It's All About Plan B

Got up early in order to get a parking space so we could hike the Cadillac North Ridge Trail.  Apparently, you need to get up at the crack of dawn in order to park in the park!  I liked the "good ole days" better when Acadia wasn't so darn crowded.  

We left the cottage before 9:00, which is unheard of for us!  It was 68*, mostly cloudy and breezy.  Got to the parking area, all eleven spaces, by 9:06 and didn't someone pull into the only available space two seconds before us. ;o(  Pulled over a little beyond where we wanted to park and didn't that same damn car go past us.  Apparently, they pulled in to see the view, of which there isn't one, and pulled right back out again.  GRRRRRR  

We drove out of the park and back around, hoping to catch an open spot, only to have the same damn thing happen again.  One space open and a car pulls into it Right.In.Front.Of.US!!!  Apparently we were not meant to hike that trail today.

Sooooo, we drove to the parking area at Sand Beach and decided to hike The Beehive.  Not my favorite hike, makes me very anxious.

We hit the trailhead at 9:50

It seemed there were a number of new iron rungs and handholds but I was still super anxious.

There are a number of great views of Sand Beach but the light wasn't the best for taking pictures ;o(  and I'm too technologically challenged to figure out how to adjust it on my phone, which just totally makes me mad.

We reached the summit in about 50 minutes, not too far off our previous times of around 45 minutes.  

Took our summit photo, which for some reason, was not easy and it didn't come out very well. (sigh) 

(I'll insert the photo here when I ever figure out how to get it out of my Airdrop!)

There are some nice views of the Porcupine Islands from the summit.

There's a little color.

From the summit, we headed down the other side and toward The Bowl, a pond among the mountains.

I found this rock in the path.

We have had lunch at The Bowl several times and were surprised to see "our" rock was free from other hikers, so we sat and ate our lunch.  It was still cloudy and breezy, but fairly warm, around 68*.  Not bad but I prefer a sunny day.

Did I say "breezy"?  Well, "someone" didn't stow their plastic lids appropriately and one of them blew into the water.  Thankfully, the wind was blowing toward us.  

That does not belong in there.

Since I thought the "someone" involved was me, I took off my boots and socks and went in after it.

The water was cool but not freezing, quite nice actually.

Only after I climbed back out, did I learn that the "someone" was NOT me, but was, however, Bill.

(more photos to insert...)

We headed back to the car around 11:53 and got to the car about 12:30.  We used the restroom and walked to Thunder Hole, stopping at the gift shop for a cold beverage.  Bill spotted this cool mushroom.  I had to take two pictures because the first one had my finger in it.  Good grief!

Not much happening at Thunder Hole but we sat on the rocks for awhile and enjoyed the view.  The ocean was pretty calm today.

Back to the car and off to The Asticou Inn for popovers and tea.

Nice view of Northeast Harbor and the gardens at the Inn.

The sun actually came out for a short time.  WooHoo!!!

We arrived back at the cottage about 3:30 and had plenty of time to sit in the adirondack chairs and read.  The sun stayed in Northeast Harbor. We stayed outside till about 5:00.  

I came in and took a shower.  Bill grilled steak tips for dinner.  We watched a segment of the History of Country Music on Maine Public TV.  

A pretty decent day for a Plan B.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Ocean Path and Witch Hole Pond

Wednesday, September 20

Wendy and Dan treated us to breakfast this morning, crepes!  They provided crepes, strawberries, whipped cream, bacon and coffee for me, Bill made his tea in our cottage, we provided...nothing ;o(  I think I was supposed to bring pears, but I didn't...duh  

After breakfast, we headed our separate ways looking for good surf, thanks to Hurricane Jose.  They ended up at Thunder Hole but it was super busy and they were disappointed in the surf. The signs were good tho.

photo by Wendy

As for us, we parked at Sand Beach and walked along the Ocean Path, toward Thunder Hole.  We stopped a couple of times along the rocks, looking for the perfect spot.  The view was pretty spectacular.

