Day 4: Acadia to Baxter

...or "Now We are Two"

Sunrise from the summit of foggy Cadillac

5:30am
John and I are up and having breakfast. We're going to drive up to the summit of Cadillac and see if we can see the sunrise (weather permitting, of course), which should be just after 6am. It looks cloudy/foggy, but we'll give it a try. I don't think Eric slept at all last night, and he's staying in the sack. We'll talk to him and decide what to do when we get back.

6:37am
There were a good number of people at the summit, but there was no sunrise to see - it was all clouds and fog. The wind was *whipping* and it was really cold. I went back to the car twice for more layers. We could see a hazy red ball, so we knew the sun was up, but just like yesterday, there was no view of the bay and the islands below.

Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands

As we started to drive down the mountain, we got below the clouds almost immediately after coming off the summit. I pulled off at the next overlook, and we finally did have some good views. It's just gorgeous, and easy to see why this is considered one of the "must see" parks.

7:40am
We're starting to pack up camp. It's clearing - there are patches of blue sky, and the sun is out. It's always a blessing to not have to either set up or break camp in the rain.

Eric asked if we could take him to Bangor airport - he needs to go home. John and I would support whatever he decided, but I think this is the right decision. We offered to come home with him, but he insisted that's not necessary. We're close to the town of Bar Harbor and civilization here, but Baxter is remote and out in the North woods. We'll work the phones when we get out of the park and see what the options are for flights back to PHL.

12:46pm
John and I are on the road to Baxter State Park. Eric got a flight with no problem, and we dropped him at Bangor airport. The rental car was in his name, so we adjusted that so that it's now in mine. Logistically, this really doesn't change anything. John and I can still continue with the trip as planned. We'll still be in Baxter this afternoon. But I think we're both kinda stunned at how things have turned out. We started with four after Phil said he couldn't make the trip this year. Then Ted had to bail at the eleventh hour because of work. Then two weeks ago, I was laying in a hospital bed pretty sure I wouldn't be making the trip. Now Eric's gone home. There's a pall in the air, and we're trying to shake it.

1:51pm
Millinocket, ME. This is the little town closest to the park. We found a laundromat and threw all our dirty/wet clothes in, then found a grocery store to stock up for our time in Baxter. It's turning out to be a nice day, and we can't wait to get to the park, and there should be time for a "stretch the legs" hike.

Lean-to #7, Roaring Brook Campground, BSP

3:03pm
We're at our site: lean-to #7, Roaring Brook Campground. The campground is an 8-mile drive from the entrance station on a rough dirt road. What a fantastic site! It's a log shelter with three sides and a roof. The floor is raised off the ground, as we can set up our sleeping pads and bags. It's not huge, and would have been a bit of a squeeze to get four people in here - but it's plenty spacious for two guys. We have a fire ring and picnic table, and right on the other side of that is Roaring Brook (appropriately named - it's loud.) I love that sound of a swift-running mountain stream, and it's so nice to sleep by. It reminds me of our site by the stream at Elkmont CG in the Smokies. John and I are in full agreement that lean-to's are the way to go, and we should look for the availability of lean-to's on future trips. Especially on a flying trip, if we could find lean-to's, we wouldn't have to bring tents.

We signed in at Baxter's entrance station, and they had a little trouble finding our reservation. Things finally worked out, and we talked to two rangers for a while. They had a 3D relief map of the Katahdin area and talked to us about mountains and trails. John is definitely going to try to summit Katahdin tomorrow - and I'm definitely not. I could feel on the Cadillac hike that I'm still a bit weak, and that wasn't a fraction as strenuous as Katahdin will be. Plus I've promised that I will not overdo it.

Shady Stream Pond, BSP

We lost cell phone service outside of Millinocket, before we even got to the park, which isn't a surprise. I'll turn my phone off until we're out of park again on Monday.

