Columbus Day 2017 in Maine
Whenever I am in Maine, I love to hike the glorious trails of Acadia National Park.
One of my favorite treks is around Jordan Pond. The pond covers 187-acres, with a maximum depth of 150-feet. It's flanked on the west side by Penobscot Mountain, and to the northeast by two mountains called "The Bubbles". The pond is ringed by a walking trail, which I have done numerous times, and adore. The nearly four-mile hike is an excellent way to see and appreciate Acadia's glacially carved landscape.
I spent a portion of this past holiday weekend at Skylands, my home in Maine. On Columbus Day, Shqipe, Carlos, Fernando, and all five of my dogs, joined me for an early morning walk at Jordan Pond Shore Trail. It was a most exhilarating hike for us all. Enjoy our photos.
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- This is the start of the Jordan Pond Shore Trail with The Bubbles in the distance. The pond was formed by the Wisconsin Ice Sheet during the last glacial period.
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- The water is exceptionally clear with an average visibility depth of 46-feet, but as much as 60-feet.
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- The Pond is just a few minutes by car from Skylands, so we were on the trail by 7:30am. We saw only a handful of other hikers along the way – it was such a tranquil and beautiful morning.
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- This is one of my favorite giant boulders along the trail. It is composed of a gray granite. The water level was very low from the lack of rain in the area.
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- Here is another view of The Bubbles. The North Bubble has the highest elevation at 872-feet. The South Bubble follows at 766-feet.
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- And here is an even closer look at The Bubbles – perfectly doubled in the pristine water, which serves as a public water supply for the nearby village of Seal Harbor.
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- This is a marshy area of Jordan Pond. I love the view of the landscape ahead.
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- The morning was so calm and tranquil – everything reflected perfectly off the waters – so stunning.
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- Trails are very well-marked throughout Acadia National Park.
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- Here, it is almost difficult to see where the land ends and the water begins. There are many broad leaf tree species around Jordan Pond, including beech, white ash and red oak. There are also five different maple species, as well as pine, spruce, cedar, fir, and hemlock.
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- The trail is made of these well-groomed gravel paths.
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- This work is done by beavers. When a beaver cuts down a tree it wants to eat the inner, growing cambium layer of the tree bark. There is definitely a sizable population of beavers here at the top of the Pond.
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- My executive assistant at Bedford, Shqipe, took this photo of the leaning tree on one of the paths.
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- Here is more evidence of beaver activity. Once the bark is all eaten, they reuse the stick to build their lodges and dams – “busy as a beaver”.
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- This is one of the beaver lodges – they are very impressive structures. They build lodges convenient to trees they can cut. There is a small camera attached to the tree trunk to monitor beaver activity.
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- The view from the north end of the pond looking south is also very serene.
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- Here is another clean, well-groomed path.
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- So calm and beautiful – here’s another perfect reflection of the tree line in the water.
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- I stopped for this quick photo. I am walking Empress Qin, also known as “Qin Qin”. We’re on another rim of the pond trail. All dogs must be on leash at all times.
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- The pond is home to landlocked salmon and lake trout. Fishing is allowed, but boats with motors over 10-horsepower are prohibited.
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- Here’s a nice photo of Carlos and Fernando with GK, Bete Noire and Creme Brûlée. G.K. loves these hikes. He is a very good hiker.
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- Here is Shqipe with Peluche. They are standing on an elevated footbridge over an inlet stream.
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- One side of the pond is comprised of “boardwalks” like this one. They are meant to take the stress of thousands of footprints off the forest floor. The boardwalk stretches for at least a mile and is very slippery. We all got a good workout keeping our balance. The doggies, walking on fours, were definitely more stable.
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- We completed our hike around 9:15am – it was a great trek and a great way to build up our appetites for breakfast!
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- In the afternoon, we also trekked to Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, reaches 1,530-feet, and is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. It is also the first place to view the sunrise in the United States from October 7th through March 6th.
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- Cadillac Mountain was named after the French explorer and adventurer, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac in 1918. Prior to this, it was known as Green Mountain. On clear days, the view of the bottom is very visible, but on this day, the fog was incredibly dense.
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- Cadillac Mountain is one of more than 20-mountains on Mount Desert Island, Maine that were pushed up by earth’s tectonic and volcanic forces millions of years ago.
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- The views are simply spectacular – I encourage you to visit sometime. Tomorrow, I will share some of the great dishes I prepared at Skylands – be sure to check back and follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48 for more great photos.
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