camping 2021 part 2
On our first full day of camping we had big plans! After a breakfast of toasted bagels and cereal, we packed up lunches, swimsuits, warm clothes, and enough snacks to sustain us on an epic hike over a couple of mountaintops. As we picked up our park pass and investigated bus schedules we learned that our hike would have to be even more epic that I had thought, since the closure of the bus stop at Bubble Rock meant we'd have to walk almost a mile and half on the flat around Jordan Pond before we could start climbing. The boys were still game to try, and it was a beautiful start to the expedition, as seen in the first picture of this post. We also got to walk across this super cool bridge:
timber suspension but no railings
Then it was up and up as we ascended the steep east side of Sargent Mountain, the second-highest peak in Acadia National Park (and the highest without a road to the top). I hadn't gone up Sargent since 2012 and the boys (obviously) never have. It's a hike, and we were doing great up the steep part over the first half of the distance up but started to feel a little sloggy as it rounded out at the top and we had to cross over one false summit to see the real top still a quarter-mile away in the distance. But we made it, and only a couple minutes late for lunch! We were hungry enough to put off the celebratory summit photo (made possible by the timer on the camera) until after we ate.
mountaineers
Of course, the real reason to go up Sargent is to visit Sargent Pond, and after a mile or so of descending we were more than ready for a swim. There were enough people there to have some pleasant chats but not so many that it felt crowded, and our time in the water was entirely delightful and free of leeches (leeches had been something of a concern in the planning process).
refreshing waters
(Harvey had actually been there before, but he couldn't remember it.)
From Sargent Pond it's only a third of a mile to the top of Penobscot, so it seemed like a waste not to summit there too. Energy was flagging a bit by the time we reached the top, but you can see that Elijah still had enough juice to throw a pose.
sit down for a minute
We perked up on the long gradual south ridge of Penobscot (over a mile long), but at the end of the ridge the trail turned steeply downward and there were some very nervous moments descending steep cliffy bits on tired legs. I couldn't photograph any of the hardest sections, but this gives some sense of the overall steepness:
good thing we didn't have to come straight down that!
Just before we made it back to the Jordan Pond House and civilization we crossed a stream, where we stopped to soak our sore feet. Everyone was cheering up until, just as we were moving to leave, Lijah slipped and fell entirely into the water. He was very sad. It was a worn-out crew who stumbled onto the concrete paths and mowed lawns at the Jordan Pond House after about six miles of walking and well over 1000 feet of climbing.
made it
The bus trip back to the car was very relaxing, as was an hour or two in or around the pool before we had to head back to the site to start the fire and cook our rice and beans. That day's smores were very well deserved.
yum