A Misty, Moisty Hike up Schoodic Mountain…

“One day's exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books. See how willingly Nature poses herself upon photographers' plates. No earthly chemicals are so sensitive as those of the human soul.”                                                    John Muir

Schoodic Mountain Trailhead

 

 

It was a good thing Mr C and his family left for home before the hike because there were sporadic showers and bee stings involved in this one.  Mr J handled the bee stings quite well, and both he and Miss E managed a rather strenuous,wet hike which was fortunately rewarded at the end by a swim at a very nice, secluded, fresh water pond.

The trails up Schoodic Mountain are located on the Donnell Pond Reserve,  property owned and managed by the Maine Department of Conservation.   The summit has a great view of the mountains of Acadia National Park, nearby ponds and lakes and the Atlantic Ocean…but we never saw them through the clouds.  I have to admit that although I would have skipped the bees, I loved the misty  atmosphere we hiked through.  Still, I would like to return on a clear day. 

A Day Mountain Saunter…

“Hiking - I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, "A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.”                   

                                      John Muir, quoted by Albert Palmer in A Parable of Sauntering

 

 

 

 

The kids asked to hike Day Mt this year…each time we have climbed it in August there have been lots of blueberries to pick along the way…This time however there weren’t any…I think that they ripened early.  Trail mix replaced the blueberries and the hike remained a success.

Hiking on Schoodic Point…

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” 
-- John Muir  

With children ranging from 5 months to nearly 7 years we now look for fairly easy hikes when all the family and friends have gathered.  Schoodic Point is the only part of Acadia National Park that isn’t on Mt Desert and is a favorite place of ours to visit.  There is plenty of opportunities for rock hopping, tide pool searching, stone balancing, seal watching, and picnicking before and after our hike up Schoodic Point Trail. I spend most of my time taking photos but this time I only brought the G9 and the iPhone because I just didn’t want to carry anything heavy.  Although the G9 lens is scratched I can live with the photos for the most part.

When we arrived we discovered that someone had painstakingly decorated the parking lot with beach stones and tiny pinecones…

We had plenty of time for tidepooling…

 

and rock hopping…

…and picnicking.

And then we hiked the Schoodic Head Trail to the top of Schoodic Head with it’s views of Mt Desert and Cadillac Mt.  It was a little hot and challenging for the kids, and the adults who carried them, but fun.

..

Climbing Mt Penobscot…

This year Mr O and I arrived in Maine a day earlier than our daughters and their families.  On our only day alone we choose to challenge ourselves with climbing Mt Penobscot in Acadia National Park as we knew it was too difficult to hike with the children.   We have hiked this trail every year since we started going to Maine each August.   It is difficult in places but if we take it slow and steady we don’t have any problems.  I think we are afraid that if we don’t hike it we will have to consider ourselves old or unfit…






The first reward of the hike are the views that surround you when you go above the treeline and the breeze that cools you off as you take the view in…




The second reward of the hike is jumping into the water of Sargent Mountain Pond, possibly the oldest lake in Maine,  at the summit.  We know enough to wear our bathing suits under our hiking clothes and because we are so hot and tired by the time we reach it, this is the best swim of the summer.  Fortunately, we have never seen the serpent that could live there according to lore.



The last reward of the hike is to stay at the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers before going back to the car.  We have done this for so many years it doesn’t seem possible to break the tradition even if the restaurant is more crowded each year…and the popovers are worth it!



















Hopefully we will still be hiking this trail when our grandchildren are old enough to join us.

Mainely Hikes…

Maine vacations always mean lots of hiking…

Our first day found Mr O and I hiking up the Asticou Terraces Trail to the Thuya Garden. 

This is not only a short, sweet hike with a beautiful view of Northeast Harbor…

…but it also has the garden at the end as a reward.

Without children, we spent much more time relaxing in the garden than we did hiking…

It is a garden of perennials and raked paths.

Our second hike, up Penobscot Mtn Trail, was our most strenuous…undertaken before the younger children arrived…

The view…well a picture is worth a thousand words…

We try to do this hike each year…just to prove we can…This is our two family group…minus me.

This hike also has a reward at the summit… we get to cool off in Sargent Mt Pond…

We have learned to wear our bathing suits on this hike…

On the way back down the view is just as fine…

After the children arrived we did two hikes that our nearly five year old grandson could hike.  The first was Flying Mt…

It has just enough challenge…and just as fantastic views.

The reward at the end of this hike is picnicking and wading on the shores of Somes Sound.

Our last hike on this trip was up Day Mt…

…another climb that is child friendly…

 

…and still has a beautiful view.

Maine is for hiking…