Oh Acadia…where do I even begin…
Mark recently got on this whole camping kick for some odd reason. By experienced and informed choice, I am not a camper. I did it as a kid, but mainly in my uncle’s RV, and haven’t done it in close to 12 years or so. I don’t like sleeping on the ground. I don’t like bugs. And I DEFINITELY do not like sharing my bathroom stall or my shower stall with massive, gargantuan spiders that never fail to appear. Mark, on the other hand, has never camped a day in his life so I genuinely have no idea where this obsession came from. All I know is that I said I was going to Copenhagen by myself for a week and that was when he decided he would take that opportunity to go camping alone with the dog.
Awesome. My life-skill-less fiancé going for a hike in the woods alone and then camping in said woods with my helpless dog…all while I am out of the country. It looked like I had no choice but to tap into those old & intentionally forgotten camping skills and show Mark the ways of the woods.
We arrived at Acadia National Park around 11AM. Since checkin wasn’t until noon, we decided to get hike number one out of the way: Cadillac Mountain North Ridge Trail.
Our original plan had been to tackle the South Ridge, but after some quick reading I determined that it would be far too strenuous for our 40 pound pup. Thank God I did more dog-related research than Mark because even North Ridge appeared to be a bit much for him!
North Ridge Trail was listed as a “moderate” hike…but it was more like moderately hard. There were a few boulder scrambles and more than one span of sheer, steep, and slippery rock. If you’re not a hiker, do not attempt this hike. We saw a lot of people that were clearly not hiking people that looked like they were about to keel over less than a quarter of the way up. Will you make it? Probably. But will you enjoy it? Not at all.
This trail was hands down the best marked trail I have ever been on. Right at the start of the trail was a cairn and an explanation of their purpose. The blazes throughout were also bright blue and looked like they had recently been re-done. I don’t think we ever went more than 10 feet without seeing a blaze, cairn, or both.
I struggle to appreciate my surroundings when I hike because I have only ever hiked in New England. To me, it always seems like the same old types of trees, the same types of rocks, and pretty comparable views from all the summits I have reached. Don’t get me wrong, I still find it beautiful, but it’s in the same way I find my bed beautiful after a long day at work. This trail was the first time in a long time where I have felt like a kid going to Disney World for the first time. The trees were more or less the same as my other New England hikes, but I felt my senses come alive in a way they never had before!
I watched the types of rock change along our path, from your classic granite, to some red rock (which I did not think we had here), to this smooth shiny rock type that I had never seen before. I couldn’t resist running my fingers along to feel the transitions between the rock types and wondering about the types of people to pass over it throughout the years.
The views were also incredible throughout the entire 2.2 miles up the mountain. It was rare to look back and not see the lakes, ocean, or the little town of Bar Harbor far below. If those were not the sights you were seeing, then you could see the transition of tree types below you. Every time I turned around I was blessed with a new spectacular view.
While those two things were great, nothing prepared me for my absolute favorite part of hiking in Acadia: the smells. When you smell the distinct scent of a pine tree, what do you think of? Christmas? Winter candles? That is what my answer would have been…until now. That wonderful scent will now forever be associated with the beauty and grandeur of Acadia National Park. As we hiked up Cadillac Mountain, I genuinely thought I was imagining the beautiful smells around me. I had never experienced that on a hike before so surely it was just my imagination! When I finally asked Mark if he smelled it too, he confirmed it was real.
I looked absolutely ridiculous because I couldn’t stop sniffing the air. I’m not really sure what this says about the other hikes I have been on…were there just no pine trees in the area? Or was the air too polluted from the nearby cities and towns to allow the smell to be revealed?If it is the latter, then maybe I need to be even more concerned about our environment than I thought…
I can’t lie when I say that I was pretty disappointed when we reached the summit. Don’t get me wrong, it had beautiful views of the surrounding area and another trail (I believe it is called the Cadillac Mountain Summit Trail) that takes you along to all the great viewing areas. But, unlike most summits I have experienced, there was a massive parking lot at the top which resulted in hundreds of visitors that had simply driven to the summit instead of putting in the work to hike up and experience all the beauty the rest of the mountain had to offer. Unlike those of us that had trekked up in the unexpectedly hot day, these visitors had tons of energy and felt the need to sprint around and cut people off every chance they got. Between that and the constant sound of cars driving, it kind of ruined the moment.
