Hiking 2:00:00 [1] 14.92 km (8:03 / km) +825m 6:18 / km
shoes: 201104 NB 759
Jess and I took a three day weekend and went up to Acadia. She has been there many times while in college and afterward, but this was my first. Saturday was largely a travel day, though we went on one excursion to see the sunset, built a fire at our campground at the Seawall, and had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall at South Harbor.
On Sunday, we set out to climb 470m Cadillac Mountain, the highest in Acadia, via the scenic South Ridge trail. I was interested in the ladder trail up the east face, but Jess wisely advocated the south ridge route. It was magnificent, with some impressive vistas of the park below. (Pics to come later).
The glory of the summit of Cadillac was somewhat diminished by the road to the top - just as we tasted victory, an SUV full of tourists drove past us. Disappointing. During lunch at the summit, we made friends with Seymour the Seagull - who enjoyed some of my goldfish. We were feeling strong, so we elected to climb nearby 380m Pemetic, about a kilometer to the southwest. We descended Cadillac via the steep and difficult west ridge trail - 300 m descent in 1.3 km; for reasons unclear, my trail map listed the west ridge trail as moderate and the south ridge as strenuous.
After a break at Bubble Pond, the low point between Cadillac and Pemetic, we marched up the Pemetic north ridge in about an hour to behold a glorious vista. The summit of Pemetic, uncluttered by trees and legions of motorized tourists, offered a welcome solitude, and a great view of Cadillac. Pemetic is a steeper and more compact mountain than Cadillac. We descended the south ridge of Pemetic, visited the summit of 213m Triad mt, and hiked about 3 miles to our car. We took lots of breaks; I estimate the entire route could be completed in 3-4 hours. The Bubble mountains and Sargeant mountain looked impressive; we will hike them next time.
That evening, we showered, ate a dinner of hanger steak and pasta in Bar Harbor, had ice cream, and enjoyed a fire in our campground.