Jordan Pond Trail 9.14.12

After beating ourselves up for the last three days (thanks to great weather) and knowing we had to head home later, we didn't want to get involved in a long, time consuming hike.  Instead, we decided to take an easy hike/walk today around Jordan Pond. 

The day started out very foggy but had burned off by the time we got into the park.

Can't tell where the water ends and the sky begins

The Jordan Pond Trail is a fairly easy 3.2 mile walk around the perimeter of Jordan Pond.  The path is quite flat and easy on one side, while the other side is more rocky, but not difficult.  We started at 11:00 (big surprise) and finished up at 12:55.  

The ecosystems along the edge of lakes, ponds and streams is very fragile and easily destroyed so many areas have raised walkways in place to protect them.

Viewing the Jordan Pond House from the other end of the pond offers a different perspective.

Can you imagine being the first person to find this spot?

One of my favorite places along this path is tucked away in a little cove not far from the beginning, if you go counter clockwise.  Since the path is constructed of gravel, there is a lot of crunching underfoot, but this section isn't gravel, so it's very quiet.

Today we spotted a really green frog, like a Kermit green frog and a good sized fish.

Of course, we ended our walk with a visit to the Jordan Pond House for our favorite treat.  Today was the first time either of us remember the umbrellas being open.

Umbrellas open for business

Popover, tea, butter and homemade strawberry jam

Did I mention that we LOVE the popovers and tea?  You get a big, warm popover and when it's gone, they bring you another big, warm popover.  Heavenly!

They even allow well behaved dogs.

A nice, quiet boxer.

I will sit here patiently and wait for you to drop some of your popover.

We had a great time and enjoyed the dry, sunny weather.  Can't wait to get back next year.

Looking back...2008

Thuya Gardens, Northeast Harbor

We stayed at the Llangolan Inn this time because there was no vacancy at Edgewater and found a nice beach down the road to watch the sunset.

Sunset from Hadley Point

 Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

 

B Day 9.13.12

Today was for the B's.  True to form at 11:00 we started by hiking/climbing the Beehive.  This is the fourth time we have done it and I didn't remember it being so scary for me.  The view of Sand Beach is phenomenal.

It's a pretty steep climb with several areas where you have to climb up iron rungs and one area you walk over an iron bridge.

Seriously???  Who thought of this anyway?  It can't be safe!!!  Can it???  I don't remember it from the last three times but obviously I made it across without incident.  Just as I was starting to hyperventilate and curse under my breath, some young guy came practically running up the trail, wearing crocs.  CROCS for crying out loud.  Who wears CROCS to climb up the side of a mountain?  I was kind of nervous sweaty hugging the mountain for dear life but nothing on this trail seemed to bother Bill.

Didn't even break a sweat

It was a perfect day with blue skies and warm temps (low 70's).  We reached the summit in about 30 minutes and stopped on our favorite rock for a snack.  The only complaint was the two guys behind us that didn't know the meaning of talking quietly.  BLAH.BLAH.BLAH.

Porcupine Islands

Schoodic Point

From here we headed down the hill to The Bowl, a beautiful pond hidden in the woods.

The Bowl with Champlain Mtn. in the background

This could be one of my favorite places.  There are several places where you can sit and relax around the edge.  Because many of the lakes/ponds are part of the public water supply, this is one of the few ponds in which one can swim.  So bring along a towel and take a dip.  The closest we got to getting wet was the year I dropped my sunglasses into the water.  Oops ;o(  Luckily it was shallow and Mr. Bill rescued them for me ;o)

Generally, from here we hike to the summit of Gorham Mtn, then down the other side to the Park Loop Road and walk back along the Ocean Path.  However, today we decided to return via The Bowl Trail, which is much shorter so we could spend some time sitting in the sun and reading.

We were back to the trailhead by 1:00.  We walked down to Sand Beach to find a rather strong, cool breeze coming off the water, which explained why there weren't many people on the beach, although the parking lot was full.

We drove a little way down the Park Loop Road, parked the car in a lot, took our lunch, books and chairs across the road to the pink granite shoreline, where we spent a couple of hours just sitting and enjoying the surf (maybe taking a little snooze).  It was perfect!

We skipped the J.P.H. today and went into town, where we walked around, window shopped (Bill found himself a new pit bull t-shirt) and got a pizza at Little Anthony's.  

We couldn't have asked for better weather the past three days, highly unusual for us.

It only makes sense for Wendy Bee to climb the Beehive with her man, Dan. 

A look back...June, 2006

Northeast Harbor

 Asticou Terrace gardens...

We went twice that year, June and September.

Obligatory photo on top of The Beehive

Full moon over Cadillac Mtn.

