Many of the carriage trails and hikes begin and end around Acadia’s Jordan Pond House. The restaurant, on the shores of Jordan Pond, has been in the park since the 1800’s. Many of the hiking trails and almost all the carriage trails start here.
Today we hiked around the Jordan Pond. It’s a long but really pleasant trail that showcases much of what’s especially good about Acadia. We started in mid-afternoon.
Today’s weather couldn’t have been more perfect for this hike. I’ve been here when the weather is in the 90’s and it’s awful. One year it was hot the whole first week and we did most of our hiking early in the morning – and only on short trails and paths so we’d be finished by 10:30. But today was in the mid-70’s, warm enough that we didn’t have to wear extra clothing and cool enough for brisk walking – thoroughly enjoyable.
When Joseph and I first did this trail a long time ago, the beginning was a flat path. Over the years, however, environmental concerns resulted in the installation of a “boardwalk” that runs about one-third of the way around the Jordan Pond. The boards are just wide enough to walk on. They make a lot of sense for the environment but not for seeing all the beauty around the path. So I was thinking that it was kind of funny that I had to remind myself to look out to the water.
Once off the boards, the next section is mostly a granite boulder path that you have to climb over. This year a family of six passed us going the opposite direction. We had just gone through the most difficult part of the granite path and they were just about to start it. On seeing the path the mom shouted, loudly and unhappily, “oh come on.” You could tell that she’d just about had it with all the nature stuff. Joseph and I laughed, mostly because we’ve had that same experience on different trails. But not on this one because we almost always do the “boardwalk and boulder” side first.
About half-way around the Jordan Pond, there is a little bridge after which the path turns into a footpath and is a very easy walk. Long, but easy. It’s scenic, very peaceful and is conducive to good chats, walking meditations, and simply marveling at the magnificence of nature.
While I’m always looking for views and vistas, Joseph goes in search of critters. On a path like this he finds fish, frogs, caterpillars, spiders and occasionally, on the mountain side, some other creatures.
Some of the prettiest views of the area can be seen from here. Today we could see the sun just before it started to slide behind the mountain. It was shining its light on the Jordan Pond and looked like it was enjoying a sparkling late afternoon foxtrot with the water.
As we got close to the end, we crossed the sections of the path that have spectacular pictures of the much photographed “Bubbles” mountains. These mountains are almost part of the Acadia brand, seen in dozens of pictures.
We wound our way back to the Jordan Pond House parking lot. Joseph and I thought about staying for high tea with popovers and strawberry jam. But, since we started hiking later, we knew we’d see more of the dinner crowd than the tea drinkers. We decided to hold off on the popover treat until another day.
Instead we headed back to the cottage for drinks and dinner. It was a good day.
©AnnmarieKelly2014. All Rights Reserved.
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