fautrever.com

For our time on Mount Desert Island (MDI) we opted to stay on the “Quietside.” Meaning that we were on the opposite side of the island from the ultra-touristy town of Bar Harbor. Our RV park was tucked in the hills above the small fishing village of Southwest Harbor. When I say hills I am not kidding, our bike ride into town was just over a mile but it was uphill both ways. And I don’t mean gentle little hills, I mean steep, long hills, the kind where you are fighting against rolling backwards with every rotation of the pedal. If you have ever been lucky enough to ride the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race course in the hills north of Tucson you will remember a section called the Seven Sisters, (actually, people who rode them had a different name for those girls) you know the kind of hills I am talking about. Thankfully, we only had the two but it was enough.

One of the most fantastic things about Acadia National Park is the Island Explorer shuttle bus. The system wraps all around the island and rides are free. The Island Explorer buses run on propane and are an attempt to ease congestion and reduce emissions in the very popular park. There are over 120 miles of trails in Acadia and most of the trailheads can be reached by shuttle. Clearly we would not be able to hike them all. We began our stay by focusing on the trails on our side of the island.

Every afternoon we picked a direction and hopped on our bikes. We rode over to Long Pond, our town’s municipal water supply, and then over to the beach at Echo Lake. Lance swam out in the clear blue water; keeping him company were a group of American Black Ducks and a Common Loon. I stayed on the shore and was serenaded by Dark-eyed Juncos and Cedar Waxwings. Another afternoon we rode out to peek at Somes Sound (which may or may not be the only fjord on the East Coast depending on which geologist you ask). From our vantage point overlooking Valley Cove we could hear Peregrine Falcons screeching and squawking.

The Peregrines in Acadia were all reintroduced in the mid-1980s. The first successful nesting was in 1991 and the population continues to reclaim its former habitat. In an effort to protect the fledgling falcons, the Park closes some trails during nesting season. Sadly, none of the nests were successful this year so the closures were lifted. There were other trails closed though but by a very odd phenomenon.

Starting late last September MDI was shaken by a series of earthquakes. Considered geologically rare in this ancient and stable part of the continent, the 38 earthquakes ranged in magnitude from mild tremors to well over 3.0. The quake that caused the most damage in the Park was the 4.2 rumbler in October that was centered near Egg Rock (island). The tremors continued until the end of December; thankfully it was a time of low visitation and no major injuries were reported.

Another afternoon we made a loop hike out of the Wonderland and Ship Harbor Trails and then caught the last rays of the sun out at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. The sun set directly behind the lighthouse which made for difficult shots but the view out over the water was amazing. We watched Common Eiders floating in large groups called “rafts,” we saw Harbor Seals swimming and even Harbor Porpoises feeding. Nice way to end a beautiful, if slightly warm, day.

I must admit that I didn’t think there would be so many trees on the island. I guess I was picturing it as more tundra-like. The terrain on top of Great Head fit my notions, it was a giant granite monolith with stunted plants clinging to life, rooted in the limited soil atop the mountain. The hike was gorgeous even if we were in pea soup fog, we could see where land ended and that was about it. We would have had a great shot of Sand Beach, the only oceanfront beach in Acadia, had the sky cleared. Amazingly, people do swim in the Atlantic Ocean up there, even though its only 55 degrees!

Our afternoon was all about adventure, including trying to get home. There are times when being at the mercy of public transportation really stinks, like when you misread the schedule and end up stranded ten or so miles from the nearest town. Thankfully there were still a few cars in the parking lot. One by one we asked them for a ride and our hopes dwindled to the last two mini-vans. Two sisters vacationing with their kids squeezed us in and we breathed a sigh of relief. For the rest of our trip we were extra careful to make sure that didn’t happen again. Although we still don’t understand why the Island Explorer stops running the Park Loop so early—it wasn’t even dark yet!

We were so disappointed when we learned our much anticipated whale and puffin watching trip was canceled the next morning because of the fog. We determinedly rescheduled for the following day and boy, we were lucky. Overnight, the wind changed direction and the cool northern air blew away all the fog. A cool and slightly breezy sunny morning greeted us. It was a good thing too, since I have a tendency to get mildly seasick. I can handle the ride as long as there is a breeze and if the seas aren’t too rough.

As our boat picked up speed we donned our jackets. They weren’t kidding when they said it gets cold out there; with the windchill it was in the 40s. Harbor Seals, Gray Seals, Harbor Porpoises, Black Guillemots and Northern Gannets kept us company as we headed out into the Gulf of Maine. Our first stop was just off Petit Manan Island, a gorgeous, if desolate rock topped with a tall lighthouse. We were there to see a reintroduced population of Atlantic Puffins. While we did see Puffins, I was sorely disappointed in how few there were and how small they seemed. They are smaller than the average crow! At least now I can say I have seen them.