Looking toward Otter Cliffs

Looking toward Sand Beach

Happy little ferns tucked in the rocks.

We stayed for 15-20 minutes watching the waves.  Thunder Hole was a lot further than I thought and it was already 1:00, so we turned around and headed back to the car.  We drove to the Fabri picnic area and ate our lunch at one of the picnic tables...much better than sitting in the car like yesterday.  

Wendy and Dan hiked Gorham Mtn, then set up their hammocks at Otter Point.

photo by Wendy

We drove to the Visitor's Center, used the bathroom and bought a Christmas gift.  Parked there and took a bike ride around Witch Hole Pond loop.  Thankfully, the sky cleared a little and the sun started peaking through the clouds.  

Witch Hole Pond

I love this pond, it reminds us of sunken ship's masts.

The Rangers said the beavers had built a huge dam at one end of this pond and apparently the trees had drowned.

Reflections

We came across the Duck Brook Bridge, stopping long enough to take some photos.

overlooking Duck Brook

Frenchman Bay in the background

Looking toward Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor

These pictures are proof that the weather was clearing.  WooHoo!!!

Instead of taking a left, Bill took a right and we went up and over Paradise Hill.  UGH  He says he had no idea he went the wrong direction...I believe he knew exactly what he was doing.  His nickname while teaching spinning classes was "Hill Bill".  

We are addicted to the popovers at the Asticou Inn so we headed back there for our daily fix.  It was a lovely afternoon!

Northeast Harbor

We returned to the cottage and sat on the deck to read.  Bill grilled hamburgers on a grill borrowed from Dan.  We enjoyed a lovely sunset.

Sunset from Edgewater No. 6

Panorama sunset

I really wish we lived where we could watch the sunset every night.

Wendy and Dan stopped over for a quick visit when they returned from town.

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

Hiking Separately, Together

Wendy and Dan made crepes for breakfast, which we all enjoyed in their cottage.  We filled them with blueberries, strawberries and bananas, then covered them with maple syrup and whipped cream.  Yum!  The day dawned clear and sunny, which was perfect for our hiking plans.  We left the cottages about 9:50 in two cars.  We parked and left Bill's car at the Champlain North Ridge Trailhead, where Wendy and I were going to hike.  

Trail head...here we go!

The guys took Dan's car to The Precipice, which they were going to hike.  Our plan was to meet at the summit and all hike down the CNRT together.

Wendy and I started our hike at 10:30 and reached the summit at 11:35. 

Overlooking the Porcupine Islands

This is a fairly easy hike, although quite steep in some places.  It offers wonderful views of the Porcupine Islands and Schoodic Point.

We waited at the summit for about an hour before Bill and Dan made their appearance.

The Precipice is considered the most difficult hike/climb in the park as it is virtually straight up for one mile.  No wonder it took them such a long time.

The trail is there somewhere...

These photos were taken by Dan and I'm not sure what the correct order is but it gives you an idea what the trail is like.

Um, no thank you

Warning sign at the summit of the Precipice Trail 

There they are!

Well done!

We picked a nice, sunny spot with a good view to have our lunch.  

I think the guys could have fallen into a nice deep sleep if we had left them to their own devices.  We started the hike down at 1:11 and reached Bill's car at 1:54.

From there we picked up Dan's car and drove to Sand Beach.  After a quick trip to the bathroom we took a nice walk along the Ocean path, past Thunder Hole to a nice spot on the rocks, in the shade.  

Sand Beach

Otter Cliffs

"Stay away from the edge!"

We sat quietly, listening to the sound of the sea and watched the clouds appear and disappear, little wisps of white in a blue sky.

On to the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor for popovers and tea/coffee on the deck.  It was a beautiful afternoon.

Wendy and Dan drove "home", while we drove into town for gas, then back to the cottage.  We sat on the deck and the three of us tried a beer they brought over (A Tiny Beautiful Something) and Bill had a Ginger Beer (Bundaberg). 

We borrowed their grill (which they brought to our deck) and fixed hamburgers for dinner.  What a great day!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)