Hiking Acadia...Beech Cliff Ladder Trail/Canada Cliff Trail

Bill decided on this hike before we got here and I have been anxious about it ever since.  What's to be anxious about, you ask?  Well...Cliff and Ladders are two things I don't like hearing when it describes a hike.  Our favorite go-to hiking book about Acadia, A Walk in the Park, describes it this way..."the trail climbs the steep side of Beech Cliffs over ladders and steep terrain, so beware!"  Ugh, not my idea of a good time ;o(

The morning started out perfectly.

Good morning from Edgewater No. 6

We were actually out of the cottage by 9:30, very usual for us but rain is predicted later ;o(  After a short drive going the wrong direction, we quickly got back on track and reached the Echo Lake parking area a little before 10:00.  Our destination could be seen in the distance.

It doesn't look that bad from here.

No mention of ladders!

It was a short hike, only about 1/2 mile; however, it was up the side of the cliffs.  Initially, the trail was not very obvious and not well marked marked at all from what I could see.

We climbed steadily with the help of handrails and steps

Nice curved handrail

Seriously, who can use a handrail this size, other than Paul Bunyan or maybe Hagrid.

Now this is a little more like it, something I can wrap my fingers around until my knuckles turn white.

Not sure where that "old" hand came from

Views of Echo Lake were visible after a short time.

From here is was fairly steep but we were aided by ladders, long and short.

short one, 8 - 10 feet

long one, 18 - 20 feet

go Bill!

And then there were two.

waiting, waiting

We saw some interesting flora on our hike.

I love these teeny tiny ferns.

my favorite

There was even a nice place to sit and catch my breath.

I'm not really in pain, although it looks like I am

We reached the summit in short order.

Summit of the Beech Cliff Ladder Trail

There was a .4 mile loop at the top which we were glad we investigated because the views were well worth the time spent there.

Greening Island in the distance

Sand beach at the end of Echo Lake

New Keen hiking shoes scored at Marshalls for $30!

The skies cleared and the sun even came out for a few minutes!

Previously, we would have had to back down the ladder trail in order to return to our car.  However, at some point fairly recently, a "new" section of the Canada Cliff Trail was completed, so we returned to the car that way, a much better option in my humble opinion.

New section of Canada Cliff Trail

so many choices

That way or that way?

Help to keep our feet dry

We ate lunch on the beach of Echo Lake, cloudy again but not raining...yet.

The view at lunch 9.10.13

It was a good hike and I would do it again.  If you are terrified of heights, I wouldn't recommend this hike; however,  I get a little anxious hanging on the edge of cliffs and climbing long ladders but I felt quite safe on this hike.  There are plenty of handrails and cables to stabilize yourself.  It's a short hike with a decent return.

After lunch we rode our bikes along Lurvey Spring Road to Long Lake.  Unfortunately, one of the roads at the end is private and the other one is very steep and accesses private property. 

Cool gate telling us to "go away"

It appeared that there was a small path along the edge of the lake so I ran down and took a quick photo since it had already started to rain!

Nothing exciting, most lakes look the same in the rain ;o(

We walked our bikes back up the hill and pedaled our little behinds as fast as we could nearly 2 miles back to the car; we still got fairly wet.

Photographic proof that it was raining

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)