BLOG - December Waterfalls in Acadia

Yesterday's storm made today perfect for checking out some of those elusive Acadia waterfalls. With an inch or two of rain and little sleep, due to the 65mph winds keeping us up half the night, we headed off after the morning rush. Power was out along Route 1A the entire way there, making us doubtful we'd be able to pick up the discounted park pass for next year (yearly passes are half off for the month of December at local area Chamber of Commerce locations). Ellsworth was completely dark so onto the island where they amazingly seemed to have power. We started the day with a quick trip to Breakneck Road as we still haven't seen the recently re-scultped falls in high water. Mission somewhat accomplished, the falls weren't raging by any means but much higher water levels than normal, the problem today was that the camera really couldn't see them. Bright sun plus leafless trees does not make for photographic cascades.

Onto Bar Harbor to the Chamber Of Commerce for a... sign on the door saying all out of park passes, go to Sand Beach entrance station. Man, I had the perfect parking spot too. So down Schooner Head Road to Sand Beach where they did indeed have yearly passes for only $35. The waves were intense so a quick stop at Thunder Hole was in order. We arrived just in time to see a massive swell blast into the air. At only a degree or two above freezing, we didn't stick around long.

Jaime sat the next one out as I climbed 330 stairs up the Emery Path, yes I counted, to a trailside cascade I've had yet to witness in peak conditions, as in every time I hike past it it's either a wall of ice or dry as can be. Today it finally happened. All water, no ice, and a whole lot of amazing. This one was left out of the Acadia's Waterfalls book because I didn't have an adequate photo, now it can take up its rightful place in the pages of Acadia's only waterfall guide.

From there we headed over to Seal Harbor to take the back way into Acadia's Jordan Pond winter entrance, you'd never guess it was there at the end of a residential neighborhood if you didn't know. We parked at the end of Stanley Brook Road and followed the closed portion of the Loop Road to the Triad-Day Mtn Carriage Road bridge. The one mile walk along the road in the freezing cold just to reach our trailhead had us eager to get to our next destination; a carriage roadside cascade I noticed on my way by back in October. It was just a wet cliff then but I knew if it was wet in the driest of conditions then it'd be something special after a little rain. It did not disappoint.

Quick stop at a carriage road drainage tunnel we spotted through the trees on our way by, what can I say, I have a thing for caves, natural or man-made. I had to climb up to check it out. Then a brisk stroll through the Wildwood Stables, all closed for the season, a first for both of us, and back to the car via the Wildwood gravel utility connector road. Two new cascades to grace the pages of Acadia's Waterfalls, the only question now is whether to add them to the current book or save them for the exclusive hardcover to go along with a few others that didn't make into the book in time.

With the sunset quickly approaching, I opted out of a longer carriage road trek towards Chasm Brook and went for a solo return mission along the Eagle Lake carriage road. A few years ago on my first trip up Conner's Nubble, a mountain I highly recommend, I noticed a dry yet intricate channel passing under the carriage road. I went back later that year after a little rain but the stream didn't live up to its reinforced streambed. So I figured I'd give it another try today, it was no more impressive this time. Maybe it just needs lots of water, like four inches instead of two. I will see this ledgy cascade with water rushing down it someday.

Even after the rain, water levels were still extremely low, I was able to walk quite a ways into Eagle Lake after the dry summer and autumn. We were off the island before the sun set, that never happens, but half of Ellsworth was still without power. Naturally it was the half where I hoped to shop, namely Walmart for bird seed and shipping supplies, Goodwill and an antique mall. Crews were still out repairing power lines and putting telephone poles back up. I guess we lucked out on this one, we certainly did not need a repeat of last year's powerless Christmas week. At only 5.5 miles today I didn't even break a sweat, unheard of for me, granted most of it was along carriage roads but still. And we made it home just in time to feed Nixy, our opossum friend, when she emerges at sunset for her breakfast.

BLOG - Last Trip For Acadia One's Revisions

Had a minor hive flareup last night but didn't let the remnants stop me, it was off to Acadia today to finish up the last maps needed for The Acadia You Haven't Seen Volume One REVISED EDITION, plus a few extra pics to brighten up the book a little. Started my day with a return trip to Brewer Mountain, hoping to map some of the old quarry roads, which meant a quick stop at the Stone Tower. There was a lot of new blowdown along the old road since the last time I was here, this past winter was a wild one.

