Bike, to Hike, to Bike Adventure.

Wendy and Dan planned today's adventure...bike, then hike, hike and hike some more, then bike again .  It was overcast, windy and cool but rather than cancel, if they were going...we were going along.

We left about 9:50 with a temperature of 57* and winds blowing at 13 mph.  We arrived at the Brown Mtn. Gatehouse at 10:09 under a light rain ;o(

We rode our bikes along the Hadlock Brook Loop.  First time I've ridden with a backpack, which I'm sure weighed about 50 pounds, since I brought along a lot of warm clothes ...just in case! At least there was some water at the Waterfall Bridge.

And the other side...

We rode until we reached the Parkman/Bald Mtn. Trail, although we weren't hiking either of those.  Go figure...

We secured our bikes to trees, changed our shoes and off we went - down the trail and across the road to the Goat Trail, our way up Norumbega Mtn.

It's called the Goat Trail for good reason!  It rises 600 feet in only .3 mile.

At least there are steps!

Serious steepness...

We were often hiking in a light mist, just enough to make the rocks slippery.

No steps here.

This rock seems a little out of place.

It took us an hour to reach the summit.

They are so darn cute ;o)

The view from the summit is obscured by trees (and fog, today) but about 150 yards further down the trail, there is a nice ledge with good views, or so the guide book says.

Pano view

We ate lunch here before heading down.  It was a long walk back, taking two hours, but better than going down the Goat Trail!  

Once we reached the bottom, we had to walk back along Lower Hadlock Pond in order to reach the Goat Trail trailhead, then hike back to the bikes.

It was nice walking along the pond, and once we reached the upper end, there was a waterfall and a nice bridge.  Good place to take a short rest.

This trail is quite shady and damp, which leads to some great lichen and moss.

Very white and soft to the touch

There's no way these pictures do the feeling of this place justice.  I told Bill it seems like a place where fairies live.

There was some strange growth on the trees, too.

This was the first time I hiked in bike pants and by now I felt like I had a pile of poo in my pants.  Not that comfortable...

We eventually made it back to the bikes and back to the car.  I couldn't decide if I should change from my hiking boots into my bike shoes for the final ride and although Wendy said "I'm pretty sure it's almost all downhill from here", I did change my shoes.  As it turns out...it was "almost all downhill" by Acadia standards, but it was most definitely NOT almost all downhill.  ;o)

It took us about 5 hours start to finish, including a 3.9 mile bike ride and a 3.2 mile hike.

From here to The Asticou Inn where we settled ourselves on the deck overlooking Northeast Harbor for a much deserved cup of soup, hot popovers and beverages.

Ahhhhh...great adventure, great company!

We followed Wendy & Dan into town to be sure they didn't run out of gas before reaching the gas station and got back to our cottage about 5:30.  We were pooped.

Watched the Red Sox until it became clear they were going to get creamed by the Yankees, then took a shower.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)