TRIP REPORT - Eagle Cascade & Eagle Lake Arches (Acadia)

     If you’ve ever been around Eagle Lake on the carriage road then you’ve probably unknowingly passed by an off trail waterfall I’ve nicknamed Eagle Cascade. You might have even heard its roar after a heavy rain as it sits only a hundred feet or so off the carriage path. Just up the carriage road a little ways lies something else you’ve probably passed by without realizing it; the abandoned ruins of Eagle Lake we’re going to call the Eagle Lake Arches.

    The most direct route would appear to be the carriage path but if you’re like me and hate walking on carriage roads, there’s actually a shorter, more direct and scenic route. On the park loop road not even a half mile past the road up Cadillac Mountain you’ll come to a scenic pull off just after a couple of cascades pass under the road. This is the stream that flows into Eagle Lake that you’ll be following. The parking area is on the right side of the road and has room for about four cars but most people are only there for a minute or two to take in the view of the largest lake on the island. The woods are nice and open which makes bushwhacking easy and quite enjoyable. The embankment looks steep but you’re cutting diagonally across it down to the stream so it isn’t bad at all.

    The Cadillac Mountain runoff winds its way through the pine forest, flowing over rock ledges and even roots at times of high water. Normally it won’t be flowing too strong which makes it possible to safely rock hop downstream. Its only 0.2 mile to Eagle Cascade but there’s a number of picturesque rapids and falls along the way, twice, because two streams travel side by side before joining forces just above the falls.

    You’ll hear Eagle Cascade before you see it disappearing over the ledge. It’s only about a ten foot drop but due to the fact that it tumbles over a sheer ledge it makes it a rather impressive waterfall even when there isn’t much water. Now after a heavy rain you wouldn’t even recognize it because of the velocity it pours over at. If you have the opportunity this is one you definitely need to see when the water is raging but truly is gorgeous either way.

    Through the trees a hundred feet or so you’ll see the carriage road. If you follow the stream you’ll pop out right at the little bridge most people think nothing of. Take a right on the carriage path and continue on it for 0.2 mile, crossing over four tiny runoffs, most of which will be bone dry. At the fifth and biggest drainage ditch of the bunch, also the flattest with the possibility of a trickle of water, look to the left. There will be evidence of a path here leading towards the lake which won’t be visible through the trees. It’s easy to follow and only about 200 feet long before you come to the ruins.

    Little to nothing is known about the remains of what appears to be the foundation of a lakeside house. I’ve read that after construction was started, new laws were put in place that prevented houses from being built that close to the town’s drinking supply. I’ve also heard that it had something to do with the island’s water filtration system much like the Stone Tower on Duck Brook located just a mile or two away, which seems unlikely to me but who knows.

    On my trip to the ruins on April 22 of 2016 my wife and I found what might be a clue as to what the curious structure is and why it’s there. Folded up tightly and shoved in between two of the stones was an old piece of paper. On the weatherworn sheet of moldy paper was a poem that reads…Here beneath the arches old, lie the remains of Mary Rinemold. Who built this shrine to mourn, a lover lost on the night of a harvest moon. To this day the locals believe he turned into a loon and you can hear him sing if you sleep beneath these arches… If the paper is legit then from what I gather Mary Rinemold was building this house in memory of her deceased lover but died before its completion and was buried beneath the stone arches. Of course I’m not sure of the validity of the poem and I haven’t been able to find anyone by the name of Mary Rinemold or any Rinemold in the area. Then again, why anyone would make up such a story and then hide it from sight is beyond me.

    Whatever the reason the stone arches were placed here, they certainly are intriguingly beautiful. The elements have taken their toll on the stone ruins but everything is still standing and actually pretty sturdy. I don’t recommend walking across the arches but have admittedly done it myself. Some of the stones are loose but the structure is surprisingly solid. The views over Eagle Lake are amazing with Connor’s Nubble and Sargent Mountain directly across the water and the Bubbles to the left. There’s some rocks just off the shore you can hop onto that offer a full view of the arches. If you explore the area around the ruins you can make out where there was most likely a boat launch as well as either the driveway or possibly the remains of an old road before the carriage path was built. We may not know much about the mysterious arches but there certainly is a different feel here, a feeling that makes me question if maybe the story is true. You’ll understand once you get there.

  
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.

First Acadia Trip Of The Year

    It was originally supposed to rain today like it always does on my days off but the showers ended up getting pushed back until tonight so we made our first trip of the year to Acadia. The park loop road just opened a week ago as did the carriage roads which opens up all of our hiking options.

    I woke up at 8:30 and started getting ready, loading up my pack and all that good stuff. Along the way we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for Jaime to get her ‘happy juice’ and we got to see a little woodchuck beside the drive-thru, then Shaws to pick up some lobster rolls. We gassed up at Irving in Holden hoping for some broccoli and cheddar bites but like always they were out. Luckily the Ellsworth one didn’t let me down, they’re usually pretty well stocked there, and I also got a BBQ rib sandwich and some onion rings. We like to stop at Mardens and eat in the parking lot there like we used to do on Jaime’s lunches back when it was Walmart.

