Lovely walks and bridges in late fall

View from the West Branch Bridge

This last week of November has been unseasonably warm and great for hiking.  On wet, cloudy Sunday Frank, Leo and I walked the Carriage Road starting from the Jordan Pond House to the West Branch Bridge and the Cliffside Bridge.

The West Branch Bridge is a very tall, skinny bridge with lovely views of the Jordan Cliffs and a slit-like view of Little Long Pond and Bracy Cove, which can be seen through a gorge which I'm guessing has the West Branch of Jordan Stream running through it far below.

Leo at the base of the Jordan Cliffs Trail

 Walk a little further along the carriage road and you are at the base of the Jordan Cliffs Trail, with its steep, rough-hewn granite steps rising up into infinity.  There are expansive views of Little Long Pond, Bracy Cove and the Western Way as you walk along the ridge that rises above noisy Jordan Stream.

Frank and Leo arriving at the Cliffside Bridge

Less than 1/2 a mile from there is the massive, medieval-looking Cliffside Bridge, made of giant blocks of reddish rock, built right into the side of a cliff.  The views and the winds there are spectacular and expansive.  It is one of the warmest, sunniest spots in Acadia when you're skiing on a cold winter day.  You can see the top of Day Mountain, all of the Little Long Pond area, and the sea beyond.

The crossroads on the Hadlock Brook Trail

Today, Monday, Leo and I took a new walk, starting from the Brown Mountain Gatehouse, walking along the carriage road to the little Hadlock Brook Bridge, a pretty arched bridge over a sun-dappled brook in the middle of deep shaded woods.  There I decided to hike the Hadlock Brook Trail up to the Waterfall Bridge.  The trail was well-constructed but a little rough going, with roots and wet in some spots, and which required some creative thinking for how to cross some of the little streams without getting my feet wet.  (Leo loves getting his feet wet.)

It was one of those days in Acadia when it seems like hundreds of brooks and streams are rushing all around you.  At one point I stopped to listen in a spot where I could hear two large streams loudly rushing on both sides of me, but were made invisible by trees.  With the sun shining down and the smell of mud, wet leaves and pine needles wafting up, it was magical.

Arriving at the Waterfall Bridge

Our leisurely hike up to the Waterfall Bridge took only about half an hour, and when the bridge finally appeared it was as dramatic as I had hoped.  The waterfall was blasting full force, the best I've ever seen it.  It was much colder up on the carriage road than it had been in the woods, with a good wind blowing.  The walk back down to the parking lot was filled with thoughts of great skiing to come.

Hadlock Loop Starting from the Parkman Lot

Just a quick note about skiing the Hadlock Loop on this beautiful, sunny, 23 degree day, this time starting from the Parkman Mtn. parking lot (Signpost 12). I thought it might make a difference to split the big climb in half. (It didn't! It takes me an hour and a half either way.)

Conditions could not have been better. The snow had been machine-groomed yesterday afternoon and was just the tiniest bit icy with some powder on top. It was perfect and should be very crowded there tomorrow!

(Photo: The Waterfall Bridge looking north toward Parkman Mountain.)

Skiing to the Amphitheater Bridge

Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 -- We had some rain over the weekend that melted a couple inches of snow, and then we had a dusting of snow last night. Temp. was low 20's so it seemed like a good day to ski. I thought I'd ski from Brown Mountain Gate House (Signpost 18) to the Amphitheater Bridge and on to the Cliffside Bridge, then turn around and come back the same way.

At the outset conditions were only fair, with a lot of debris on the ground and no machine-set tracks. After turning south at Signpost 19 and climbing that little hill, skiing conditions significantly improved. I guess it's because the trees don't overhang the road as much. The melting snow from the overhanging tree branches also sometimes turns to ice in the tracks. Once up the hill conditions were good, the sun was blazing, and I was happily on my way.

One of my favorite things about xc skiing is how quickly you warm up and don't even notice the cold. You can turn your face to the bright sun and bask in it for as long as you like. (Sunshine on your skin is very good for you in the wintertime because it provides much-needed Vitamin D for your sunlight-starved body.) I did my basking at the top of the little hill we call Buena Vista, which is just south of Signpost 20, where you have a beautiful long view of Northeast Harbor and beyond. (Photo: "Buena Vista.")



