Yesterday we climbed five peaks, including Sargent Mountain the second highest peak in the park. We totaled 9.3 miles over extremely rough terrain and crossed the halfway mark, so far reaching 13 of the 24 summits. Unfortunately we didn’t finish our hike before the forecasted afternoon rain showers began. We ended up hiking in a light rain for the last mile and a half around Jordan Pond on relatively smooth terrain to catch the last bus back to Bar Harbor. The leaves are really starting to change, and we hope the rain and wind doesn’t knock too many down before we can enjoy their beautiful colors.
Our hike took us through some more distant areas of the park, and we scared up three game birds that I originally thought were Ptarmigans. I researched it this morning, finding out that the ptarmigan is extremely rare in Maine, and we most likely saw the Spruce Grouse which is still pretty rare. Either way, it was really cool to get off the “beaten path” and encounter some trails with fewer people on them. I forgot to mention yesterday that we saw Peregrine Falcons from both the Precipice Trail and the Jordan’s Cliff trail. The Park is actively supporting their reintroduction to the cliffs in Acadia. You can read more about what the Park is doing here.
Today the wind is howling from the east, making Southwest Harbor (exposed to the east) very rough. It’s starting to moderate and it’s supposed to die down by this afternoon. We’re hoping this is true because our friends Dave and Jess should be arriving about 3:00 to spend a couple days aboard. Hopefully the rain dissipates and we can enjoy the park while they’re here.
[The photos below are from our hikes on Thursday and Friday. Note that the photos on the Precipice and Jordan Cliffs trails were taken at safe spots, I wasn’t thinking about taking photos at the scariest parts of the trails!]
