Gorge Trail – Acadia

A few days after hiking Beech Mountain in Acadia National Park, I found myself heading up to Mount Desert Island once more to make use of the 7 day visitor pass (the park does not issue day passes). I had offered my unexpired visitor pass to a co-worker and she mentioned that we should attempt the Gorge Trail on our next day off.

When I researched this trail, which heads up Cadillac Mountain, I found descriptions such as, “dogs are permitted on this trail though the upper section of the Gorge Trail is too steep and dangerous for many dogs”, or after reaching the top of the gorge there was still “500 feet to rise in only four tenths of a mile” . Huh? At this point I turned to my friend at said, “are you out of your mind!?” She swore that she was not interested in reaching the summit of Cadillac Mountain, she only wanted to reach the top of the stone steps and turn around. Given this assurance I agreed to attempt the hike.

Once at the trail-head, we descended a set of stairs towards Kebo Brook. We paused a few minutes to study the brook and the stone bridge spanning the flowing water. It was here that I realized I had found my new hiking partner; a kindred spirit who also wanted to take the time to meditate on her surroundings and photograph her observations.

After ascending a short series of steps on the opposite side of the brook, we continued on our adventures through a dark forest, crossing a bog bridge along the way. It wasn’t long before the terrain began to take on a rocky appearance and we were climbing alongside a stream. We stopped many times along the way to study the granite walls around us, wondering who lived in the cave-like holes carved in the stone. We also took delight in the numerous waterfalls along the trail. We certainly had amble opportunity to admire those waterfalls since the trail crossed the water many times. Near the top of our climb, we found the most beautiful cascade of our hike. With water rushing over the rocks, stairs ascending nearby and the surrounding greenery, we had truly found the spirit of nature. We certainly spent a bit of time meditating on the view.

At this point I was in the lead and, as a looked ahead I noticed that the trail was becoming more vertical. The flat stones used to pave the path were disappearing. I informed my friend that I had reached the end of the line but she went on for a  short distance before turning around. While I sat on a rock and waited, I noticed some vegetation growing on another boulder nearby. I went over to study the greenery, able to determine that there was definitely some kind of lily in the greenery. I later identified this as a Blue-bead Lily. Once again, two kindred spirits took some time practicing photographing the flowers before heading back down the trail. Our round-trip adventure was a little under 3 hours.

 

Beech Mountain

After our short visit to the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden, we headed towards Beech Mountain and the Beech Mountain Loop trail. When planning our trip to the Southwest Harbor side of Acadia, I had researched several hiking options in the area. Given all the rain in previous weeks, and consequently, our lack of getting out to exercise, I knew our endurance level would be low. There were a number of options that would take us to the top of Beech Mountain, but when I saw someone’s description of the “short-and-sweet Beech Mountain Loop” I knew I had found our trail.

Arriving at the trail-head we opted to walk the loop in a counter clockwise direction, which would take us up the longer trail first. A short way into our hike, we stopped to examine the flowers hanging underneath the leaves of some unidentified tree. I researched this flower after our trip and I believe the tree was a young striped maple.

In between the typical granite composition of the Mount Desert Island trails, there were some areas that were a bit muddy, but nothing that we couldn’t handle. The black flies were still around as well. I did not really notice the flies until I discovered a large bite later on. Despite all this, the day was sunny and it just felt good to be outside.

As we made our way up the path, the forest thinned out and allowed us some wonderful views of Long Pond. I believe I photographed this pond several times during our ascent. Soon the trees gave way to granite ledge, giving us a clear view of Long Pond. Following the trail around the ledge, we re-entered the forest for a bit. Here we found an old structure that had the appearance of an outhouse, now locked and decommissioned.

Pretty soon, we ascended a short flight of stone steps which deposited us just beneath the summit. We scrambled up the last section to the top of Beech Mountain and the base of an old fire tower. There was plenty of ledge for us to sit and rest a bit while we enjoyed the views of the Cranberry Islands and our snack.

After our snack, we decided to continue on the loop rather than return on the same section of trail we had just completed. This side of the loop was a bit more challenging, with a more rocky portions to scramble down. In a few places that required a long stretch, I used the sit and slide approach to make my way down to the next rock. My philosophy has always been that there are times when it does not pay to try and appear graceful. This was one of them. Since this was the shorter section of the loop, it wasn’t long before we had completed the loop. A few more feet and we were back at the parking lot. The clouds were beginning to return, so we called it a day and stopped for lunch before heading home.

Butterfly Gardens and Quilt Shops

Back in April, my daughter and I had participated in the annual Quilt Shop Hop. We had dutifully gotten our “passports” stamped at each shop we visited and mailed them off to the coordinator in May. This would allow us to take part in the drawing for various prizes based on the number of shops stamped on our card. Near the beginning of June, I received a letter from the Shop Hop coordinator that I had won one of the third place prizes. The down-side was that I had to go to the shop to pick it up which was a 2 hour ride from our home.

Since the shop just happened to be near Acadia National Park, we decided to make a day of it and found some moderate hiking trails nearby. We would visit the quilt store first (of course) and then head to the trails. I fully expected that when we got to the shop, I would be given a quilting tool or some fabric and we could go on our way, but when I got there I discovered that I could pick out $100 worth of anything in the store! Wow! This was going to take longer than I anticipated. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I circled the store multiple times, while I selected fabric. My husband encouraged me to go over the allotted amount and increase my stash saying that I always bought too little of what I needed. Imagine a spouse encouraging a quilter to buy more fabric! He really is a keeper. When I was done I had a wide piece of red fabric to back my current project, 3 yards of a blue fabric, 3 yards of a green “fossil fern” fabric and 2 cool red, orangey bundles of 10 fat quarters. Mission accomplished.