Found a few old roads but too faint to bother mapping, I did stumble across a couple unofficial trails on Brewer Mountain I didn't find last time though. They both led right to the summit on almost the exact same route I took back in October 2016, and even offered a few new views I hadn't seen before including Cadillac and The Whitecap as well as McFarland and Youngs Mountains. Had to update the Summiting Acadia hiking guide too after that one.

Onto the Park Loop Road where Jaime accompanied me along the Red & Black Brigham Path, the first abandoned trail we had discovered back in 2015 while searching the side of Champlain Mountain for the Hanging Steps. Back then I didn't have a gps unit so I more or less guessed where we were on the mountainside, today we finally mapped it using my own directions from The Acadia You Haven't Seen. We found it with no trouble at all. Jaime stopped at the shimmering waterfall ledge after crawling through the boulder cave while I continued along the trail all the way to Enoch Mountain. I'd always lost the trail in the rockslide but today followed it all the way, skirting the base of multiple cliffs, one of which had a balanced boulder perched atop.

Followed the trail right into the saddle between Enoch Mountain's upper and lower summits. Enoch was actually the next destination on my list so this negated the need to make my way up The Bowl Trail, I needed some photos that weren't washed out with blindingly bright sunlight. Got what I needed before the wind practically blew me off the mountaintop, had a little trouble holding the camera steady.

Made quick work of the abandoned trail on my way back to Jaime and we walked back to the car for some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, already pretty sore and it'd only been 4 miles of hiking. But we set out on the Great Head Trail, stopping to check out the view over Sand Beach. It never recovered from the winter storms that wreaked havoc on the shoreline, shifting the boulders to the base of the staricase and the stram now runs along the upper part of the beach before cutting down the center of it. Well, I guess all those people online who were saying it does this every year and will reset before the park opens were proven wrong. I've seen Sand Beach in the winter before but it had never been altered that much before so I had my doubts it would return to normal.

Continued along the trail to the tip of Great Head where I carefully shuffled along the unofficial path that travels along the top of the cliffs. I knew I wasn't going all the way down to the sea cave that became the cover of The Acadia You Haven't Seen but I wanted the gps tracks for the route down. Whoa, okay, I remember it being an intense journey but this was worse than I thought.

And okay, that's far enough, this is definitely not safe. I can't belive I directed people here. But I made it to the teetering boulder that marks the route down. I did not climb down though, I'll have to take my own word for it that it's climbable without ropes and harnesses. We decided to leave the cave in the book since it is the cover after all but marked it as dangerous. The teetering boulder is located directly in the center of the photo but is hard to see due to it being the same color as the cliff.

After finishing the loop I scooted up the 350 foot long herd path to the Peak of Otter for the map and for some more pictures. Last time I was there was during sunset so the photos left something to be desired. Not that there's much to see from the wooded summit other than a few remnants of the old Naval watch tower.

Off to the other side of the island for some pictures of Fernald Cove for the Jesuit Spring chapter. All my pictures were centered around the spring itself with no photos of the cove, the marsh pond across the street or the little water spout that drains into the cove. It was even low tide.

Then onto something new to end the day before losing the sun. I had recently noticed a trail on an old map that climbed Saint Sauveur Mountain. After some research I figured out what it was, the Slide Trail, emanating from a now non existent road that branched off Fernald Point Rd. So I made my way up the Valley PEak Trail before starting my bushwhack. Within a few hundred I came across a giant rock slab with a cairn at the top and bottom, right where I thought it'd be. There were some fantastic views from the open ledges.

Followed the abandoned Slide Trail all the way down to the road where a long portion of it travels along the ANP property boundary line, what I believe to be the old road corridor. Lovely trail you can tell is still traveled by locals. This one will probably end up in a website exclusive book of trails and destinations that didn't make it into The Acadia You Haven't Seen.

And that marked the end of the day. I successfully got everything I needed for the revised version of the book. Now it's time to make the last few maps that I finally have gs tracks for. I'm kind of amazed I was able to do an entire book without them the first time around. We tried getting some supper at the nearby grocery store but they closed at 7 so with only a few minutes left open, all the warm food was put away for the night. Man, I was really hoping for that bbq kielbasa I got there before. And mashed potatoes. And mac and cheese. Now you've got me hungry, I'm gonna go eat.

