BLOG - Late Fall In Acadia

After Thursday's solo Acadia trip, I only had a few places left to visit in order to finish up the new Summiting Acadia hiking guide. So we made a rare Sunday trip together, it's usually too busy for our liking on weekends. We headed off around 9:30 and took our time for once. Got the paper printout pass exchanged for a card at the Sand Beach entrance station and headed out on the Bowl Trail for Halfway Mountain gps tracks. The trail was super busy, a never ending line of people but most turned to go up The Beehive. It may have only been a high of 44 but we got awfully hot and sweaty. Jaime waited for me on a nice sitting rock beside the trail while I made my way to Halfway's southern ledges.

I found the exact route I've used before and made my way up, a little harder than I remembered, or maybe I'm just out of shape. Great views from the top even though the foliage has almost completely passed now. It's fine, no photos needed, I was just there for gps tracks for the map.

My calf was still sore from hiking a few days ago, quite a bit of limping involved but it progressivley got better throughout the day. Going downhill was much easier. Parked at Asticou Terraces and limped my way up too many steps to count, after having a few bites of pizza.

Turned out the Thuya Garden road was still open so I could have cut out a few tenths of a mile but the Terraces are beautiful so I didn't mind. Made my way up Eliot Mountain from the parking area, a trail I hadn't hiked before. It was quite easy, nice little viewpoint by a monument below the summit, I even got to see a deer up there. By no means a grand vista but there was a little bit of a view.

Continued on to the actual summit and down the other side so I could try following my directions to the off-trail ledge with a view, I made it, my directions were spot on. But it was harder to get to than I'd remembered, definitely not for those inexperienced in bushwhacking, not because it was difficult but there's a steep downhill right before stepping out on the ledge.

Continued down the trail on a longer but very easy descent right back to Thuya Garden. This was the first time I actually explored the grounds a little, enjoying all the cool fences and wooden gates and even a few fall flowers.

Short drive over to the Hadlock Ponds so I could hike the Hadlock Brook Trail up Cedar Swamp Mountain. I got a bit chilly at times as the sun started dipping behind the mountains but with all the sweating I was doing, I was glad I didn't bring a jacket. No pack or water either, just my trusty Sawyer filter since I’d be hiking along a brook. Stopped for a few pictures at Hadlock Bridge.

The trail was rocky and rooty but surprisingly not too steep, even the final 0.3 mile that looked like it'd be straight up. Didn't need to go all the way to the top but since it wasn't nearly as hard as I'd expected, I continued up to the summit. The view from the top was great, the dark skies just before sunset made for some good photos.

I even went to check out the plane crash site again to get some better photos, last time it was bright and sunny and they were a bit washed out. The dark skies made for a much more somber and appropriate photos.

Stopped for a drink from the brook on my way down and made it back in pretty good time, about an hour up and under 30 minutes down. Got back to the car at 5:15 with some daylight to spare. Forgot my calf was even sore and amazingly no hives all day. I managed to take my pills every 4 hours so that helped. And that pretty much wraps up Summitting Acadia. I'm sure I'll need to go back in the spring for a few extra pictures but as of right now, the trails today were the last ones needed for the upcoming hiking guide.

BLOG - A Full Fall Day Of Hiking In Acadia

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.

BLOG - Winter Solstice Waterfalls In Acadia

With 1.25" of rain yesterday, on top of the snow and ice that was already coating Acadia's landscape, the streams were at their peak. Perfect timing since I had to go to Bar Harbor anyway to pick up a half priced park pass for 2019, unfortunately it's the shortest day of the year which meant I had to move quickly to get everything done. But first I stopped at Mardens on my way through Ellsworth to check out the toy section, picked up a couple WWE Retro series 3 figures since they'd be closed by the time I came back through. Then it was off to Breakneck Road which wasn't so much a road as it was a river. Breakneck Falls were raging, possibly the fullest I've ever seen it.

But the objective was actually a return visit to Fawn Falls, on my first visit, a year and a half ago, the sun was too bright, resulting in some less than stellar photos that won't make the book. The abandoned roads were about 90% water which meant tight roping on tiny strips of soggy land with numerous stream crossings that turned my hiking sneakers into watershoes.

Rather than go the way I'd gone last time, I decided to check out a nearby brook that I'd been meaning to visit. Its roar was audible from a quarter mile away. I can't believe I'd waited so long, at the head of a steep, tree covered ravine was a 25 foot cascade crashing over boulders, followed by two more ten foot drops directly above it. And still another drop a stone's throw upstream where the brook fanned out over ledges at the foot of marsh.

