Date of Hike: July 2, 2014
Trails used: Flying Mountain/Valley Cove, Valley Cove Road, Valley Peak, Acadia Mountain & St. Saveur
Trail Conditions: Generally dry, but lots of roots and rocks and frequent scrambles made the going surprisingly slow. Valley Cove Trail is closed between the cove and the junction with the Acadia Mountain trail due to peregrine nesting, so we took the Valley Cove Road back to the Valley Peak trail to connect with the Acadia Mountain trail.
Special Equipment: None
Comment: A beautiful sunny day and multiple bare peaks made for terrific views of the peaks of Acadia National Park, Somes Sound and the Islands. While none of the peaks hiked are that high there is a lot of up and down with the trails dipping back to sea level (or close to it) between each of the peaks. Had lunch at the overlook by Man O'War Brook falls and saw a porpoise swimming in Somes Sound. Certainly some unique wildlife for a hiking trip! We went counterclockwise around this loop, which I would recommend. The Acadia Mountain trail drops precipitously off the east side of the summit and it seemed easier to go up; we watched a number of people having some difficulty trying to pick their way down. The trail off the western side of Acadia Mountain is still fairly steep, but seemed to require less scrambling than the eastern side. The trail up St. Sauveur is quite pleasant and there are many blueberry bushes along the way that should make this a great hike in August.
Parking at the Fernald Point Road lot was much less crowded than the other access points for this loop.
Jay Baxter
[email protected]
Trails used: Flying Mountain/Valley Cove, Valley Cove Road, Valley Peak, Acadia Mountain & St. Saveur
Trail Conditions: Generally dry, but lots of roots and rocks and frequent scrambles made the going surprisingly slow. Valley Cove Trail is closed between the cove and the junction with the Acadia Mountain trail due to peregrine nesting, so we took the Valley Cove Road back to the Valley Peak trail to connect with the Acadia Mountain trail.
Special Equipment: None
Comment: A beautiful sunny day and multiple bare peaks made for terrific views of the peaks of Acadia National Park, Somes Sound and the Islands. While none of the peaks hiked are that high there is a lot of up and down with the trails dipping back to sea level (or close to it) between each of the peaks. Had lunch at the overlook by Man O'War Brook falls and saw a porpoise swimming in Somes Sound. Certainly some unique wildlife for a hiking trip! We went counterclockwise around this loop, which I would recommend. The Acadia Mountain trail drops precipitously off the east side of the summit and it seemed easier to go up; we watched a number of people having some difficulty trying to pick their way down. The trail off the western side of Acadia Mountain is still fairly steep, but seemed to require less scrambling than the eastern side. The trail up St. Sauveur is quite pleasant and there are many blueberry bushes along the way that should make this a great hike in August.
Parking at the Fernald Point Road lot was much less crowded than the other access points for this loop.
Jay Baxter
[email protected]