The new revised edition is now available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2X35JS5

BLOG - Acadia's Park Loop Road Just Opened For The Season

Now that the snow has melted, again, I made a solo trip out to Acadia to get some of the last gps tracks needed for the maps in The Acadia You Haven't Seen's upcoming REVISED EDITION. I also needed to drop off some copies at Sherman's Book Store in Bar Harbor since they were running low and I had some extras at the house. I woke up a little earlier than expected and headed off, slightly disrupting the layout I made for the day since they weren't open yet by the time I reached Bar Harbor. The Park Loop Road just opened so I parked at the Paradise Hill Bridge and followed the abandoned Fern Trail to the Witch Hole Pond Carriage Road. The falls at the outlet of the ponds had a lot more water than I'd expected.

I made my way downstream along the remnants of the abandoned trail. I remembered it being steep in places along the walls of the ravine but erosion has washed away some of the hillside since the last time I was here, plus some new blowdown to work around. The main falls were a little lower than I'd remembered in the ravine and with the new erosion and blowdown, not exactly accessible anymore. With less water in the brook I would have been able to make my way down and rock hopped my way up to the base of the falls but today there was a little too much water.

Dropped off books at Sherman's downtown and then back to hiking. I needed to check out a couple old foundations along Cleftstone Rd to add to the chapter. I thought about scrapping the chapter in the revised edition but Jaime wanted me to keep it so I decided to hunt down the other foundations I hadn't found out about until after the first book's release. With vague directions I set out into the woods and quickly stumbled across the retaining walls of an old tea house. I didn't expect the area to be as impressive as it was.

Without leaves on the trees there were some nice views of the extravagant hilltop houses of Bar Harbor. The rocky outcropping the tea house once sat upon was quite rugged with broken boulders at its base surrounded by flat forest. I'm sure the tea house would have been quite the spectacle.

Continuing along Cleftstone Rd I found the driveway for the old Barberry Estate, complete with coping stones and even a small culvert draining the hillside. The long driveway looped through the open forest for a few hundred feet before arriving at the foundation.

I cut through the woods towards the old Archbold Estate I included in The Acadia You Haven't Seen, unfortunately all my photos were horrible due to being washed out on a cloudless day. And today was no different. Mother Nature must have been on my side because as soon as I arrived, the sun dipped behind a few clouds, allowing me to get a few decent photos. I honestly forgot how large the remnants of the old villa are, and they're much more enjoyable to explore when they're not covered in weeds.

From there I hit the Park Loop Road and parked at the first viewing area to make my way up to The Whitecap's massive western slab I found in 2017 for the first book. Luckily I brought my fanny pack with water and a sandwich, figuring I might have a late breakfast on the steep slabs. It was a steeper aproach than I remembered and not having anything to eat or drink yet, well, it was not a good combination. Had to sit on a rock once I reached the ledges and try not to puke or pass out. Good news, I didn't. Got the photos I needed with a bright blue sky backdrop and ate my sandwich enjoying the view.

On to the next viewing area where I followed Railway River downstream to Eagle Cascade. Not much water in the brook so I made a quick descent  without waterfall distractions.

Up the carriage road to the Eagle Lake Arches for gps tracks and some pictures over Eagle Lake on a nice day. Somehow every other time I've been to the arches the view was either washed out or rainy, making my photos look black and white. Even the lake looked gray. Finally, a blue sky day at the arches... And the mountains still look black.

But at least I got my gps tracks for the map and some more pictures of the unfinished foundation, I needed some vertical shots for the book so I made sure to take planty this time around.

Back to Railway River to search for the lower part of the old cog railway that ran up Cadillac Mountain at the tail end of the 1800s. I'd found the old corridor back in 2015 but never bothered following it very far. How close was it to the brook? Ugh, that was almost ten years ago. Was it- oh, never mind found it.

Stopped at the car for a quick snack and camera battery change, then onto the upper portion of the old railway corridor. I'd done it in small spurts before while exploring the incredible brook that runs beside it but never hiked the entire route. I'd never been to the large stretch of stone cribbing used to raise the land beneath the railroad bed before, it was quite the sight to behold.

The railway route was easy to follow in most places and not overly difficult but the ledges did get a bit slick on the upper portion. There were even some nice views up around the Skyline Falls of Railway River just a few hundred feet from the summit road.

I'd decided beforehand that the old Green Mountain Cog Railway would get its own chapter in the REVISED EDITION of The Acadia You Haven't Seen. In the original it was relegated to the bonus destinations chapter at the end. Back down the railway corridor to the car where I then made my way to the Fabbri Picnic Area so I could follow the old Otter Cliff Road. I'd been aware of it during the making of the book the first time around but didn't have room to add it into the overcrowded chapter. So this was my first time actually following the route of the old road. It would have been much more enjoyable had there not been an insane amount of blowdown.