From there I followed the brook to Lake Wood which was iced over with a couple inches of water resting on the ice, creating some beautiful scenery. The temperature held around 55 degrees for most of the day with the sun attempting to peek through the clouds.

Around the shore of the lake, I could hear Fawn Falls long before I could see it, pouring down the final leg of its descent. The small stream overflowed its banks, creating a rock slab cascade beside the regular falls. The climb up the steep hillside was wet and close to impossible so unfortunately I couldn't get all the angles I'd wanted but the falls were quite impressive.

After a quick trip to Fawn Pond and back to the car, I got a pistachio muffin at the Hull's Cove general store and took a quick walk along the coast behind the Bar Harbor motels. I was searching for a seaside cascade I swore was there but I only remember it from my childhood so I may be a bit off, no waterfall, just a brook. I hit up the Chamber Of Commerce for a half priced park pass, luckily I had some cash because with the government shutdown, they didn't have the ability to accept cards.

The abandoned Huguenot Falls Trail wasn't running any higher than the last time I was there so I called it quits early on and made my way over to the Jordan Pond House. I planned on walking the loop road, closed for the season, to Bubble Pond for some unnamed falls. But last minute decided to scrap those plans and take the carriage around Jordan Pond. The temperature began to drop as I made my way through the low hanging clouds, moving as fast as I could with only 2 hours of sunlight and over 6 miles ahead of me.

The first objective was Deer Brook, which gets overlooked as one of the famous carriage road cascades but is just as impressive in its own right. I'd been to the falls five years ago but it was in the middle of summer when the brook was barely running, still, I could tell the falls would be impressive, especially upstream from the bridge. And they did not disappoint.

Down the Deer Brook Trail a short ways, the view of the bridge opens up with a cascade below it.

Above the bridge, the brook falls into a ravine in three separate streams, forming a spectacular amphitheater of waterfalls. For some reason, the trail is on the wrong side of the brook, obstructing the chasm of cascades from view.

I somehow made it to Chasm Brook Falls along the carriage road one hour after leaving the car, making it over 3 miles in one hour with a stop at Deer Brook. This was my first time visiting Chasm Brook as it's a bit of long walk to a typically dry streambed. The falls are incredible and much bigger than I'd expected but the sheer cliffs that border the gorge are too steep to safely make it down. The rain that started to fall didn't help matters any.

On my way back, I stopped at a side stream on a ledge I spotted along the way. The stream was too small to be anything spectacular but while exploring the falls I spotted cairns from the abandoned McFarland Path up Sargent Mountain.

With just enough daylight left, I made it back to Deer Brook in time to explore some of the falls further upstream. Why are these not advertised? They are absolutely stunning.

 

One after another, some visible from the trail, others too far through the trees to be seen.

Unfortunately I ran out of light, and energy, pretty sure I had to manually move my knees by my pant legs in order to get them to go up the wooden steps beside the falls. I tried to jog back as it started to rain on me but my steps were getting shorter until I think I might have been shuffling. And then I went to get into clean clothes in the winter restroom only to realize they're closed due to the government shutdown. Luckily it was dark and if there were any peeping toms around, they had tails and walked on all fours. We went to Dragon Fire Pizza in Ellsworth which was pretty good, loved the Cowboy Cheese Fries, then hit up a few more stores in search of toys, didn't find anything. Body's a little sore, feet are killing me from these messed up shoes, but man that was one hell of a day. Now that's how you send off the 2018 hiking season.

TRIP REPORT - Georgiana Falls & Bog Eddy

Bogs aren’t exactly appealing, even the word bog conjures up an image of a brownish pool of sludge. How many hikes in the White Mountains lead you to a swamp as the final destination? Are there any? When you factor in that there’s no actual trail leading to the remote area, you might question why I’m bringing you here. It’s still early in the book, we haven’t built up that kind of trust yet. When you’re standing at the water’s edge, you won’t question me a second longer.

Bog Eddy is located on a shelf on the western slopes of the Kinsman Ridge, situated between Mt Wolf and Indian Head, also known as Mt Pemigewasset. You might have seen it from the summit of Indian Head and thought nothing of the large marshy area. You’d never guess that this marsh actually has a better view than the popular ‘Native American Noggin’ itself. If you’ve ever ventured out to Georgiana Falls, you’ve seen the water that drains the bog. Like so many other great places in these mountains, Bog Eddy has been lost to time. Almost.

To get there we’re going to take the Georgiana Falls trail, located off Route 3 in Lincoln. To the left of Rodeway Motor Inn is Hanson Farm Road where you’ll find a gravel parking area just after the bridge. Park your car and go through the gate, bearing right onto the Georgiana Falls Trail.

