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 Days of Fall in Acadia

Still needed a few more pics for the revised Acadia You Haven't Seen Vol 2 book. We headed out a little after the morning rush and ate in the car. Traffic was lovely, aka non-existent. I ran into 1A Relics in Ellsworth right when they opened at 10 but nothing much for toys today, Goodwill had a few things of interest but all overpriced so off to Acadia for some hiking. The temperature reached 40 along the drive, perfect for avoiding the sweat. First stop of the day was a band of ledges on Great Hill located just above the West Street Extension and Paradise Hill Road intersection. I headed off alone on this one, knowing the fallen leaves would make the steep terrain treacherous, I was right, but luckily only for the first few hundred feet.

Grabbed a few acorns along the way for my chipmunk friends back at home. I managed to stumble across an old Great Hill trail which led right by the band of ledges and was amazingly easy to follow, I assume it pops out on the ledges where the glacial erratics live along the more well known abandoned trail. No time to find out, I had to make my way to the ledges where the views were as spectacular as they were last time, though most of the foliage has passed.

I followed the old trail back down, wondering if it would lead past the Sunset Hill ledge and sure enough, it went right by it. So I stopped there for a few pictures before meeting up with Jaime along the old road portion of the hike, I popped out of the woods right where I told her I'd meet her just as she was arriving, damn I'm good.

We headed over to the Bubbles parking lot again so I could do the lower portion of the Goat Trail without the rude sun washing out the photos, I swear, the nerve. The cloudy morning was perfect for what I needed. Managed to get a spot in the smaller, closer lot and I headed off alone again, this time I read my book before going so I found the old trailhead without any issues, it was right where I said it'd be. I'd forgotten it was literally a stone stairway all the way to the road. Got my pics of the staircase with the railing and even the old rungs on the cliff across the Loop Road since I could stand in the middle of the street to get my photos, can't do that in the summer. Walked back to the car along the road to save a little time and only met two cars.

We’d noticed a car go through the entrance booth at Cadillac so we decided to give it a try. No reservation needed since it's about to close for the season, so we headed on up and parked in the lot below the summit. I needed to get some pictures of the very upper end of the Potholes Path, but man did the wind make for a cold walk along the Cadillac South Ridge Trail.

A little over a mile to the Featherbed, it was dry as could be after a long drought.

I found the upper end of the Potholes Path with no problem, huh, I expected a bit of searching. The goal was a section of trail I believe was once known as the Great Snake Flats, for some reason I didn't have any photos of the broken ledges. So this time I took a bunch.

I don't actually have any evidence these are indeed the Great Snake Flats but the deep cracks in the ledges seem like the perfect place for a giant mythical snake to hide and hunt. I went a little further down the trail to the Old Leopard boulder before turning around and making a quick trip up to Dike Peak for a few photos.

I stopped at the Featherbed to sit on a log bench and eat my nutty bar. Then back up to the car for just over a 3 mile round trip, not bad considering it would have been well over 4 miles if I did the Canon Brook Trail like originally planned. Despite the cold and wind I still managed to find myself dripping with sweat on my way back up Cadillac, and possibly a few icicles.

Driving down the mountain was much more pleasant than walking in the cold wind, and it gave me plenty of time to hit the Otter Creek boat launch along Grover Ave before it got dark, there was even a large pull-off with plenty of room for parking. I got the few pics of the mud flats I needed and made my way along the nearby trail heading towards the Otter Cove Causeway. Not sure how I had no pictures of the trail but I somehow had none.

And back to the car, stopping to admire the view of Champlain Mtn and Huguenot Head from Grover Ave, a view I forgot was even there so that was a pleasant surprise.

With the last hour of sunlight, we made our way over to lower Hadlock Pond and walked out together. With all my visits to the scenic body of water, I'd somehow never approached it from the Brown Mtn Gatehouse before. And in all my visits, the sun always left the view rather washed out. Today wasn't perfect but better than any of the photos I already had.

