A better hike, East Coast style – July 14th

We camped near Acadia National Park because everything we read said there were a lot of great hiking trails in the park. And we think we found the best, a loop to Sargent and Penobscot Mountains.

With a sunny morning calling, we packed our lunch, filled our Camelbacks, donned our hiking duds, and set off to the top of the RV Park, where the Island Explorer bus picked us up. With a transfer to another route at the Visitor Center (seriously, this is like a city Metro system, only a) it’s smaller, b) the tourist to commuter ratio is seriously inverted, c) there’s no graffiti, and d) people look like they actually want to be there), we eventually were the only riders to the Parkman Parking lot. Why weren’t more people riding, especially hikers? The Parks staff had continually warned everyone that the parking lots fill early (they do), there’s no parking along the road (oh, really?) and the park needs our ecological help to reduce the growing number of cars (that was apparent, especially in the popular spots). The bus system is ideal for setting up a one-way hike which meant we didn’t have to do the usual out-and-back and risk tedium on the return.

Next, as we looked at the trail map, we understood why writers reported so many great trails in the park. There’s dozens of them! But they’re really short. So you have to plan a route that would be like driving through an old town, …take a right here, .2 miles to the intersection, take another right, then a left and you still may have only covered a half mile. Gosh, we were hoping to hike about eight miles. We took four different trails over three peaks, and we covered only 4.4 miles.

And then there’s the east coast elevation gain. In Norway, we were blown away by the regular local hikers who casually talked about 7000 foot gains in a day hike. We were pretty proud to climb Sourdough Mountain in the North Cascades with its 5000 foot gain. And I remember hiking up at over 14,000 ft and a few hikes at 11 and 12,000.

Our Acadia hike gained 1,078 ft to reach the peak at 1,377.⛰

The top of the hill behind our house is just under 3,000.

Context is everything, and these hikes in Acadia were truly fun, very pretty, and unique.

And for those of you who are snarking “well,..you could have gone longer or made it a round trip instead of sounding like some West coast hiking snob,” actually we couldn’t. A lightning storm came roaring in at mile 3.75 so we scrambled down off the peak and finished the day with blueberry lemonade and popovers to watch the storm and think about how tired we were[n’t].

–Fred

I truly enjoyed our hike, cool very different rocks, hiking along a open ridges with views of lakes, inlets and the Atlantic all around us. The clouds are amazing, every day I am in awe pretty much every time a cloud cover appears in the sky! After our hike and dinner we went back to Bar Harbor for really good ice cream and a drive up Cadillac Hill to watch the sunset. I did not know this was a thing, but it was, the parking lot was full of people enjoying nature and the setting of the day, what a way to end another enjoyable day!

–Milissa

The Acadia Ride

Our bike shorts have extra padding, kind of like a sewn-in diaper, but only for absorbing road->butt forces. We wear special shirts to wick the sweat and special gloves to prevent road rash if we fall. We outfitted our helmets with two-way communicators that also connect to our cell phone for music, GPS directions, and even phone calls. Oh my. We each have a special pack to carry patch kits, and other bike accessories, first aid kit, a jacket, and, of course, something chocolate. When we get on our matching electric mountain bikes and set off for a ride, we definitely look like the geeks of the week – talking to each other.

And so it was for this 44-miler. Leaving the folding-chair folks staring at their mid morning smoking campfires, we rode a short section of highway, some back roads, and then into the Acadia National Park. Then the trees, the lakes, the rocky shores, the sailboats in the distance – it was as if they all coordinated with each other to make the sum more than the parts. Gorgeous.

This park goes back a long way, maybe the first in the country, and certainly a special place set aside by John D. Rockefeller (“Thanks, John!)” and a few of his other cronies and conservationists. By the way, I learned that John was the richest man in US history, having personal wealth equivalent to 2% of GDP. Not even Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates can claim that.

Nearly halfway through the ride, we stopped at the Jordan Pond House for a late lunch and a sample of their famous 100+ year specialty tradition, the popover. Popovers have a lighter crust than Yorkshire pudding, with a cavernous middle designed to fill with butter and blueberry jam. We dutifully obliged, with guilty smiles.