The trails starts off gently as an old road, passing under the highway and meeting up with Harvard Brook in half a mile. The road is fairly eroded and wet most of the year but we quickly lose it as we continue up a more traditional trail full of roots, rocks and muddy areas to navigate around.

The hike to the lower falls is an easy one but after you’ve scrambled up the rock slabs beside them, the trail gets a bit difficult. Okay, that might be understating it. You’ll look up ahead like you want me to climb what, are you nuts? The trail can’t possibly go up there. But it does and I apologize in advance. This one is steep. Luckily, it’s only about 0.3 mile further to the upper falls.

This upper cascade is the actual Georgiana Falls you see from the interstate around the Lincoln exits. It’ll look like a tiny white line on the mountainside. A lot of people tend to miss this impressive waterfall, assuming the lower cascade is the main attraction. I also have a sneaking suspicion they took one look at the trail beyond the much smaller lower falls and decided that form of torture wasn’t worth it. This trail has been notoriously rough since its inception in the late 1800s, in fact many hikers began to assume that the 80 foot cascade was merely a myth and turned around before ever reaching it. You’ll know you’ve made it to the real Georgiana Falls when you’re standing across the deep ravine from a breathtaking cascade that’s so large you can’t quite see the bottom. This is where the bushwhack begins and in a rare turn of events, it’s easier than the official trail. Once you’ve climbed some boulders in a dry streambed to the right of the falls, I promise, it gets less intense.

On this side of the brook there’s barely any bushwhacking involved, we’ll actually be following a faint path that leads upstream to a series of cascades once known as Harvard Falls. In this waterfall enthusiast’s opinion, the first fall above Georgiana is more impressive than the lower falls many hikers wrongly assume is the main attraction. What’s even better, it looks best during lower water levels when the stream glides down a steep slab before freefalling into a turbulent pool. High water tends to take away some of the cascade’s character.

Just above the former Harvard Falls, we’ll leave the faint path we’ve been following and head upstream to another cascade that cuts diagonally across a rock ledge. Unfortunately, when the water is high, this fall is hard to get a good look at and when it’s low, there isn’t much to see.

When you’ve reached the zigzagging cascade, that’s your cue to cross the brook. Once you’ve found the safest route across you’re going to cut through the woods in a straight line for a few hundred feet. Bushwhacking this far from civilization can be nerve racking but it’s not as bad as it seems. In not even 0.1 mile you’ll run into a maintained snowmobile trail. Remember at the beginning of the hike when you veered to the right in order to stay on the Georgiana Falls Trail? The snowmobile trail you meet up with after your short bushwhacking excursion is where you would have ended up had you gone straight. You mean we just climbed up all that when we could have taken an old road that climbs gradually rather than straight up an eroded embankment using the freakin’ roots as a ladder?! Technically, yes, we could have but then we would have missed all the spectacular waterfalls along the way. I understand if you hate me now. But hey, our way was much shorter.

Once you hit the former road turned snowmobile trail, take a right and follow it uphill at a very gentle grade. In 0.3 mile the road passes a marshy area high on the ridge known as Bog Eddy. The view from here is truly something else, however, a few pesky trees get in the way from this vantage point so we’re going to continue along the snowmobile trail a few hundred feet further. You’ll notice a small wooded peninsula jutting into the swamp with a makeshift firepit at the height of land. Follow the strip of dry land out as far as you can, the drier the weather the better. During a rainless summer you can actually get quite far into the wetland where the view opens up before you. Rocky shoulders of Mt Wolf and the Kinsman Ridge rise steeply to your left, straight ahead lie the impressive cliffs that form the face of the famous Indian Head, and to your right is a stunning view of the dramatic Franconia ridgeline, complete with the majestic Mt Liberty and the slide-scarred face of Mt Flume. This view far exceeds any expectations I had for the remote swamp. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

     For the return trip, you have the option of going the way you came but we’re going to follow the snowmobile trail back to the car. You probably weren’t exactly looking forward to descending the Georgiana Falls Trail anyway. The snowmobile route is quite a bit longer at 3.3 miles and although there’s nothing to see along the way, it is much easier. You can also use this longer route if the water is too high to cross or yes, if you insist, I suppose you could use it if the close to vertical sections of the infamous Georgiana Falls Trail sound a little outside of your comfort zone. Whether you choose the short and tough route or the long and tedious one, the view from Bog Eddy is one you simply cannot miss.

(as seen in The White Mountains You Haven't Seen: Volume One, available now)