I think the rangers talked John out of trying the Knife's Edge. It's a section of trail high on Katahdin that's about a mile long and has sheer thousand-foot drops on both sides. The rangers said it's three feet wide in some places, can be slippery, and is completely exposed to wind and weather. As someone who passed on the final section of Angel's Landing in Zion, there's no way I would even consider attempting that. There are other trails to the summit, and I think John has a plan for tomorrow. I have a tentative plan for tomorrow too - not Katahdin, but a less-strenuous summit in the same vicinity. We'll see.

Shady Stream Pond, BSP

6:06pm
We're back from a very nice little hike. There's a trail that leaves from the campground and loops around Shady Stream Pond. It's a 2.3 mile hike, and we extended it by a mile by going further up the trail to Whidden Pond. There wasn't much, if any, elevation gain - but footing was a a bit tricky at times, with rocks, tree roots, and some boggy spots. From both ponds, there were great views of Katahdin and surrounding mountains. We could watch the clouds coming over the mountains from the west - very beautiful.

John has the fire going and we're getting ready to cook - hamburgers and sausages. We're also getting our sandwiches ready for tomorrow's hike. We got the standard talk at the entrance station about food handling in bear country - all food, and anything with a "food" smell (like toiletries, toothpaste, etc.) has to be secured in the car where bears can't get into it. There are also moose in the park, and they're much more dangerous than bears - they won't come after food, like bears will, but they're territorial and sometimes aggressive. We both want very much to see bears and moose.

6:37pm
It's going to be a very cold night. I can already see my breath and the sun's not even down yet. The forecast was for a low of 48, but it feels colder than that already. I've been playing guitar, but I'll put it away now. Dinner soon.

9:00-ish
Sack time. Dinner was delicious, then we talked around the fire. John is planning to get as early a start as possible tomorrow, as Katahdin will be a long and strenuous day. I'll see how I feel - if I feel like an early start, great...but if I want to stay in the sack a little longer, that's fine too. I won't have as long a hiking day as John, and I didn't sleep well last night and could use a really good sleep. Nite nite.

Day 3: Cadillac Mountain

6:40am
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.

8:45am
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.

3:10pm
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.

8:45pm
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.

Day 2: Arrive at Acadia N.P.

7:43am
We're up and showering and getting ready to go. We thought we'd be up earlier than this, but I slept really well - and I guess we all did. It obviously rained in the night, though Eric says it's not raining now. We'll see what the motel breakfast is, and either do that or have an Egg McMuffin on the road. The drive to Acadia should be about an hour, and we're hiking today, rain or shine.

11:37am

Causeway to Bar Island at low tide

We just tried to register at Blackwoods Campground and were told that check-in is at noon and to come back then. Really?!? We can't go to our site 20 minutes early? Apparently this is strictly a "by the book" operation....

The campground is an easy drive from the town of Bar Harbor. We stopped on the way in, first at the Visitor Center (where we got some maps and an Acadia sticker for my guitar case), then at the causeway to Bar Island. Eric had read about this hike - at low tide, you can walk on dry land over to Bar Island, but when the tide comes in, the causeway is underwater and it's actually an island. It was a fun little walk, and the salt breeze smelled great. Beautiful sights, and there was a breeze and a fog coming in off the ocean.

12:25pm
Blackwoods Campground, site A-17. On our first drive through the campground, we marked how cool one site was, in a natural amphitheater surrounded by rocks. It turns out that's our site! We're happy to be here - tents are up and we're unpacking. It's gray, and the forecast at the check-in station says heavy rain after 1pm and into this evening. All we can do is hope for the best.

1:20pm
John and Eric made an A-frame lean-to out of the huge tarp they got at Walmart last night. It's a little unwieldy, but it will give us shelter if it rains. We're making sandwiches at the picnic table and looking at what hike to do this afternoon.

Ocean Trail, Acadia N.P.

2:03pm
Otter Point trailhead and the Ocean Trail. As the name suggests, the trail runs along the rocks at the ocean's edge. It shouldn't be a strenuous hike, but the views right from the beginning are amazing.

