The rain stopped and Wednesday we dinghied ashore with our walking shoes on. About 7:45 AM we found a trail from Northeast Harbor where we are moored that eventually led us to the top of Cadillac Mountain at 1500' elevation, the Park's highest peak about 2:30 PM.
Instead of building the usual conical shaped cairn out of stacked egg shape stones to mark the preferred trail, the Park uses the Bates cairns which trail builder Waldron Bates used over 100 years ago to mark Acadia's trails. A flat stone is laid on top of two base stones with one stone placed on top to mark the direction the trail should be traveled. They say the Bates cairn is easier to build and maintain than traditional conical cairns. Many were built along the trails we followed.
Acadia hiking trails are very natural using granite stones and fallen trees to create bridges where needed.
Jay looked lost among the moss in some parts of the trail where it grew abundantly. All of the rain yesterday certainly helped things grow.
Arriving at Jordan Pond House, we met a family from Pennsylvania who snapped us with the two Bubble Rocks (small mountains) in the background.
Attempting to reach Cadillac Mountain's summit, we kept climbing and finding another higher rock but we finally did reach the very top. Lots of folks drive to the top and we all met up there.
We enjoyed views from the summit. Jay was especially intrigued with fog swirling over the islands just east of Bar Harbor. Norma was enjoying the wild blueberries growing along the trail. We continued to hike down the north mountain face to Bar Harbor. Dinner was delicious and well earned, we thought.
After dinner, we explored the Bar Harbor waterfront area. Only two cruising sailboats were anchored in the harbor. It appears most cruisers, like ourselves, were happy to be moored in Northeast Harbor on the other side of the Island. Those dark clouds kept rolling in but moved on without getting us wet or stormy.
The town of Bar Harbor is connected to Little Bar Island at low tide by this sand bar. People flock to walk the sandbar and get their feet wet. Kayaks and canoes come out to play. Local harbormaster says for four hours everyone may enjoy the bar and then prepare for high tide to quickly come in and cover it all.
Over Jay's shoulder is Acadia's Sand Beach (meaning not covered with pebbles and rocks like most of the other Maine beaches). Visitors were sunbathing and building sand castles. However, the lifeguard on duty seemed to have it pretty easy since few people were in the 59 degree water.
This eastern shore of Mount Desert Island pretty much shows the beauty and characteristic rocky shoreline of Maine. We've had a wonderful visit to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island. No new map since we have not left our Northeast Harbor mooring since the map was last updated.