After that I was able to ski pleasantly to the Amphitheatre Bridge. Skiing off that bridge is one of my favorite little downhills. Just a few yards beyond that there was a big landslide blocking the road! I had never seen anything like that in Acadia before. It appeared that the snowmobile had been able to drive over it and continue tracking the rest of the way, so I figured I would climb over it too. With my skis still on I attempted to side-step up and over it, but thought better of it and decided to remove my skis and turn around. I had already been out for 45 mins which is what I had originally planned. Even climbing down off of it without skis was a little treacherous.

Coming back was exceptionally pleasant as it is for the most part a gently undulating downhill slope between the Amphitheater Bridge and Signpost 19 heading south. Frankie calls this section the High Seas. See you next time! (Photo: A section of the "High Seas" between Signpost 20 and the Amphitheater Bridge.)

Beautiful Skiing at Witch Hole Pond & Hadlock Loop

A quick note to say I skied around Witch Hole on Thursday with a friend, which was great, then around the Hadlock Loop on Friday, rested Saturday, and today Frank and I skied around Witch Hole again. This was his first time out this year and he had tons of fun. Conditions were perfect once again, it was a little on the warm side, around 26 degrees, but the trails were well-groomed and we had no sticking problems. One weird thing that happened was that a plane landed on the pond just as we were coming down the section we call the Paper Clip, which is right after Signpost 3, between Signposts 3 and 5. It was a real North by Northwest moment!

(Photo: The "Paper Clip" on the Witch Hole Pond Loop in Acadia National Park.)

Maine Outdoor Journal article

Here's a nice new article from the Maine Outdoor Journal about cross-country skiing in Acadia:

http://maineoutdoorjournal.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=308989&ac=Outdoors

Lots of Nice New Snow

Yesterday and today it snowed all day, leaving a lovely six inches of powder so far. The forecast is for a total accumulation of 8-12 inches by the end of tomorrow.

I was able to ski for an hour today though it was almost too warm, just under 30 degrees F. Again because I am so out of shape I skied from Brown Mountain Gatehouse (Signpost 18) to the Hadlock Brook Bridge (halfway toward Signpost 13) and back, about 2 miles.

My waxless skis usually stick to the snow when it's warmer than 27 degrees and I had to remove my skis a couple of times to scrape off the snow. Once when the AWTA volunteer was coming by on the snowmobile I had to stand off to the side in the deep snow to get out of his way, and then I was stuck again and had to remove the skis and scrape them off, then unclog the snow from the clip on my boots, etc. But I'm not complaining! The AWTA is doing a heckuva job this year.

In short, it was warm, snowing, I was getting stuck a little, but the cross-country skiing in Acadia today was as lovely as ever.

There must be a better technique for getting the snow unstuck from the bottom of your waxless skis. I have tried the Swix wax for waxless skis and it only works for a few minutes, so hasn't been a good solution, not for me anyway. Here's an article I found at Cross Country Skier that might help. http://www.crosscountryskier.com/kick_and_glide_nov_2003.html

I have the Swix base cleaner so I will see if cleaning the base helps. Enjoy the snow!

Hooray! First Ski of the Season.

Today after a nearly three-week bout with the flu I finally got out there and skied for an hour at the Upper Hadlock Pond Loop. I am really out of shape, still not at 100% lung power, and about 20 lbs. heavier than the last time I skied probably 9 months ago, so I wanted to take it really easy. Being a conscientious self-coach, I told myself to ski only in the tracks (because I wasn't sure I'd be steady on skis yet), to go slowly (because I didn't want to collapse into a coughing fit), and to ski for only an hour. My plan was to ski just from Brown Mountain Gatehouse (Signpost 18) on the lower part of the loop to the Hadlock Brook Bridge, a total distance of about two miles.

Conditions were pretty darn good. (My apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but it was taken with a cell phone and it's the only shot I have of that particular stretch of Carriage Road alongside Upper Hadlock Pond.)We have about a foot of snow on the ground but it hasn't snowed for about a week, so the tracks were a little icy and grimy in places. The center was better and had about an inch of powder on it, very good for skate skiing. It was about 20 degrees out and overcast. I warmed up in 10 minutes. I found I wasn't as unsteady as I thought I would be and my mood improved 100% after skiing for 1/2 an hour. The trail was nicely tracked. Thanks Acadia Winter Trails Association. I'll be back tomorrow.