Nevertheless, Mark and I still managed to find a quiet spot to enjoy our lunch and summit beers. I will say that it was super cool being able to have a Cadillac Mountain Stout after summiting Cadillac Mountain. (Yes, that is literally the only reason why I bought this beer in particular and it was delightfully delicious.)
After losing the start of the trail (I’m looking at you, Mark, Mr. I-Can-Totally-Camp-and-Hike-On-My-Own) we eventually made a surprisingly quick descent and set off to finally set up camp.
We were staying at the Blackwoods Campground, which is about 12 miles away from Cadillac Mountain, and I truly don’t know where to start with the surprises we faced. I think the best way is to simply list them out (Warning: Most of these actually have more to do with Mark than the campsite itself):
- The campground has absolutely zero service whatsoever. No cell service, no wifi, nothing. While I wasn’t really mad about this, I knew we had to drive out asap so we could at least let Mark’s mom know that she wouldn’t be able to reach us…whoops.
- Mark apparently doesn’t even know how to find the right campsite, so good thing we did this before his solo camping trip. He had no idea that there were little spike-type signs at the beginning of each row listing which sites were down there. I love him dearly…but sometimes I wonder how he made it in Chicago on his own…
- Next time we go camping, I will be the one doing the grocery shopping. We had stopped in Bar Harbor & since we had the dog, Mark went in alone with the shopping list. Somehow he managed to forget about four different things that were on the list! Including butter and milk for the instant potatoes he bought…which have very clear and large pictures of butter and milk on the back of the package. Oy vey…
- Mark also thought it would be a great idea to put corn on the grill, then turn his back to the grill to start trying to light a fire…needless to say, thank God I was there to manage the grill because if not, this would be a much different post all about how my fiancé managed to burn down an entire National Park.
- Finally, there are no showers at Blackwood. This wasn’t actually a surprise as I had read this before we got there, but I feel as though I should disclose this to you. There is a place less than a mile down the road with coin-operated showers that you are encouraged to use, but since we were only there for one day I really didn’t want to subject myself to that.
Overall, camping actually wasn’t that bad once we got everything set up and dinner was made! We were surrounded by tall birch (?) trees and that wonderful smell of sap that I had grown to love so much (get ready, the sap talk only gets worse from here…). We waited for it to get dark and then ventured back to the Cadillac Mountain summit in the hopes of seeing some knockout stars. Unfortunately for us, it was a really cloudy night, but I did get some pretty cool pictures of the moon and mars with the clouds swirling around them! Fair warning if you decide to do this, it is absolutely freezing at the top of that mountain at night so wear plenty of layers because it is also super windy!
The next morning, we woke up at about 3:30AM to make coffee and head back to the summit for the first sunrise in the US. That experience was so magical that it deserves its own post, so for now you just get to enjoy the one picture below as you wait to hear more about the fairytale moment we experienced.
Once we got back from watching the sunrise, I realized that the trees in our campsite seemed to glitter. I got up super close and realized that they were literally dripping with sap. I was enthralled by the beautiful hazy gold color of the fresh droplets and the white lines the dried sap had left along the bark. But then…much to Mark’s chagrin…I got super close, stuck my face in, and inhaled. It…was…amazing! I have this weird thing where I just love smelling candles…but this was so much better! It was so fresh and amazing and I couldn’t stop sniffing it! I know that I looked like a psychopath but it was so worth it, I even made Mark smell it. I’ve always respected the need for trees, but I don’t think I’ve ever truly appreciated them until now. So yes, while I have always been a bit of a hippie, you may now refer to me as a tree-sniffer. Zero shame in this fact.
Acadia was even more than I could have ever hoped it would be. It was beautiful, peaceful, and full of surprises. It gave me the opportunity to disconnect from the rest of the world and for that I am truly grateful, because my soul was awakened in a brand new way. I can’t wait to share even more about this adventure with you and I definitely can’t wait to visit my next National Park!
If you’re looking for more great hikes in Acadia, read about The Bubbles here.
Dani says
Did the same northern trail up Cadillac and was woefully underprepared! I loved Acadia and Bar Harbor (and I miss New England so much ❤️)