Back on the bikes and heading south, we ventured along a road outside the park and along the coast. Most of the homes there were 6-12,000 square foot summer cottages, and must have been Mr. Rockefeller’s great great grandchildren’s, or perhaps other aristocrats who located their second, or twelfth, homes nestled among the trees and rocks overlooking the Atlantic.

We circled back through Bar Harbor (pronounced “Bah Ha Bah), and slowed with the traffic and the crowds. Beautiful as it is, Acadia is over-toured. And we weren’t even there on a cruise ship day – yikes. We steeled ourselves, parked the bikes, and followed the camp host’s recommendation to Mt Desert Island Ice Cream. Soon, all the tension of the tourist crowds melted away with our double scoops of frozen excellence.

The eight miles home was a dream fueled by ice cream for this two wheeled geek team.

–Fred

I am always happy riding our bikes, so much fun and the pedal assist make hills a non issue, something we need to stay healthy as we move into our 60’s! Yum, Yum, Popovers! The Best! When we arrived back to the campground after our ride we both were talking about how much a quick swim would be in order. We got into our suits and walked to the pool, it was about 7:30pm and the sun sets about 8:15pm. When we got to the pool the gate was locked and no one was around “What”, the sign said the pools closes at 1/2 hour before dusk. That was an invitation for Fred to go inside the office and talk about the relative position of our latitude, tilted sun, dark matter, and the applicability of the “pool closes 1/2 hour before dusk” (I was ok with turning around and just take a shower) but no here comes Fred with the guy with the keys and they both had a smirk on their faces, the guy opened the gate and said have fun and enjoy! Fred is the BEST!

–Milissa

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Popovers

Mt. Desert Narrows RV Park – Acadia NP – July 12th-14th

Acadia National Park, which is a very busy and popular place to visit in the summer. What goes with that is crowded RV parks and a crowded touristy town, Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor also hosts cruise ships. Our first day we got set up and walked around the campground then went for a great lobster and ribs dinner. We enjoyed our stay but we were ready to hit the road because of the tight spaces and crowds. There is always more to experience!

July 12th – Berlin, NH to Mt. Desert Campground, ME

After spending a day and night at the Ford Dealership in Berlin we are on the road again. Two thumbs up to the Berlin Ford Dealership, they were terrific. Great customer service. We had Exhaust Temperature Sensors going bad, we had one replaced at a Ford Dealership about a week ago it was covered under warranty, the only thing they did not do is change 4 of 4 sensors, they only changed 1. The engine light went on again arriving at the White Mountains. This time the Berlin Ford Dealership changed all 3 sensors, cover under warranty, Yea.

Repairs and other tricks – Berlin Ford – July 12th

We camped last night in a Ford dealer’s parking lot. After we compared it to the state park nearby with its tight corners, unlevel sites and no hookups, we came back and asked if we could “camp” here and plug in a power cord. The trade-off was one weighing the risk of highway noise by the Ford shop against the ability to make espresso in the morning. But that was only part of the deal.

Just days after getting an exhaust temperature sensor replaced on the truck (covered by a Ford recall, thanks), the #%§¥$* “check engine” light once again commanded our attention with its completely non-specific nagging reminder that something is wrong. Pulling a trailer only adds urgency and worry to that little dashboard beacon. How is it that in these days when a watch can tell you it’s time to breathe and how many steps you’ve taken, we still have vehicles with the aptly named idiot light?

So, time to put adventures on hold and check in with the local Ford shop. As it turned out, there are four exhaust temperature sensors, and the super sharp mechanic at the last shop only replaced one. Parts like these aren’t in ready supply in rural NH, so we interrupted our travels and enjoyed a night on he asphalt and waited for parts.

Travel as we’re doing can’t be all fun and games. There are routine things you gotta do, and repairs like these that pop up. Like the windshield crack that sprang from a rock ding (thanks, backhoe hauler who didn’t bother to clean their rig before getting on the road!), which led to another wayward stop for a new windshield, and another thanks to the crew that shipped a scratched windshield to the shop. Two trips to the glass shop is two days blown.

