Gorham Mountain and Champlain Mountain
The weekend before last marked the official start to the fall/winter hiking schedule for the Jax hiking club. With ever decreasing sunlight, out hikes have been moved to the weekends. This means less hiking in the dark and longer hikes.
For our first hike, we combined two peaks we had already visited in the summer. We started with Gorham mountain. This tail is really a treat. There aren't any tricky climbs. The trail isn't all that long. And the views look out to the west of the island. I swear I can almost see Nova Scotia on a clear day.
On the way down the north ridge of Gorham we headed towards the Bowl pond on the newly re-worked trails. I'm always in awe of the trail crew who sweat and bleed to make the beautiful trails that allow for exploration of Acadia National Park. In a way, this increased access is a double-edged sword. The Bowl trail intersects with Beehive and is only a 5 minute walk from Sand Beach. Great for the tourist. Bad for the Rangers and Rescuers that have to deal with the increased injuries that come from more people have easier access to trail they might not necessarily be ready for. But increased access is good for increased revenue. Maybe it's a triple-edged sword.
The even trails and gradual cribbed steps are pretty and make hiking more like a walk in the park than a death march.
[image error]We stopped at the Bowl pond to enjoy a light lunch. It wasn't until we were part way up Halfway Mountain that you could see the traces of the glacier's work in carving out the Bowl pond and leaving behind the heavy of rocks that is the Beehive.
The park is full of interesting geological features that are a marvel to observe and explore.
Halfway Mountain lies somewhere between the Beehive and the Champlain Mountain ridge. We stopped several times guessing we have found it. I'm still not sure we did. Needless to say the hiking took on a more challenging nature as we headed towards the summit of Champlain. There are some great rock scrambles that could be made harder than they have to be for the more adventurous. For the less adventurous fear not, even with my bunged up ankle I was able to scramble up the trail with only a few breaks (to rest, not of the ankle).
We topped Champlain before long and headed down the easier Bear Brook trail. It took about 4 hours to complete hike with several stops to view the views and take pictures. I spent more time banging on my camera than taking pictures with it. It might be time to retire my Coolpix and upgrade. It's had an intermittent lens error that seems to only respond to violence and is increasing in frequency with time and desire to capture the image.
Bonus sightings: first ice and snow. Not too surprising and only news after the snow storm the following day.