3:37pm
We've hiked down the Ocean Trail to Sand Beach - appropriately named, as it's the only sandy beach for miles around. We're taking a break. It hasn't been a hard hike - an oceanside walk is closer to the truth. There's no reason to be in any hurry, and we're not - we're making frequent stops to look at the vistas (classic Maine rocky coastline!) and take pics.

Eric has a nice camera, John has a point-and-shoot, and I have both a POS (which can stand for whatever you want :-)) and a phone. It's not raining, and not even threatening, but it's gray and a little foggy, and Eric is wishing the light was better. He's afraid we're going to have a whole lot of indistinguishable gray pics. John and I don't know enough to say, and we're happily snapping away.

It's breezy and a little cool, but I'm fine in shorts and a t-shirt. This will be our turnaround point, as we have to hike back, and we have to get firewood, and optimally before dark.

4:15pm

We're at Thunder Hole - a point where the waves come into an opening, have no place to go, and shoot straight up into the air. The tide isn't high enough (or the waves strong enough) to give a really good show, but the power of the ocean is still impressive. There are dark threatening clouds, and rain looks imminent.

Puffins apparently live in these rocky cliffs, but I'm sure they can only be seen from the water. If I were to see one, I'd be the envy of every female in my house.

4:40pm
Back at Otter point trailhead. That was a fantastic walk (I can't honestly call it a hike.) Gorgeous rocky coastline scenery. It's easy to see why Acadia is such a tourist attraction.

5:55pm
Relaxing in camp. The campground doesn't sell firewood, but it's for sale at many places just outside the CG - most of the houses have bundles at the street - take what you want and leave $3/bundle. The campfire is burning nicely, and we (by which I mean John and Eric) will add charcoal soon. Steaks are on the menu. It's still very gray, but so far no rain. Spirits are good, but it's a little subdued without Ted here.

10:15pm

Site A-17, Blackwoods campground

We're tired and ready to hit the sack. Eric and I are in my 3-man tent (which is really a 2-man tent - adding a third person would be *awfully* snug!), and John is in his solo tent. We like our campsite as much as we thought we would - we discussed some of our favorite campsites over the years, and this ranks right up there.

We were also treated to live music tonight, which was a delight - and I'm not talking about myself. I did get out my guitar and played for a while, which is a great pleasure. But as it got dark and I put my guitar away, we realized as we sat around our campfire that we heard another guitar. And then a beautiful female voice. It was from the campsite next door. There was a middle-aged couple, and the woman was singing and accompanying herself. She did two songs I *love* right away - Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" and Judy Collins' "Someday Soon", and as far as I know it might have actually been Joni or Judy at the next site. She sang for a while longer - some songs we recognized and some we didn't - but she was very talented. We clapped and whistled after most songs, and she thanked us with a laugh.

Tomorrow we'll hike to the summit of Cadillac Mountain - an actual hike, and the signature hike of the park.

Day 1: Off to Bangor

2:55pm
We're waiting at our gate in Terminal F, and our flight to Bangor is now listed as departing a half hour late. As long as that all it is, that's fine. We're here and checked in and all is well. John was supposed to pick me up at 11:30, but he had some last minute business, and it was after noon when he got to my house. We were still plenty early.

My plan was to wear jeans and hiking boots and my rain jacket (wearing rather than packing some heavy stuff), but it's scorching hot here today, so I stuffed them in my big duffle bag and am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. As I mentioned in my last post, I am bringing my travel guitar, and they checked it without batting an eye.

One note of concern - when we got to Eric's house, he took me aside and said he wasn't feeling entirely well, and that if there were more than three people on the trip that he might even stay home. But he's coming, and I hope things will work out.