Yet we’ve leaned another time- and money-saving trick for other preventive maintenance. When we set up an appointment for an oil change, or an RV repair, we do it in the town we’re flying from when we take a grandparents trip (kind of like being in the reserves, but a lot more fun) or side excursion (see previous posts from Europe). For an extra 20-30 days parking, the service writers invariably have to go ask somebody. With a yes, we don’t have to pay to park at the airport, and we don’t waste time waiting for repairs and parts. Heck, the Ford shop in El Paso even gave us a ride to the airport!

So now we just need to learn how to time any maintenance work with holidays. Creative cheap, with a little wheeling and dealing.

–Fred

Berlin Ford gets two thumbs up for great service and taking care of our engine light repair in a quick and professional manner! I took advantage of the down time and made GF chocolate chip cookies, and I am getting good at this Recepie, no one can tell they are GF! 🙂

–Milissa

MT. Washington, NH – Cog Train Up, Hike Down!

Sometimes our roles intertwine.  We are tourists.  We are hikers.  We are genetically wired to avoid pain.  So the idea of taking a train up the tallest mountain in New Hampshire and hiking back down makes perfect sense.  

The Way Up

The Mount Washington Cog Railway was built in 1869, making it the oldest of its kind in the world.  It started as a railway, scoffed at by the New Hampshire legislators who called it the “railway to the moon,” and began catering to the elites of the Northeast who would vacation at the giant resort hotels nearby.  Through several different owners, busts, booms, and breakdowns, it still chugs today to bring folks to the top to enjoy the views and the history.  

 The engineer guides are proud of their system’s survival; winters are harsh here, there are only about 65 clear weather days, and the winds are ferocious.  Mt Washington holds the world record for wind speed at 231 mph in 1934 and ties for second for the world’s coldest place at -34° F.

‘The Cog” is the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway).  Both steam and biodiesel-powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. It is the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus Railway in Switzerland with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.41%. The railway is approximately 3 miles long and climbs from 2,700 ft to the mountain’s summit peak of 6,288 feet at 2.8 miles per hour.

Sitting among the other tourists we could sense the fun and wonder among the wide-eyed kids, smiling parents and picture-snapping travelers.  Clearly this was not just a destination for the Northeast (and Southeast Canada).  It was a part of heritage and culture for the “Live Free or Die” state.  

And the Down East accent of the guide was priceless.  There was a haze in the sky from the fi-ahs in Manitober.  And you could see the glimmah of the Miker in the rocks.

The Way Down

We’ve done our share of these kinds of cheater hikes, riding gondolas, chairlifts and cog trains in mountains.  This hike connected to a section of the Appalachian Trail (in Down East, “Ah-pa-lah–chun”) and ran above the treeline for miles.  So we thought we’d turn the 5 mile descent into a healthy 10 miles with some out-and-back and then down.   Within a quarter mile of negotiating the rocks that form the base of the Jewel Trail, we changed our minds.  These rocks in these mountains have no discipline; they’re round and craggy and old and really hard to negotiate.  Do all metamorphic rocks make such crappy trails?  I realized we’ve been spoiled by too many great trails and thought a lot about crystalline structure and geology.   We slowed to a pace of just over 1 mph having to carefully watch our footing. 

 A visible, smell-able haze set thickly above us, denying the giant views (reported to be of five states, the coast and up into Canada), and setting a damper on the day.   Yet we still could appreciate being in the mountains again, and the views were nonetheless gratifying and part of the White Mountains experience.  

 In retrospect we managed to enjoy the hike, and chocked up another learning experience – we’ll look a little more at trail descriptions and photos next time.  From this hike of 5 miles (5 miles!  That’s nothing! Or we used to think so) of careful toe placement and balancing on every step, our sore, stiff calf muscles two days later are reminding us of the worn but deceitful mastery of the old rocky trails of the eastern mountains.