Gorham Mtn. and a Spectacular Sunset

Thursday, September 21

We got up around 8:15, were out of the cottage by 10:45.  We parked along the road near the Gorham Mtn. parking area because it was super busy and we expected the parking lot to be full.

We left the trailhead at 11:33 and reached the summit at 12:30 via the Cadillac Cliffs section of the trail.  This plaque along the trail has been polished by volunteers.

It was 68* and mostly sunny but windy when we started but turned into a spectacular day...finally!  We sat among the rocks near the summit, enjoying the heavy surf at high tide thanks to Hurricane Jose.  

Panorama photo

Looking toward Sand Beach

Thankfully Bill brought along a little pick-me-up ;o)

The summit is quite unspectacular, since you don't get the ocean views.

A nice couple from New Jersey took our picture.

We proceeded to The Bowl, where we ate lunch and drank in the sunshine.

Panorama photo...great place for lunch!

We're pretty sure Dan would love to take a swim here...next year!

We returned to the car back over Gorham Mtn, reaching it at 3:28.  We drove into town, got coffees and walked to the park overlooking the harbor, where we sat, drank our coffees and ate oatmeal raisin cookies that we brought with us from Keeping it Local.

Morgan texted to tell us the TV wasn't working, bummer.

We did a little shopping on the way back to the car, stopped by the cottage to grab a beverage and our iPads, then headed to Hadley Point to watch the sunset.  

It was one of the most spectacular sunsets I think I have ever seen!  Unfortunately, my pictures don't do it justice.  It was much more red orange than yellow.

6:30 PM

6:40 PM

6:44 PM

Panorama 6:46 PM

6:47 PM

Panorama 6:48 PM

6:49 PM

6:53 PM

Home tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

B Day 9.13.12

Today was for the B's.  True to form at 11:00 we started by hiking/climbing the Beehive.  This is the fourth time we have done it and I didn't remember it being so scary for me.  The view of Sand Beach is phenomenal.

It's a pretty steep climb with several areas where you have to climb up iron rungs and one area you walk over an iron bridge.

Seriously???  Who thought of this anyway?  It can't be safe!!!  Can it???  I don't remember it from the last three times but obviously I made it across without incident.  Just as I was starting to hyperventilate and curse under my breath, some young guy came practically running up the trail, wearing crocs.  CROCS for crying out loud.  Who wears CROCS to climb up the side of a mountain?  I was kind of nervous sweaty hugging the mountain for dear life but nothing on this trail seemed to bother Bill.

Didn't even break a sweat

It was a perfect day with blue skies and warm temps (low 70's).  We reached the summit in about 30 minutes and stopped on our favorite rock for a snack.  The only complaint was the two guys behind us that didn't know the meaning of talking quietly.  BLAH.BLAH.BLAH.

Porcupine Islands

Schoodic Point

From here we headed down the hill to The Bowl, a beautiful pond hidden in the woods.

The Bowl with Champlain Mtn. in the background

This could be one of my favorite places.  There are several places where you can sit and relax around the edge.  Because many of the lakes/ponds are part of the public water supply, this is one of the few ponds in which one can swim.  So bring along a towel and take a dip.  The closest we got to getting wet was the year I dropped my sunglasses into the water.  Oops ;o(  Luckily it was shallow and Mr. Bill rescued them for me ;o)

Generally, from here we hike to the summit of Gorham Mtn, then down the other side to the Park Loop Road and walk back along the Ocean Path.  However, today we decided to return via The Bowl Trail, which is much shorter so we could spend some time sitting in the sun and reading.

We were back to the trailhead by 1:00.  We walked down to Sand Beach to find a rather strong, cool breeze coming off the water, which explained why there weren't many people on the beach, although the parking lot was full.

We drove a little way down the Park Loop Road, parked the car in a lot, took our lunch, books and chairs across the road to the pink granite shoreline, where we spent a couple of hours just sitting and enjoying the surf (maybe taking a little snooze).  It was perfect!

We skipped the J.P.H. today and went into town, where we walked around, window shopped (Bill found himself a new pit bull t-shirt) and got a pizza at Little Anthony's.  

We couldn't have asked for better weather the past three days, highly unusual for us.

It only makes sense for Wendy Bee to climb the Beehive with her man, Dan. 

A look back...June, 2006

Northeast Harbor

 Asticou Terrace gardens...

We went twice that year, June and September.

Obligatory photo on top of The Beehive

Full moon over Cadillac Mtn.

Fog moving in over Porcupine Islands

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)