10:20pm
We're in two adjoining rooms at the Quality Inn, Bangor, ME. The flight took off half an hour late, but all was smooth sailing from that point. It was one hour and ten minutes in the air from PHL, and the flight was very pleasant. I was on the right window, and had a great view. I saw Long Island sound, the coast of Connecticut, and then the city of Boston in the bright afternoon light. Then it was woods, woods, and more woods.

No Maine stickers - yet!

The Bangor airport is very small, and we got our bags and our rental car quickly - unbelievably quickly by PHL standards. We have a Dodge Journey, which looks like something between an SUV and a station wagon. This is a very pleasant surprise, as we ordered a 4-door sedan. This is *much* bigger, and will carry us and our gear with ease. My guitar is fine (though it had a note inside saying it had been opened by the TSA!) Our motel was a few miles from the airport, so we went there first, checked in, and unpacked. Eric and I are in one room, and John has the other to himself.

After settling in, we went to the Walmart across the street and did our shopping for Acadia - groceries to last until Saturday noon, and common stuff (camp chairs, a cooler - and John and Eric found a very big tarp (12x24!) that they think might come in handy.)

At that point it was after 8pm and we were *hungry*. There was a 5 Guys burger in the Walmart lot, and that was fine with all of us. Since getting back to the rooms, we've been arranging our stuff and hanging out and talking. Bedtime is very soon. Off to Acadia in the morning.

Maine: Final Prep

One day to go before departure, and excitement is running high. I'm still going (*frantically knocks wood*), having promised everyone that I will be smart and do the right thing. (I think I'm always smart and do the right thing...but every female who shares my last name has doubts.)

I'm packed, and I'm kinda shocked at the bulk of stuff I'm taking. I have one big duffel bag that's completely stuffed, a small duffel (also stuffed) as my carry-on, and my day pack for incidentals. I don't think I've grossly over-packed - the big duffel has my tent (which Eric and I will share) and sleeping bag, which are bulky. I've also packed clothes for all temperatures - days could be warm, but the nights will probably be down in the 40's, and we have to be prepared for rain. So that's a lot of layers, and the fleece and rain gear is bulky. We're planning on a quick laundromat stop on the transfer day between Acadia and Baxter, so I'm really packing for 4 days instead of 7.

One thing I am bringing, after assuming I wasn't bringing it, is my travel guitar. It never occurred to me that it was possible, but Darling Wife said (after listening to me lament), "Why can't you bring it? I see people with guitars in airports all the time." A light went on. Of course she's right. A quick check of the US Airways baggage rules (under special items) shows that a guitar case is just another checked bag. The "special items" page made me chuckle at some of the things people fly with: not just golf clubs and ski equipment, but surfboards, fishing tackle, and get this - antlers! It's nice to know that if I bag a moose, US Airways will let me bring the rack home.

Something that bothered all of us on the Dakotas trip was the "buy and leave" items - camp chairs and coolers mainly. Stuff that was so cheap and so bulky that we bought it there and left it next to the hotel dumpster before flying home. That kind of waste offended all of us, but there didn't seem a better option. Well, a better option occurred to me - "buy and donate." It still makes no sense to pay to carry a $10 camp chair on a plane. But a quick Google search shows two Goodwill centers in Bangor. We can buy camp chairs and coolers there, and donate them Tuesday before flying home. Problem solved.

Specific hikes and trails will be determined when we get there. Eric has done some research on Acadia trails. I think Cadillac Mountain will probably be a must-do (and *not* a long, steep, or strenuous climb.) Beyond that, there will be plenty of short trails to coastline vistas. Baxter is more of an unknown. I have the National Geographic topographic trails map of the park, and there are many possible options. We'll talk to the rangers when we get there and decide what to do.

Here's a slide show of Acadia N.P. scenes.

I'll post trip reports when I return.

My Northernmost Point

Warning: random and pointless trivia from a map and geography geek to follow.

