I stuck to the edge and made it up safely.
Oh now these photos are much better than last time. Turns out the view is better than I thought, now that I wasn't shielding the sun from my eyes and the camera. The mountains weren't just black outlines this time around.
Continued on the loop to the other summit where the surprisingly gorgeous views continued. Though they would have been better a week or two earlier when there was a little more color on the trees.
I love carriage roads coated in fall folliage.
According to the tide chart, if I headed to Bar Harbor right now I'd get there the second the sand bar to Bar Island became walkable. Paid at the digital kiosk, first time using it, not sure if 1 hour would be enough but I still had a few more hikes to hit so I had to make an hour work. Speedwalked my way to the island, catching up with the large crowd that had been accumulating, but quickly left them as I left the trail for the unofficial path to the backside of the island. Today's goal was the giant white boulder perched atop the back cliff.
Back around to the main trail, after first startling a family of deer, and down the former driveway to the ruins of the old estate. Got there right before a few other groups so luckily I got my pics without any people in them, phew, that wouldn't work for the book.
I was cutting it close on time but forgot to see how long the walk out took so I rushed back and made it with 10 minutes to spare. And there was a ticket on the car with the attendant just a few cars away. I told her there must be a mistake because I still had 10 minutes but I wasn't in the system, period. Apparently it prints a receipt or ticket stub or something at the end, maybe a number, mine never did, it just went back to the main screen after I assured it I only needed 1 hour and I assumed it was done. So let that be a lesson to you if you plan on parking in Bar Harbor, wait until you get your receipt/ticket stub. Went to the building the attendant sent me to in order to contest it, who sent me somewhere else who told me to call someone else whose message proceeded to direct me back to the first building, so I said screw it. I was pissed but I knew my wife would tell me it's $40, just throw it at them and leave (which she did later say when I talked to her), so I headed off to Southwest Harbor. I needed to hike Flying Mountain again because for some reason I only had 3 photos and none from the viewing ledges over Somes Sound.
The view from the summit was better than I remembered but for some reason I skipped the view overlook last time, must have been because I was with my parents and they oddly usually skip over the side paths. I was impressed by the view over Somes Sound, though limited, it was more northerly than the view from the ledges over Fernald Point but was probably better years ago before the trees began closing in.
Made my way down the backside into Valley Cove at low tide. The imposing cliffs and talus field were framed by the remaining foliage making for a lovely backdrop as I washed up in a small freezing cold stream. Man washing that sweat off felt good before a leisurely stroll up the old truck road to the car to end the day.
At least I planned on ending the day until realzing I still had a good hour of sunlight left. So I scooted up the road to Acadia Mountain where there was plenty of parking now in the empty lot, and I set out up the trail with a water bottle in my pocket. I ran at first, until my legs wouldn't run anymore, and eventually needed to be lifted by hand and placed one step ahead of the next. Through the trees I could see the dark pinks of an unexpectedly stunning sunset behind me. I pushed myself even harder, knowing I needed to make it to the first open ledges before the colors of the sunset faded.
Made it! Unfortunately I didn't have any gear for sunset photos but I got to enjoy it in person. I even sat on the ledges to take it all in which I rarely do, too busy moving on to the next destination for books and photos. In all fairness I kind of had to sit, it was that or pass out. But once my breathing returned to normal and my legs started working again, it was on to the summit for a few pictures needed to finish up the Summiting Acadia book.
Had to rush down because it gets dark quickly in the fall after the sun goes down. And it did but I made it just before needing to pull out a flashlight. Has it really been a day of hiking if you're not coming down in the dark? Hit the Southwest Harbor grocery store just down the hill to get some much needed food. They had beans & franks in the hot food section, not sure if they were anything special but to me they tasted like heaven by that point, the cranberry chicken salad was right up there with them. And they even had a special drink Jaime's been looking for so I grabbed one of those to bring home to her. Even got to see the moon peeking over the trees from the parking lot on my way back to the car.
Had a few bites in the car to tide me over and made the 90 minute drive home where I could eat comfortably. And shower, it was needed. No hives or heartburn that comes along with them all day, they finally popped up a few hours after getting home but nothing too crazy... yet. That time would come soon enough. Didn't quite get all the pics and random tidbits of info I needed to finish up the book but I came pretty close and managed to scratch a few things off the itinerary for next time. Despite the parking ticket, that was one hell of a day.