After we left the shop, we crossed the street towards the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden. I had been told about this place by a friend who works at one of the campgrounds near Acadia. He mentioned that he and his wife would get coffee and just sit in the garden enjoying the views. The minute we stepped in the garden, I understood why they liked this little gem. The garden was small but I could just imagine the abundance of blooms and butterflies at the height of the summer, not to mention the benches situated with great view of the water.

We wandered around for a few minutes admiring the early Spring blossoms and the sculpture of a rather large caterpillar sitting on a boulder before continuing on towards the trail.

 

Triangles

Except for a very few warm days, May was very wet and cold. So much so, that hiking and other outdoor explorations were pretty much nonexistent. I don’t often plan a quilt during the summer months but with the weather not cooperating, it was the perfect time to plan a new project.

After delivering my last big quilt project to friends during our April trip to Long Island, I decided that another friend was due for a comforter. During our visit she had mentioned changing her domestic colors to more “tropical and sunny” colors to remind her of Florida. So a few weeks ago, I casually tried to discover her color scheme. Unfortunately when asked, she merely stated that her kitchen would be teal. Huh. Well that didn’t work, so I flat out had to tell her that she was next in line for a quilt and what colors would she prefer. I got “oh, how sweet…..” but no colors. After going around a few more times, I finally got blues, teals and yellows. Now I could begin.

Playing with some designs on my quilt design software package I narrowed in on several designs. First I arranged a log cabin pattern with a star in the center but it didn’t grab me. Then I tried a Rosebud block both in a straight set and on point but I wasn’t feeling it that either. Finally, I started playing with various triangle combinations until I came up with a ribbon design. After adding some appropriate colors to the design I was satisfied. The color choices could lend itself to being named, “tropical adventures”, or “sun, sand and sea”. The ribbon design made me think of “friendship twist”, or given our sense of humor, “twisted friendship”.

The finished size of the blocks proved a bit too large to be able to use my collection of fat quarters, so unfortunately I needed to acquire additional fabric. Somehow, I managed to find a variety of fabrics that contained some kind of sea-type pattern that would fit the theme of this quilt. I was now ready for the construction phase of the project.

I thought that there might be some way to cut and create the quarter-square triangle portion of the block, similar to the method used to create half-square triangle blocks but alas that did not happen. I needed all the dark colors to end up on the same side of the block, but no matter what variation of construction I tried the results were always the same; pieces that were mirror images of each other. The only thing I could do was cut the appropriate size square, divide said square into quarter square triangles and create the necessary finished block piece by piece. If anyone knows of a better way to construct a split quarter-square, half-square triangle block I would be happy to hear about it.

Once I had constructed a few blocks I assembled the first two rows. I must say I was pleased with the design and the color scheme.

Great Salt Bay Farm

A hint of summer was in the air when I decided to head down to Damariscotta and explore the Great Salt Bay Farm. I arrived mid-morning and stood for a few minutes near the kiosk trying to locate the trail. From where I stood, I could see an expanse of lawn and a pond but no clear direction around the area. A gentleman finishing up his morning walk pointed the way and I was off.

The first section of the trail, took me through lush, green fields sprouting wild strawberry flowers, violets and dandelions. This area was also filled with bird song. I watched as birds flitted about, unable to identify any one of them but one bird did stand out. I spied a rather large black and white bird as it settled in the grass, flew a short distance and settled down again. After consulting my bird book, I was pretty certain that I spotted an Eastern Kingbird.

Reaching the top of a hill, I studied the area in all directions trying to determine where the mowed trail continued before heading downhill away from the water view. For a few minutes I wondered if I had made a mistake as I schlepped through a rather wet muddy area, but no, the path continued towards a wooded section of the property. When I thought about walking this area, I had decided since it would be flat, I would be okay with sneakers rather than boots but I soon discovered that I had made a poor choice since more than 50% of the area was wet.

Entering the woods, I found a blanket of the ubiquitous Canada Mayflower leaves, along with Wild Sarsaparilla. The ferns in this area had almost completely unfurled, although a few still displayed some artistic curls as they continued the unfolding process. I soon came to an area where several rough shelters had been erected around the trees. Here, I had to look around a bit to locate the continuation of the trail.

The path soon left the woods behind and led me near a marshy area of the farm. Not only did I have to cross a rather questionable bridge across the water, but, when I reached the other side I had to struggle a bit to climb up the eroded bank. Back on the grassy lane, I encountered two women coming from the opposite direction. We chatted a bit before one of them pointed out an osprey carrying a fish towards its nest. We watched its flight for a while before continuing on our respective journeys.

I made my way towards the point, where the women told me I would see the shell middens. I found this rather odd since I knew the large midden was on the opposite side of Route 1 but I headed towards the point anyway just to explore what was there. A few benches had been placed around the point for travelers to pause and watch the activity on the bay. A short distance further on, I spotted a patch of Red Columbine. Interestingly enough, they were growing in an area that was covered with shells.

Returning from the point, I walked the Chestnut Grove loop, passing underneath the osprey nest. It was getting warmer and I was getting tired, so I opted out of the Bay loop, continuing on the most direct trail towards the car. It had been a lovely hour of exploration but now I had fabric to buy for my next quilt project and needed to get on with that task.