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)