The thought occurred to me that this trip to Maine might take me further north than I've ever been. The other possibility seemed to be my 7th grade band and orchestra trip to Ottawa, Canada. Well, Google makes it so easy to find out random and pointless trivia that I was able to find:

• Mt. Katahdin: 45.9044 degrees north latitude
• Ottawa: 45.4214

So yes, we will be going north of Ottawa.

But then I did some thinking and a little more Googling, and discovered that I've been significantly further north, and without crossing a border. In the fall of '10, my aikido friends and I did a trip to Seattle over a long weekend. They flew home Sunday morning, but I stayed until Monday, as I had a free flight on Southwest, and for some reason couldn't use it on Sunday. So I dropped them at the airport, kept the rental car, and drove out the Olympic Peninsula for the day (trip report here).

Reading my trip report and looking at a map, my northernmost point that day was at Pillar Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Consulting Google, it wins by a large margin:

• Pillar Point, WA: 48.2167

Yeah, the things that keep a geography geek amused. :-)

Maine: New Plans

Unbelievably, the calendar now says September. That means a few things (in addition to the obvious, "Holy smokes, where did the summer go?!?") It means back-to-school for Younger Daughter (11th grade, today), and off to college for Elder Daughter (two more weeks to go.) And it means that Maine '13 is 8 days away.

The general outline of the trip hasn't changed from our initial plans:

• Wednesday: fly to Bangor, Maine, pick up the rental car, shop for supplies, spend the night at a motel (daughters consider this last point outrageous - how can you call it a "hiking/camping" trip if you spend a night in a motel?!? I've given up arguing the point.)
• Thursday: drive an hour and a half to Acadia National Park, set up camp at the site we've reserved at Blackwoods Campground, have all afternoon and evening to hike/explore Acadia.
• Friday: hike and sight-see at Acadia. Cadillac Mountain?
• Saturday: 3.5 hour drive to Baxter State Park, reprovisioning in Millinocket on the way. We still have to decide to how to divide the day. Spend some time in Acadia, then break camp and travel to Baxter? Or get up, pack, and go? We don't have to decide until that moment. We just have to be reprovisioned and have camp set up in Baxter by nightfall. We have a lean-to reserved at Roaring Brook Campground.
• Sunday: hiking in Baxter. More on this below.
• Monday: hiking in Baxter. Break camp late in the day, drive one hour to Millinocket, where we have a motel room. Prepare for the next day's flight home.
• Tuesday: home.

This is a good plan. We'll see and hike in both "rocky coastline Maine" and "woods and mountains Maine." But here's how plans have changed.

First, Ted is not coming. He broke the news last week that busyness at his job simply won't permit him to take the time off. Of course we understand, but we're very sad. We know he wouldn't bail if he had any choice. Since these annual boys' trips started in '07, he's been on every one. Logistically, the only thing this changes is the car we'll rent. Where we had a minivan reserved for 4 people, we can now go to a much-cheaper 4-door sedan. We will miss him a lot - but not, I suspect, as much as he'll miss being along with us.

The second change is the hiking I'll be doing, which can now be summarized as "strictly non-strenuous." There was a very serious possibility over the weekend that I'd also have to bail, but I'm tentatively still on board - with the restriction that my hiking will be non-strenuous. Doctor's orders. So the placeholder I have in the itinerary for Sunday labeled "Hiking in Baxter"? That was planned to be a hike to the summit of Katahdin - 10+ miles, 3,500 feet elevation gain, part of it along a stretch called The Knife's Edge. I can't find any way to spin that hike as non-strenuous. :-)

I have ladies from 16-81 who think I shouldn't go, and I've solemnly promised that I will be smart and careful. And I will. I *will* hike, but there are plenty of mostly flat hikes along streams and to mountain lakes. If John and Eric want to give Katahdin a whirl, they have my blessing to go and give it their best. I'll happily occupy myself in and around the campground - maybe finding out whether harmonica playing attracts or repels wood nymphs....

The other possibility is that I still won't be able to go - in which case you'll find a post entitled "Arrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!" So, fingers crossed that I don't need to post that!

Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine