Kebo Mountain, Dorr Mountain and Gorge Path

Who: Greg and Kim

Start: 7:10am  Low 60's

Finish: 1:00pm  Upper 70's

Distance: 6.2 miles

We pulled in MDI at about 10:00pm after dropping Thomas off at the train station bound for Boston and his sister at MIT for the summer.  There were NO vacancies anywhere and we ended up getting gouged to the tune of $52 at the Bar Harbor KOA.  The funny thing is we set up at 10:30pm, dropped the cash in an envelope at the office, and then were packed and gone by 6:00am like ghosts.

This is our KOA campsite for $52.

We slept in the back on the air mattress with the added addition of shades over every window.  These were cut form insulation that came in a roll form Home Depot.  The interior was effectively a black cave, which was a bit claustrophobic.

After a stop at Hull's Cove Store for coffee and breakfast we drove along the Park Loop Road and found the trailhead which we were going to end at.  The jeep belongs to our new friends Tom and Becky who have spent the past 3 retirement years on the road in their 40 foot RV after liquidating things from their "normal" lives.  To follow their adventures click here. 

We walked east along the park loop road to this trail head.

The start of the trail.

This trial had a high number of dwarf Scotch pines...

and puzzle piece stone fragments.

As we gain elevation on Kebo Mountain we began to get a view of our old friends, Dorr and Cadillac Mountains.  From behind us we heard the occasional "ping" of a driver teeing off on the ball at the Kebo Valley Golf Course.

After the peak of Kebo, we descended into a valley on our northern approach to Dorr Mountain.

We came to the intersection with Hemlock Trail which we would hit at another point about 4 hours later.

Looking North towards Bar Harbor.

Cadillac Mountain to the southwest.

We summit Dorr Mountain for the second time in the summer of 2014!

 Views from the South Ridge Trail of Dorr Mountain

Cadillac Mountain South Ridge

Looking towards the Atlantic and Baker and Cranberry Islands

East towards Champlain Mountain

We were in a birds paradise with a woodpecker or two busily digging for insects in these pines.  Watch the accompanying video to see close-ups of this endeavor!

We intersected with the Canon Brook Trail and followed this west for about two tenths back to our favored trout pool from our last visit.  The water level was substantially lower form three weeks ago but still felt nice on our tiring feet.

This is where we rested for about an hour and had a great conversation with Tom and Becky about their chosen lifestyle.

And then if was north along the A. Murray Young Path.  This trail was constantly upward but not too steep and always following the stream and in great shade.

A plaque honoting Andrew Murray Young, "Who loved this island where God has given of its  beauty with a lavish hand."

 And then the terrain made a distinct and drastic change to a boulder field with some aggressive climbing to get up and over these obstacles that have plummeted here from the east of Dorr and the west of Cadillac.

Cadillac

We came to the trail that climbs down into the Gorge form Dorr and continues up to the summit of Cadillac.

At the this point we entered the construction zone of trail improvement and it made us realize the immense amount for work that goes into making a woodland alpine trail safe and fun but without seeming unnatural.  In the photos that follow are examples of how the workers have acquired suitable stepping stones on higher elevations, cleared a tram path for a cable and sling, stockpiled these stones for us to the lower section and run cables along the construction paths to move these stones where they will be placed.

Stockpiled stones for future footsteps.

You can see where they are found and the path hacked for the cable access.  In the foreground is a cable set to move the stones along the pathway.

A come-along on the cable.

New Path!  You can envision how this will improve this trail and looking at the previous blog entries that have photos of finished trials, it is impressive to witness the construction of a trail that is in need of work.

Tom and Becky made it back before we did!

After a quick lunch in the Pilot of bananas, nuts, and blueberry muffins, we were off to Hadley Point for a few hours of kayaking near the airport in Trenton.  We were looking for an archway that you can paddle through at high tide that Kim saw in the Downeast magazine.  No luck!

We found a campsite at our favorite spot, Bar Harbor campground (S3) and after a swim in the pool with a rainbow over Frenchman's Bay. 

We met the author /illustrator Brian Lies who was presenting his newest children's story "Bats in the Band".  He created a custom car that can be actually played as a musical instrument.  He was reading his book outside of Sherman's bookstore.

We had dinner at Galyn's Restaurant.

Mediterranean Scallops

See the videos of this hike at:
Kebo Mountain, Dorr Mountain, A. Murray Young Path, and Gorge Path

August in Acadia