Saturday: The weekend stated off with a drive fueled by Tim Horton's and Metallica. We met up with Jamie, Mindy and Pete at the Jordan Pond House around 11:00. Snowman, Jamie and Mindy took off for the a 12 mile run "Around the Mountain," which Snowman and I had done on our trip last September. It's a great running loop, although this time around, it appears they were treated to an extra special wildlife encounter! Pete, recovering from shoulder surgery, and I, on the other hand, decided to hike, and Pete was good enough to let me be tour guide. We trucked up Penobscot Mountain, enjoying the quiet trail and nice views.
We headed down the Deer Brook Trail, and finished up the loop along the shores of Jordan Pond. A fun hike! Thanks Pete :-)
Mindy and Pete took a room in town, but Jamie, Snowman and I set up camp at Blackwoods Campground before we headed to Geddy's for dinner. The plan was for a roaring campfire in the evening, but Mother Nature had other plans. As Snowman attempted to get things started, the rain began. Soon it was a full on deluge, and we all decided a fire was not in the cards. Instead, we quickly climbed into our tents to get a good long sleep!
Sunday: The rain fell for most of the night, but we awoke to clear skies. We headed down to the ocean's edge to take in the views before driving to Eagle Lake to meet up with Mindy and Pete for this morning's adventure. At Jamie's request, we decided on the 6 mile run around the lake (Pete took a walk instead), and it did not disappoint. Gorgeous! The carriage roads are really just perfect for running. Wide, well graded and always something to look at. A few miles into the run, we got passed by three guys running at a much quicker pace. As they ran out of sight, I raised my hand and said "I'm almost 18 weeks pregnant. I'm not usually this slow!" I wish I had some sort of neon sign on my back with this sort of vital information :-)
We were looking forward to the yummy biscuits at Two Cats Cafe, but there was a 2 hour wait! Yikes. So, we walked down the street to Jordan's instead, and enjoyed their blueberry pancakes. After eating, Jamie, Mindy and Pete took off, leaving Snowman and I to our own devices. We decided to get a room at the Aurora Inn in town, so we could shower and stay dry for our second night. A bit wimpy, yes, but worth it! After showering, we went downtown and walked the Shore Path, something we have not yet done. It's just a mellow mile or so walk along the ocean but a good one.
We finished up the evening with some Mexican food and a bit of TV, before falling asleep to more rain falling.
Monday: The day dawned cool and overcast. We bundled up and headed to Two Cats to finally get those biscuits we were denied yesterday! YUM :-) Sufficiently carbo-loaded, we drove to the Jesup trailhead. Although we've visited Acadia more times than I can count, the Jesup Trail is one trail we've never done. It is a flat trail through a swampy area near the Tarn and the foot of Dorr Mountain. Snowman wanted to take it easy today, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to check this trail out. The trail wound through the open woods, a swampy area and the edge of a meadow before dropping us at the Sieur du Mont Spring. From there, we continued on to the Tarn and took the lakeside trail at the foot of the Dorr slide. We looped back around the lake on the road, and ducked back into the woods. For the return, we headed up and over Kebo Mountain, a short but sweet climb with some nice views, pretty pitch pine forest and what looked like what would be prime blueberry picking later this summer!
Yes, this the first official "I'm pregnant" photo for the "What's Next?" blog (with me at 17 weeks 5 days).
After the hike, we, yup, you guessed it, headed into town to eat yet again. Snowman went for the Steak & Gravy sub, while I tried to be good and got a salad. Of course, we also got a big order of hand cut fries, and I had to finish off the visit with a final ice cream cone at Ben & Bill's! I think the salad was sufficiently canceled out :-)
Again, a great weekend and lots of fun!
For full photo set, click here.
Flora and fauna wrap-up: One turkey vulture riding the thermals, several juncoes, a garter snake and one loon on Jordan Pond seen during Saturday's hike. Not a lot of wildflowers blooming yet, but there was an overabundance of shadbush. I've never noticed so many of these bushes before, and had to use my handy-dandy Aububon field guide to figure out what I was looking at. These bushes/small trees were everywhere! Sunday's run featured starflowers, wild oats, pearly everlasting, hobblebush and lots of false lily of the valley. As we walked along the Shore Path, Snowman and I saw a lone loon, riding the waves, as well as several cormorants flying low along the water. Monday's hike was definitely the star of the weekend flora and fauna-wise. The Tarn yielded a painted turtle and one huge snapping turtle, as well as a pair of Black & White Warblers, one Gray Catbird, a bunch of juncos and sparrows, and one Common Yellowthroat. The woods and pondside were coming to life, with lots of ferns, iris, starflowers, hobblebush, false lily of the valley, lowbush blueberry bushes and rhodora.
4 comments:
Excellent report! Surprising there wern't more birds since it is so busy down here. Sleeping in a tent in the rain (as long as its a high quality tent) is almost as heavenly as running the hills on blackstrap. Maybe more. Cacky and I have pitifully little experience on MDI and would like the grand tour someday...probably after she finishes her program and little dyan/ryelle can fit in a backpack.
Jeff, I am sure I missed a lot of the birds out there. There was a lot of singing from up high in the leaves, and I am not yet confident enough with my abilities at placing warbler songs, etc, to have figured out what everything was! Still, it's amazing how even just 2 1/2 hours north of here things are so much farther behind tree/flower wise. I wonder if that affects the birds too...
We'd love to have you join us up in Acadia sometime! Maybe next year?!
Great report! That was a super fun weekend, glad you guys were a part of it. Acadia simply rocks.
Awesome report - can't wait to go back!
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