Sunday, August 7, 2011

Isle au Haut, Acadia National Park Hike

Hayden and Radeen on top of Duck Mountain, Isle au Haut
Following our good friends Eric and Patricia, who are the directors of our "Outward Bound" hiking program, we followed the Duck Harbor Trail up to the peak of Duck Mountain, 314 feet high. Compared to the hike Eric and Patricia did to reach Cadillac Mountain at 1300+ feet, this was a breeze.....for them....and a stretch for us. We love to hike trails, and take in the beauty, but scaling granite boulders and steep grades was a new challenge for us. The beauty of these park trails is breathtaking! hen you reach a summit on a clear day, you are rewarded with a vista across the bay and back to Vinalhaven and the Camden hills. Thank you, Team Cutter Loose for leading us through a beautiful trail and climb.

Here are some photos of the 50+ I shot....

The Park Map, Duck Harbor Trail lower left
Island Spirit IP35 and Cutter Loose IP460 at anchor Duck Harbor
Part way up, with a look back to our boats in the harbor

A great view overlooking the bay

Looking north to Merchant Row
Patricia with Eric pointing to our boats in the harbor

Dew on the local vegetation

One granite rock ledge we climbed, National Park Service has cut hand holds into the rocks, Eric leads us UP!
Patricia easily handles the hike down
Beautiful close up of a mushroom and moss...NO we did not eat this :-)
Back down to our boats at anchor, before we depart for Eggemoggin Reach


CHECK OUT THE 10' TIDES....

Notice the high tide mark on granite blocks at the dinghy dock!
Tide part way down on dinghy dock.
Tide down, part way, these blocks are about 3 feet thick!

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