The blowdown cleared up a lot later along the road, creating a lovely stroll through a pine forest.

The next goal was Day Mountain and The Triad but the parking area was closed, then the Park Loop Road was closed and rerouted through the Wildwood Stables, possibly on a maintenance road or maybe a carriage path. So those hikes didn't happen and I moved onto the Hunters Cliff Shore Path for gps tracks.

While exploring the cliffs below the old trail I met an otter who posed for some pictures and a video. I've seen them up close before, usually running away from me when I startle them on seaside ledges but they're always gone before I get photos.

I decided to follow the official portion of the trail all the way to Hunters Beach to make the map more accurate. This was my first time doing the entire trail.

From there it was on to Tilting Rock. Now this one I was not looking forward to. We didn't know how we found it the first time around, with no directions whatsoever, but we somehow left the old road corridor and stumbled upon the forgotten sea stack. I included it in the book with some poor directions, knowing I'd probably never be able to find it again. The search was on. I followed the old road for longer than I thought we did last time but had yet to see any sign of a side trail. Finally found a path and knew it was the one, I recognized the crazy rock formations along the cliffs.

I kept following it, recognizing everything I passed from last time, but I swore all this stuff came after the Tilting Rock sea stack. Ended up following a side trail up the cliffs heading back towards the parking area and realized that was the original path we'd followed looking for the Tilting Rock. Mapped it most fo the way for the book and made my way back to the original path. Finally rounded a cliff and looked up at the massive sea stack.

Continued along the abandoned trail, a portion I hadn't been on previously. It quickly joined another old road before connecting with the original old Route 3 corridor I first set out on. And I was only a couple hundred feet from the car. So last time when my wife and I first found Tilting Rock we must have wandered off trail and accidentally stumbled across the path later on. Turns out it's super easy to get to, you just have to know where to turn. Before it got dark I wanted to check out some possible roadside cascades I spotted on the map. With just enough sunlight left, I entered the woods and immediately popped out of the trees onto another abandoned portion of Route 3.

With no private property signs, I continued on, knowing I didn't have far to go if there were indeed any cascades. There were.

Not sure if this is private property but there were signs of a trail with some stone steps. I didn't stick around long, knowing the other side of the brook is private property but the falls were gorgeous, small in height but they almost spanned the width of the brook. And back to the car just before dark. When I finally had cell service again I called Jaime on the way home and she ordered us some Dominos. After just two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today and over ten miles of hiking, I was starving. Only one day of hiking left to finish up The Acadia You Haven't Seen REVISED EDITION.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2X35JS5

BLOG - Last Maps Needed For New 'Summiting Acadia' Book

The snow's gone early and I needed a few pictures and gps tracks to finish up the new Summiting Acadia hiking guide so we set off to Mount Desert Island. Met a little construction along the way with some poorly signed re-routes but we eventually made it to our first stop of the day, a little peak once known as East Knob. There was some confusion in the maps of the area so I wanted to get clarification before completing my own map. Jaime came along with me as we parked at Compass Harbor and set out along the Schooner Road Path. I got my clarification on trails in the area and Jaime wanted to see the summit after just editing that chapter in the book. We bushwhacked our way up the short mountain, she did great. I slipped on some ice we didn't know was there on the summit ledges and got a little banged up but what's a day of hiking without out cuts and bruises?

Jaime sat the next one out as it involved a buttload of stairs, Dorr Mountain's Emery Path. I'd made note of a possible cascade along the trail but have only ever climbed it during dry conditions. From East Knob we could see a giant patch of ice and snow on the side of Dorr and I figured that had to be it. After way too many stone stairs I found out that indeed it was. Only problem, there was more ice than water and with the sun shining directly on it, the pictures were horrible. But it does exist so after a heavy rain, oh I'll be back.

Carefully making my way up the icy staircase I did not come prepared for, I reach the upper falls which were even more frozen over.

Not wanting to follow the icy staircase down the mountain, I opted for the nearby Homans Path. It wasn't much better, but at least there were no cliffs below me if I did go a sliding. I didn't, thanks to some nearby trees, but I did unintentionally skate down one section.

And then it was off to another little forgotten summit we'd been to before, Little Meadow Hill. I needed to doublecheck some facts about the view and get the gps tracks for the map. Jaime accompanied me again and we made our way up the Beachcroft Path which felt more like a stream. Without the leaves on the trees, the traiside cliffs of Little Meadow Hill were visible and looking quite magnificent.