      Our first stop of the day was to an off-trail waterfall I went to last year that we’ll call Eagle Cascade. Its not even a tenth of a mile off the carriage road around Eagle Lake but its not quite visible from the path so its rarely visited. But we hate walking along carriage roads so we parked at a viewing area and followed the stream downhill which is a bit more difficult but actually a lot shorter in distance, and much prettier. There are tons of small waterfalls along the way, giving it a very serene atmosphere. During times of low water, like right now, its fun to rock hop down the stream.


    Unfortunately, Eagle Cascade isn’t much to look at during times of low water. I was hoping to make it there during the snow runoff when it would be a raging torrent but with most of the park closed until late April and the fact that the snow melted months ago, no such luck. We’re going to try to make it after a heavy rain one day so we can see it at its full potential. But it was beautiful nonetheless. Its only about ten feet high but the water pours right over a sheer rock face making it a true waterfall.

    From there we walked down the carriage road a couple tenths of a mile to the abandoned ruins on Eagle Lake, a place I’ve visited a couple times, once with my parents and again with Brian and Stephanie, but never with Jaime. Just a couple hundred feet off the carriage road is what remains of a house that was going to be built on the lakeshore. It was never completed but the stone arches and pillars remain of what would have been the foundation. Other than that, nothing else is known about this mysterious location…  

     Until now. Jaime wanted to get some pictures and video of me on top of the arches. I used a small tree to help me climb the wall which is becoming fragile and starting to crumble. After getting some pictures of Jaime popping her head up over the stone wall like a gopher, a rock came loose. Beside the loose stone, I noticed a small crack in the mortar between stones. There was a piece of paper in it, folded up tightly. We figured it was nothing but had to get it out anyway, just to see because we could feel something special. Using a couple small sticks as tweezers, we managed to wiggle the paper out. It was a poem written in ink on old weather worn paper, giving some insight as to why the arches are there, a shrine dedicated to a lost love. This was truly an amazing discovery, though I'm skeptical of its legitimacy as I can't find any records of the names mentioned in the poem. It felt old but could be a geocahing thing perhaps.

   We jogged back along the carriage road and followed the stream uphill back to our car. Originally we were planning on exploring the side of Mt Champlain like we did a few times last year in search of the Hanging Steps. We found so many awesome places along the mountainside we wanted to go back for further exploration but Jaime was kind of beat after our first adventure. So we parked along the road and I took a quick solo trip to the Hanging Steps to make sure they were all still intact after the winter. They were as glorious as ever. I can’t believe we searched and searched for something that was literally right there. But all the cool places we found along the way were well worth it.


    Continuing along the park loop road we stopped at Hunter’s Head, a landmark on old maps that is hardly mentioned today. I first read about it late last year but never made it. After scouring the internet and finding practically nothing except for a couple cool photos, I figured today was as good a day as any to explore. With a rough idea of where to look, we parked at a viewing area and I walked down through the woods towards the ocean. It didn’t take much exploration to find what I was looking for. Beyond a recently fallen tree there was a small rockslide leading into a giant chasm that split the enormous rock cliff in half, the waves of the ocean crashing more than fifty feet below.


     While making a failed attempt at descending the giant chasm down the rockslide and jagged cliffs, I heard voices nearby. A father and his two daughters were exploring the area as well and informed me that it was indeed possible to go down into the giant chasm, they’d just come from there. It was nice to see a family enjoying nature without being glued to their phones. The tide was beginning to come in though so I’d have to hurry.


      A little free-climbing later I was at the base of Hunters Head, looking into the deep chasm. I’ve never been one for rock climbing but lately I’ve found myself doing it more and more in order to get to cool places and jaw dropping views. To get into the gorge required walking across some seaweed that’s submerged during high tide, which I hate doing because its so slippery but it’d been so long since the tide went out that it wasn’t too bad. Using the timer on my camera I was able to get some great shots of me at the mouth of the chasm. I just started using the timer function a week ago while taking pictures of my closet shelving system and I’m really enjoying it, it beats the hell out of selfies. The giant crack in the cliff was completely dry at the end of it where the water hadn’t touched in hours but with the tide rolling in I didn’t hang around too long. Its an otherworldly, rugged placed, kind of like Thunder Hole on steroids.

I found an easier way up the cliff, no free-climbing this time around, the way the family I met told me to go. Hey, I would have but I was short on time so took the most direct route. The ledges that make up Hunters Head are much more jagged and weather worn than the rest of the Acadia shoreline, giving it a more wild feel. I’d actually always wanted to explore that area after seeing it from Little Hunter’s Beach but being a kid at the time, it was a little too far for me to wander off to. After hearing about it Jaime decided she had to see it too. We took the easier way but while sliding down the jagged rocks she ended up with quite the hole in the butt of her pants. We joked about her butt-hole being torn the rest of the day. She didn’t quite make it inside of the chasm but got to see it from the outside and from above.
  
    Rather than drive through Bar Harbor, which probably would have been pretty quiet anyway, we did the rest of the loop road and got to see a couple deer along the way. One of them stopped by our car and posed for us so Jaime got some good pictures. I went to Mardens on our way through Ellsworth and got some snacks. And after smelling the ocean air all day Jaime decided she had to have steamers for supper so we picked up three pounds just before the seafood counter closed. Well, not ‘we’, I did, Jaime's pants had a huge hole in the butt that wouldn’t be appropriate to show off in the grocery store. We’re both a bit sore now but it was well worth it. A great way to kick off the hiking season.