After another 15 minutes or so we reached a popular whale feeding area. The boat slowly worked its way towards spouts, taking care to never directly approach the whales. At a distance we could see Humpback and Finback Whales, then suddenly a Humpback mother and calf appeared near the boat. As we floated on the water, Knuckles and her baby swam around us. (The naturalist on board the boat was able to identify the mother by her unique tail markings.) A baby Humpback is just as curious as other youngsters that age, he “spyhopped”—stuck his head out of the water—so he could see us better.

He was also playful: he rolled, splashed his fins on the water, half-breached and clap-jawed. We couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining nor revealing look into a young whale’s behavior. Even the naturalist was astounded by the experience.

How do you top a morning like that? Climb to the top of the highest peak on the East Coast, Cadillac Mountain. Thankfully, at 1530 feet it isn’t really all that tall. Since we like to make loops we hiked up one way and down another. We chose the trail shortest in mileage for the way up. Of course, you know that means it was also the steepest. All our huffing and puffing was worth it, once on top we could see for almost 100 miles. We saw Mt. Katahdin to the west and island after island stretching out to the horizon in the east. It was crowded up there since the summit has a road right to it, but once on the trail we had the place to ourselves.

On our descent we had a great view out over Frenchman’s Bay and Bar Harbor. A mid-mountain surprise was a blueberry-eating horde of gulls. We couldn’t figure out why they were all walking around the mountainside until we saw the juice on their beaks and came across their purple poo. I don’t blame them, the whole hill was covered in small blueberry bushes. I won’t say where I came across some berries since I don’t want to incriminate myself, but they were really good.

Next morning we were back out on the water but this time it was human-powered: we went sea kayaking. Any nervousness I had disappeared when I saw the surface of the water; it was smooth as glass. Our 12 mile paddle went without a hitch. There were a few other kayakers out there but mostly it was the 13 of us and wildlife. Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoises, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Belted Kingfishers and Common Loons went about their business. One of the Porpoises was a baby, no more than three feet long. So tiny and amazing!

Our kayak trip ended sooner than we wished, we never wanted it to end but the Carriage Roads were calling. We parked at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, which has ample RV parking, and rode our bikes down to the Jordan Pond House at the foot of Jordan Pond. Since our ride took us past several ponds and boggy areas we kept an eye out for moose, beavers, and bears, but to no avail. There are a few moose and bear on the island but they are rarely seen. Someone said the bears hang out around Bar Harbor’s town dump, not exactly the wild environment we hoped for. We did see numerous beaver lodges, White-Tailed Deer, Raccoons, Red Squirrels and a Pickerel Frog during our stay on the island.

We stayed for tea at the teahouse and it was the first time either of us had tasted popovers. A friend who once lived on the island told us the trick to eating them: poke a hole in the piping hot pastry, put in a pat of butter and some strawberry jam, and wait. After a few minutes the butter will have melted and coated the inside. They were delicious! We worked off the extra calories by taking the long way home. We are glad we did because those carriage roads were much less crowded.

After freshening up we headed into Bar Harbor for dinner, what better way to say goodbye to the Maine coast than to finally have a lobster dinner? I had heard good things about Poor Boys Gourmet restaurant but I hadn’t thought to make reservations. The owner was about to turn us away when I spied a tiny table near the door that was empty. It had such a poor location in the restaurant that she rarely seats anyone at it. We were fine with it because it got us into the restaurant! And we were not disappointed, everything was amazing. Good, fresh food and healthy portions at reasonable prices—our favorite—and in a place like Bar Harbor, a rarity.

Speaking of Bar Harbor, it is named after a long sandbar that connects Bar Island to MDI at low tide. A local told us that sometimes tourists desperate for a parking spot will park on the sand beach and leave their car for the day. It is usually gone when they get back, but then so is the “sand beach.” The tow companies have to wait until the next low tide in order to pull it out but by then, who’d want it?

On an island like MDI you can’t help but notice the various competing interests in the land and the way it is managed. I would think having a National Park nearby would be a good thing but as Linda Greenlaw explains in her book, The Lobster Chronicles, the residents of Isle au Haut (pronounced I-la-HOE) were none to pleased when a land owner donated close to half the island to Acadia. The islanders worry that the Park will infringe upon their decades-old way of making a living, fishing. Actually, I think it should be called lobstering.

Greenlaw’s book was a fascinating read because it not only helped put a human face on this rugged country that we were visiting, but because I received a sneak peek into a lobsterman’s life (she’s one of the few women out there lobstering). It is a difficult, dangerous and sometimes fruitless job. Lobstermen jokingly call their lobster pots (traps) “poverty boxes” and some years they aren’t kidding. Other years they can haul in thousands of dollars worth of the crustaceans.

You might have heard Greenlaw’s name before, her first book The Hungry Ocean was on The New York Times bestseller list for quite a while but she was also portrayed in The Perfect Storm. She was one of the swordboat captains that survived that horrific event. We haven’t read her other books yet, but they are on our must read list since this book was so interesting.

After our coastal immersion we turned our RV inland, and so began our long, slow journey back to the Southwest.

Photos: View our photographs from Acadia National Park.

Notes: We stayed in Acadia National Park from 07/29/07 to 08/10/07.