We left the trail and followed a herd path to the summit, a path that wasn't there 10 years ago so I'm guessing people have followed my directions to the forgotten peak. Our goal was the specifics of the northern view today, got what we needed and moved on. The view during stick season is fine but autumn is when you really want to visit this hilltop.

I needed a few more gps tracks in the area so we continued through the woods to the Bear Brook Picnic Area, along the still closed for the season Park Loop Road. We scoured the woods looking for any remnants of the old Robin Hood Park horse racing track that once resided there but between the picnic area and Jackson Laboratory, there really aren't many traces of it left. We did find an old foundation in the woods nearby though, maybe once a concession stand or part of the former campground that also existed there after World War II.

We decided to do the George Dorr Bicycle Path loop around the beaver pond. The corner under the rockslide was a bit wet from spring runoff so our shoes got a little soggy but we made a chipmunk friend along the way. From the backside of the pond we could see the Emery Path falls I was at just a little earlier.

Jaime took a little break while I went a short ways up the Bear Brook just so I could see it with actual water in it. For years I scoffed at the idea of calling it a brook when it was clearly just a dry rocky sluice cutting down the mountainside. It was neat seeing it with water flowing for once, made crossing a little difficult though.

On our way back to the car Jaime's dad called to solidify plans for their trip down to North Carolina to visit her brother before he ships off overseas again. I decided not to go, someone has to stay here and take care of the cat, he'd die of depression if we were both gone for a whole week. Not to mention all of our outdoor critter friends who depend on us, especially this time of year when there's no food to be had. We have chipmunks, squirrels, skunks and a oppossum, and woodchucks but they're still sleeping in their holes right now. (Really wishing I'd left Maine, we had 3 snowstorms within 10 days while Jaime was gone, all close to a foot of snow, but hey I got a lot of work on the books done.) Jaime tapped out for the day and I made my way up The Bowl Trail so I could map Halfway Mountain's summit. Nothing to see from there but it does have a flagged unofficial path that didn't use to be there, so glad I checked it out before releasing the book. It's a nice little side trail to the peak.

With so much water on the trails I figured it'd be the perfect time to check out the Bowl Stream, one I've followed many times but never with much water in it. When I could hear it from over 0.1 mile away, I knew the brook would be raging, I'd never been able to hear it on any of my past visits. It did not disappoint. I'd seen the lower ledge falls with a siginifcant amount of water but the ones just below the pond always looked more like the stream of drool pouring from my mouth onto the pillow after a long day hiking. Finally, there was actual water in the falls. I was tempted to continue down to the lower falls but I was running short on sunlight and still had to make it up Gorham Mountain before dark.

Back to the trail and over to Gorham Mountain, rock hopping across a few wet patches and then dragging myself up the steep section just below the summit. Around that 10 mile mark my legs just stop wanting to move. But I needed some more photos from the summit because of all my previous trips up there, tell me why I only had pictures overlooking the ocean. Why? There is a spectacular view of Champlain Mountain and The Beehive, plus Dorr and Cadillac. I was beginning to question if I'd imagined the mountain view. I didn't, it's real. Look.

See? Told you it was real. I hurried down the mountain, the sun sets quickly in early March and I didn't bring a flashlight. Jaime had dropped me off at the trailhead and parked up the road at the Gorham Mtn lot to meet me, making my journey a little shorter, right about now I was grateful for any eliminated mileage. I thought I'd have to come back to get pictures of the memorial plaque at the start of the Cadillac Cliffs spur path but there was just enough sunlight left in the sunset to light up the shots. 

Another minute later and I'd have been out of luck. I know it looks bright in the picture but that's just my camera messing with the lighting, this is what it looked like ten minutes earlier.

For the last few hundred feet I was barely able to see anything but luckily Jaime parked right in front of the trailhead and put on the highbeams for me. Had to be careful ont he rocky terrain, might have stepped in a puddle or two I couldn't see in the dark, but I made it bac to the car unscathed. Is it really a successful day of hiking if I don't come back to the car in the dark? Picked up some Burger King on the way home and had my first tomatoes, ketchup and bbq sauce in three months due to a spell of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (basically horrible hives from nearly all foods so I've been on a very strict diet that I'm just now starting to get off of). No hives after eating! Normally I'd be covered and my face would be puffing up so maybe hopefully I'm finally on the mend. Got enough info today to finish up the Summiting Acadia hiking guide. I could have used a few more pictures but daylight wasn't on my side. Great way to kick off the hiking season, even though I won't be able to move for the next few days. It's a good thing map mapping doesn't involve being on my feet.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYLJWYMM