Hiking Cadillac Mountain

Sunday, September 20, 2015

There was a nice sunrise around 6:30 but it was overcast by the time we got up at 7:45.  

Wendy stopped over with our eggs from Keepin' It Local and our snack bars from Kim's Kitchen.  We decided to hike the Cadillac Mtn. North Ridge Trail after Wendy and Dan went for a bike ride.  We all met at the Hull's Cove Visitor's Center at 11:00.  

We left the Park Look Road at 11:16.

 

Wendy and Dan look so much more relaxed than we do.  For some reason, we remind me of the American Gothic painting...

We did stop several places along the way to take photos, because that's what we do.

Up we go...

Looking toward Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands.  It's turning out to be a nice day.

Taking a break and catching our breath.  Wendy and Dan are such good sports to hike with us, we are a lot slower than they are; however, we are a lot faster than we used to be thanks to our workouts at The Brickhouse Gym!

HA...I edited Wendy's thumb out but it's still there for some reason.  

We reached the summit at 12:34, found a spot out of the wind and had our lunch.

The View at Lunch

Wendy was totally disgusted that there was a gift shop and bathroom facilities on the summit of Cadillac Mountain ;o(  Although I could see her point, I did not hesitate to use the bathroom.  Then, to add insult to injury, we purchased coffees and a HUGE chocolate chip cookie in the gift shop.  We enjoyed our snacks while searching for the summit marker, which after all the times we have been on the summit, we have never looked for...

And the winner is...

DAN!

We took pictures at the summit before heading back to the car.

Two old farts on the summit of Cadillac Mtn. and we didn't use the car.

Turned out to be a perfect day but quite windy on the summit.

We even took a #BrickhouseStrong photo and shared it to Facebook for all the gym peeps.

#BrickhouseStrong

We were back at the car by 3:15, plenty of time to head to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea/coffee/chai. 

The outside seating was closed because of the wind so we were seated inside, along the corridor.  It was very noisy, the service was okay but the popovers were overcooked and the serving of butter and jam was very skimpy.   The price has increased to $10.50.

Bill and Dan bought t-shirts in the gift shop before we headed back to our cottages.

We met again at Little A's for pizza and to watch the football games, although the Patriots weren't playing.  We have eaten there before and really enjoyed the pizza; however, tonight's was not the best.  

Overall, a great outside day but a disappointment in the food department.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

The Bubbles and Jordan Pond Trail

T0day dawned cool and windy with high thin clouds.  We headed out around 10 (not bad for us) and it was 59* and really windy!!!  Thought we would take it a little easy today because tomorrow we will be hiking with Wendy & Dan and we didn't want to wear ourselves out.  After some discussion, we decided on The Bubbles.

This is a pretty easy trail, taking us only 30 minutes to reach the North Bubble summit.

Seriously?  How many times will I take a picture with my hand in it?

Jordan Pond was filled with whitecaps today.

 It was incredibly windy, very difficult to keep standing.

There is blue sky in the background but I have on three layers of clothes, including long underwear.

From here we hiked down for 15 minutes, then headed back up to the South Bubble.

This trail was even easier than the other one but it still took 15 minutes to reach the top.  The North Bubble is visible in the background.  We found a place out of the wind, had a snack and soaked up a little sun before we headed down.

It was all downhill from here, taking us 25 minutes to reach the car.

We drove to an overlook on the road up Cadillac Mtn. and ate lunch.  It was so windy that it blew our park pass off the rear view window and it nearly went out the other window.  Yikes.

We drove back to the Jordan Pond House and walked around Jordan Pond before having our annual popovers and tea.

Rock bridge at end of Jordan Pond

Stretching out and soaking up some sun

New wooden bridges at other end of the pond

Wendy and Dan moved into Cottage No. 8 this afternoon; we played SkipBo after dinner.  Bill and Wendy each won a game.

Thanks for stopping by.
;o)

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)

 

Holy Windy Batman

According to the weatherman, today was going to be sunnier (which it was) but not as windy (which it was NOT).  We hiked Cadillac Mtn. North Ridge Trail, which coincidentally, we climbed on this same date in 2004.  How weird is that?  It was a much nicer day in 2004.  According to my notes, it was 50*-55* with a cold wind on the summit.  Today it was maybe 45*-50* and there was a very strong, cold wind blowing the entire time.

We hiked uphill for 1 hr. 50 min., which is only 5 minutes more than it took us SEVEN years ago.  I guess we haven't slowed down too much.

This is where we were...overlooking Bald Porcupine Island

We were going up, over and past this... Looks like a long way

We ate lunch at a picnic table behind the gift shop.  We had on several layers but were still freezing.  The little weather station in the gift shop recorded 41* with wind gusts up to 26 mph making it feel like 31*.  No wonder we were freezing.

Cadillac Mtn Summit, 41* feels like 31*

I can hear you gasp and say "OMG, I didn't know she was THAT fat!".  As you know, the camera adds 10 pounds.  Add that to the 10 pounds of clothes I have on to keep warm and that explains why I look so fat.  That's my explanation and I'm sticking to it ;o)

There is something about stone stairs in the woods that intrigues me.

It was a beautiful day and it wasn't raining!  It took us 1 hr. and 30 min. to hike back down (10 minutes longer than 2004).   I guess our knees aren't what they used to be.  It felt good to get in the car and warm up.

We had the awesome popovers and tea again, which were wonderful as always.  The late afternoon sun on The Bubbles created a picturesque backdrop for our own little photo shoot.

Jordan Pond and The Bubbles

Another great day together doing something we love, hiking in Acadia.  We are heading home tomorrow but looking forward to next year already.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

One of my favorite places

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine.  It's absolutely beautiful!  Bill and I come here at least once a year.  We are a little late this year because of Wendy's wedding but just in time for the fall colors.  Well actually, the colors are a little late this year because of the mild temperatures at night.  That's about to come to an end, it will be below freezing tonight!

We got here on Monday, which turned out to be a fairly nice day.  It was warm enough to sit outside during the evening and we enjoyed a nice sunset from Cadillac Mountain.

Fog settling in the low areas

Love a good sunset

Tuesday brought rain!

Rain drops on the screen at Edgewater #6

The day wasn't a total washout, we went to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea, YUM!

Popovers, butter, strawberry jam and Earl Grey tea

The view was typical of the day.

Foggy Bubbles

Today was sunnier, much drier and a lot windier.  We discovered the Schooner Head Overlook yesterday and returned today for a walk along Schooner Head Path.  It's a 2.8 mile walk to Compass Harbor (and 2.8 miles BACK).

Schooner Head Path

It was an easy walk with a few uphills and a few downhills, but long!

Stairs to Compass Harbor

Schoodic Peninsula in the distance

We found a nice warm spot along the rocks and out of the wind to sit and enjoy lunch.

The view at lunch

  

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)