The water was the lowest most people have ever seen it, not even close to making it over the dam. Which meant I got to walk around beneath the cement waterfall. The sun began setting, making our walk back was a bit chilly, but a perfect way to end the day.

We made our way off the island with rush hour traffic, which surprisingly wasn’t too bad, nothing compared to last time, it’s amazing the difference two weeks can make. Back in Ellsworth I stopped at Mardens to check out the toys they put out for Christmas, no figures I needed, don't get me wrong, there were a few good ones, I just already have them. Then Dollar Tree for a few groceries. No Walmart toy hunting tonight, I was sore and that's a big store to walk around. And if you were wondering, my infected toenail did fine all day. Ear infection still going strong but nothing I couldn't handle. And that wraps up the revised edition of The Acadia You Haven't Seen vol 2. (Note: Unfortunately my computer stopped working around this time and it took over a month to get the parts needed to fix it, just long enough to get everything off of it before it was gone for good. Mission accomplished and luckily I didn't lose anything when all was said and done.)

BLOG- Fall Foliage In Acadia

Perfect fall day for some foliage photos in Acadia, I still needed a few pictures for the revised edition of The Acadia You Haven't Seen Vol 2. All sun, no clouds, which doesn't make for the best photos, not to mention my ear infection and infected toenail, but I managed to make it work. First stop of the day was Breakneck Road because somehow in all of my visits, I barely had any pictures aside from the waterfalls. The photos sucked due to the sun but it was a beautiful day, 50s, no wind, and I was able to get what I needed for the book.

We headed over to the Otter Cove Causeway, where they’re still doing construction, but I was able to pull over, hop out and get the pictures of the trailhead and cove that I needed. My old photos were from a gray day, so gray they looked black & white. Ah, this is much better.

Next stop was Boyd Road, after doing the Loop Road for a ways where every lot was overflowing. I hopped out but the sign said the shooting range was in use, I'm sure it wasn’t but it seemed like they didn’t want people going that way. So we looped back around, parked at the Triad pull-off by the bridge and I set out on the carriage road for the other end of Boyd Road. I’d never been on this portion of carriage road before and stumbled across what might be a nice little waterfall after some rain.

Hopped onto the north end of the abandoned Boyd Road after exploring the abnormally dry swamp at the base of the Featherbed trail.

Boyd Road was gorgeous with some color in the trees, but mostly on the ground.

After a bit of searching I found the start of the old Green Mtn Trail up Cadillac, an abandoned trail off another abandoned trail. The goal was to get to the boulder section for some photos but with the sun shining through the partially leafless branches, I turned back before reaching my target, no point in going any further today.

I followed the unnamed stream down to Hunters Brook, climbing over tons of blowdown in the muddy ravine, losing the shoe off my foot at one point. Crossed the brook with some easy rock hopping, ignored the trail on the other side and bushwhacked up to the carriage path I started out on. Fairly easy whack through open woods with only a few hundred feet of steep uphill at the end.

And 4.5 miles later I made it back to the car. Since it was getting a little late in the afternoon we were amazingly able to get a parking spot at the Bubbles lot when a couple cars finished their hike. Jaime accompanied me on this one and we made our way down to Jordan Pond, which was as busy as it is on any summer day. Not easy to get photos without mobs of people in them but I managed to get a few.

I did not however manage to find the start of the old Goat Trail. I really need to start bringing my own hiking guides with me. I knew the general area but I just couldn't find it. It didn't matter anyway because with the sun beating down, the pictures I needed wouldn't be any better than the washed out ones I already have.

Well, I suppose it was a semi successful day. Traffic back to Ellsworth was insane, at times slowing to a dead stop. I swung by Walmart to get some carrot cake after wanting it all day for some reason. Oh and if you're wondering, my infections, both ear and toenail, did perfectly fine throughout the day. But I was admittedly a bit sore by the time we got home. After going through today's photos, I think I got what I needed and really, any day spent hiking is a good day.

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