I woke at 6:20 to the sound of steady rain hitting the tent, so I stayed in my warm and comfy sack. But I guess I should get up. I slept well. The night wasn't too cool, and I slept in my bag liner with the bag itself unzipped.
7:57am
It's still raining, but lightly, and we're happy to be mostly dry under our tarp - and more importantly, our stuff is dry. Breakfast was Pop-tarts and yogurt. We'll hike - there's nothing else to do. Today's our last full day here at Acadia. Hiking in the rain isn't a problem - it might affect the views we'll have from the top of Cadillac, but the weather will do what it'll do. We'll prep (make sandwiches, dress appropriately, and bring rain gear and spare clothes/layers) and go.
We're ready to go. It's still gray and misty and raining lightly. It's warm enough - I'm wearing long hiking pants and a short-sleeve polypro shirt. I'm starting out wearing my Gore-tex rain jacket, but I'll probably shed that soon, unless it really rains hard. The South Cadillac Trail starts right from our campground and goes to the summit. It's about 4 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation gain to the summit. From that point, we could either retrace our steps and hike back to the campground, or we could continue on the North Cadillac Trail, follow it to its trailhead, then pick up the park shuttle bus to bring us back to our campground. We'll make that decision when we get there.
10:20am
It's been a good hike. We started out in pine forest that smelled fantastic, then moved out of the trees and are now hiking on granite. The climb has been steady but not overly steep. The rain has gone from light to steady, and I'm pretty much soaked - but it's a warm rain, so it's not bothering me. Eric is concerned about me, and I appreciate it, but I feel good - a little weak, and I can tell than I'm not 100%, but it feels great to be out here hiking. I'm returning the favor and am concerned about Eric - he's not saying much, but he's not well.
John noted correctly that this is feeling reminiscent of our hikes to Mt. Marcy in '08 and Charlie's Bunion (in the Smokies) in '10. On both of those days, we hiked through a foggy rain to points where there should have been an amazing vista, only to get there and have zero visibility.
11:50am
We're at the summit of Cadillac, taking rest and shelter in the Park Service gift shop! We knew there was a road to the top, but we didn't know there was a gift shop - quite a pleasant surprise. It's still raining steadily, and it's nice to get out of it for a little bit. We arrived here at 11:10, and they don't mind us hanging out here. I didn't bring any cash with me, but John has a credit card, and he's spotted me a chocolate bar and a Gatorade. We're eating our sandwiches and talking with tourists and hikers - some of the tourists, having driven up here, are looking at us like we're wild mountain men...and in our soaking wet state, I guess that's what we look like.
The summit of Cadillac Mountain supposedly has gorgeous vistas of Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, and the Atlantic Ocean - but just as at Charlie's Bunion, we'll have to take their word for it. Visibility is close to zero. It's also famous for being the spot where the sunlight of a new day first hits the U.S. Being at the summit of Cadillac at sunrise is a very touristy thing to do - and we may drive up here tomorrow morning.
2:08pm
North Cadillac Mountain trailhead. We decided not to re-trace our steps, and followed the trail down the other side of the mountain, where we'll pick up the shuttle and ride back to Blackwoods Campground. The rain stopped as we hiked down, and we got some nice views of Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor. It was a slippery, rocky descent at times. We met a couple at the last viewpoint who took our picture. The shuttle stop is right here at the trailhead, and we're waiting for it to arrive.
Back at the campground. I've changed out of my soaking wet hiking clothes into dry cotton, and man does that ever feel good. The campground has no showers, but we saw a coin-operated shower facility just outside the park (not very far away.) We may go up there later. It's still gray, but no longer raining.
5:07pm
We decided to take a ride in the car. It looked like it might be clearing, so we decided to drive back up to the summit of Cadillac. But it's now raining and foggy again - there may be even less visibility now than when we hiked here this morning (if that's possible.) The prospect of cooking over a campfire in the rain is not too appealing to any of us. We'll drive around the park for a bit, see what the weather does, then either go back to cook or drive back to Bar Harbor for a restaurant meal.
Back at the campsite and ready to hit the sack. We drove around and saw some different areas of the park, then found a pizza joint in Bar Harbor for dinner. We realize that we never got to the coin-op showers as we'd intended. Oh well. :-)
Eric is not well, and I'm not sure he's going to be able to continue. John and I told him we will do whatever he wants: 1) Take him back to Bangor airport so he can go home. 2) Go back to Bangor airport and we'll all go home. 3) Continue the trip. He says he wants to continue the trip. We'll see how the night goes and what the morning brings.
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