Fog moving in over Porcupine Islands

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Carriage Trails 9.12.12

Another beautiful day today, although the sky was a milkier blue than yesterday.  After all that hiking yesterday, we decided to ride our bikes today.  We started at the Jordan Pond House and rode UPHILL for what seemed like a long time but it gave us a great view of Jordan Pond that we couldn't get anywhere else.

Overlooking Jordan Pond from the carriage road

We took the loop around Jordan Pond and combined it with the loop around Eagle Lake and Bubble Pond.  I didn't take time to figure out how far it was but we rode off and on for about three hours.  The trails are seldom flat but the downhills make the uphills worth it; well, almost worth it.

We found ourselves a great spot in the sun and stopped along the edge of Eagle Lake for a snack and potty break.  We used the nearby restroom for the potty break ;o)

Pemetic Mtn. in the center, Sargent Mtn. on the right

After continuing around Eagle Lake we rode another half hour and stopped at Bubble Pond for lunch.

The perfect bench to soak up the sun and have some lunch

Another thirty-five minutes and we landed back at the J.P.H. for popovers and tea.  Unfortunately, we had the worst service we have ever experienced while there.  It was a good 15 minutes before our server even made contact with us.  However, we enjoyed our treat, the sun and scenery as much as we always do.

We returned to our cottage and sat outside in the sun until it went behind the trees, changed and headed into town to use our Groupon at The Fish House Grill.  We've had the Groupon for so long I can't remember how much we paid but we enjoyed a very good meal.

Lobster Bisque

Maine lobster and fresh green beans

I don't think I have ever ordered a lobster dinner so it was quite an experience but as I said, very good.  Bill had the same, as the Groupon was for lobster dinner for two, but he had red potatoes.  We each had a ginger ale and cranberry juice and received a bill for $5.75.  SWEET!  We did leave our waitress a generous tip.

We walked up the street to check out a restaurant Wendy & Dan are considering for their anniversary, LaBellaVita.  It seemed to have a nice atmosphere and included an outside patio which would be great on a warm night like tonight.  The dinner meals averaged $25/$30 and it appeared to be reasonably busy. 

We are very seldom in the town of Bar Harbor at night but it was kind of fun.

It was a very full day.

Looking back...2005

Day Mtn. summit

The only carriage road that goes to a summit is the Day Mtn. road.

I was thinner then...

Carriage road up Day Mtn.

Eagle Lake from the summit of Connor's Nubble, off the carriage road

Sunset reflected in Eagle Lake off the road up Cadillac Mtn.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Dorr Mtn. Ladder Trail 9.11.12

Woke up to a spectacular morning...

Not a cloud in the sky

We are I am not an early morning person so we don't get started at the crack of dawn; however, we are usually starting our hike or ride by 11:00.  This morning we were parked and ready to hit the Dorr Mtn. Ladder Trail by 10:45.  Our guidebook calls this climb "strenuous" with a technical challenge of "difficult".  Oh well, we've been thinking of doing this for a few years and I'm beginning to find that the books make all the climbs sound worse than they really are.  So off we go.

We stopped several times on the way up to catch our breath.  We aren't as young as we used to be ;o) Although the book says 1 hr. 20 min. we made it to the summit in 1 hr. 35 min. and that counts me stopping to change out of my long pants into shorts.

Catching our breath

 It's not called the "Ladder Trail" for nothing.

There were only three ladders but I thought this one was the worst because the rungs were up against the rock with no room for your feet.

The summit was chilly because of the wind but we found a nice spot in the sun, out of the wind for lunch after taking the "summit" photos.

Dorr Mtn. summit

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not very flattering but it's not that easy finding a flat rock on which to set the camera

We spent 20 minutes soaking up the sun then decided to try the South Ridge Trail down rather than backtracking.  The book says "the trail can become difficult to follow".  Great!  I tend to be a cry baby, scaredy cat, the most cautious of the two of us so I'm thinking this is a baaaaaaad idea.  What if we get lost?  I don't have enough clothes to keep me warm overnight!  I'm afraid of the dark!  "Okay, we can try it if you want".  

Cranberry Islands to the right

Porcupine Islands to the left

The trail was very well marked with cairns as well as blue paint so there was really no chance of getting lost.  It was quite steep in several areas and I noted that none of the guide books suggested going UP this way. 

Once we got to the bottom we had to walk back about a mile on a fairly flat path through the woods.

Raised trail through the wet areas

Beaver Dam

We couldn't wait to get to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea on the lawn.

The Bubbles and Jordan Pond

We took a walk around the path at the top of Cadillac Mtn. but were too early for the sunset so we headed "home" where we sat outside and enjoyed the perfect evening, including a pink sky reflected in the water along Salisbury Cove.

Pink sky at night

Looking back...2004

Kurt Diederich's Climb up Dorr Mtn.

Porcupine Islands in the fog

Not such a nice day in 2004

The Beehive...highly recommend this one

 Today's out take...

One of us needs longer arms

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)