Penobscot and Sargent - Acadia NP - 8/27/09

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mtruman

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Only two "significant" hikes during our stay in Acadia this year. Got lots of other stuff in (biking, paddling, etc) but not the number of hoped for hikes. Oh well, next time. Starting the week off with The Precipice (TR here) was certainly a great beginning. With plenty of time spent biking and paddling in addition to the hikes we didn't feel cheated anyway.

There are so many great hikes in Acadia that it's hard to count. I haven't done any yet that I don't like. While it's hard to pick a favorite I think that Penobscot and Sargent wins out for me. It's hard to find any fault with a hike that provides 360 degree views from almost beginning to end with everything from the surrounding mountains to the beautiful Acadia lakes to the ocean beyond.

The weather had been quite warm at the beginning of the week and the cold front that moved in on Wednesday night was a welcome change. Thursday was cool and breezy and almost felt like fall. We got a bit of a late start and by the time we arrived at Jordan Pond House in late morning the closest parking was about 1/4 mile down the street. The good part was that all these people seemed to be doing something else because we had the trails to ourselves most of the way.

Starting up the SpringTrail you immediately hit the toughest part of the hike (not that it's bad at all). It's pretty steep with some minor scrambling and a few typical "Acadia aids" in the form of railings, bridges, steps, etc. In a very short time the trail comes out of the trees to the first overlook on Jordan Pond and the mountains beyond. After that the views pretty much never stop. The Penobscot MountainTrail goes up the open south ridge of Penobscot in as beautiful a ridge walk as can be found just about anywhere. As a bonus the trail is flanked by endless blueberry, huckleberry and cranberry bushes - and there were lots of delicious berries to be had. Approaching the summit of Penobscot there are a few small ledges that provide some fun scrambling (but can be avoided if you prefer). The beautiful tarn near the summit is one of my favorite places on this hike. Amazingly beautiful.

From the summit of Penobscot you can use the Deer BrookTrail to descend back to Jordan Pond but it's much better to continue on to Sargent. The trail drops down through a col between the mountains and back into the woods for a short time. The trail in the col is pretty steep and it is a quick down and up. Before emerging from the trees there is a pond that many people stop at to swim (although we generally avoid it since there always seems to be a bit of a crowd there). The hike up the Sargent South RidgeTrail on the south ridge of Sargent is similar to that up Penobscot but the area has a different feel - hard to describe but the pictures should illustrate what I mean. At the top of Sargent we found a nice ledge on the east side of the summit to stop for lunch which was out of the wind (which by now was pretty strong) and away from the groups gathered on the summit. The views from Sargent are maybe even more spectacular than Penobscot going across Eagle Lake to Frenchman's Bay in the north and west over all of Somes Sound as well as to Cadillac (which is only slightly higher than Sargent) and south over Penobscot to the Atlantic.

Heading down the Sargent East CliffsTrail from Sargent gets you down quickly. There are a lot of steep spots and a few ledges that would probably be a bit dicey when wet. Plenty of good handholds to get down through the steep parts though. The trail joins up with the Deer BrookTrail from Penobscot and follows a brook down to the carriage road above Jordan Pond. Another steep descent along the brook on the other side of the carriage road and back to the north shore of the pond. From here you can take either the east shore or west shore paths around the pond back to the start. We like the west shore path best. It follows right along the edge of the water the whole way with beautiful view across the pond to the mountains including some great views of The Bubbles. This trail used to have split log bridges over about the last 1/2 to protect the fragile pondside environment and these have now been extended to cover about 80 of the length which makes the walking very easy (and much better than the mud that is usually under them).

I always seem to end this hike with the obligatory classic photos of The Bubbles over Jordan Pond but this time it was the clearest, most beautiful view of any of the times that we've been there so of course I took even more. As always we enjoyed walking back by the huge crowds at the Pond House for afternoon popovers and realizing that most of them have no idea what they're missing by not doing what we just finished. We're not going to tell them though...

A few photos below. The rest of the album is here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtruman42/Acadia09HikingPenobscotAndSargent#

A 360 degree video from Penobscot is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD2UUBYqBFI

Early views over Jordan Pond
IMG_0227.JPG


The views back to the Cranberry Islands and the Atlantic
IMG_0238.JPG


The trail up Penobscot
IMG_0250.JPG


My favorite spot on the mountain
IMG_0253.JPG


Surrounded by mountains and lakes
IMG_0249.JPG


And the view of the Bubbles over Jordan Pond to end the day
P1040158.JPG
 
Nice!

Wow, Mark! Thanks for these wonderful Acadia TRs and pics. I love Sargent and Penobscot. We hiked up a trail from the west when we did it several years ago (longer and more gradual), topping out on Sargent first, then down over Penobscot to Jordan Pond. Our impression of Sargent was that it was like a lunar landscape with all the rock. Does it still have a huge cairn at the summit? That little pond in the col was a great place to take a dip, but it sure was cold in late September. :eek: And I agree, that little tarn on Penobscot is gorgeous.

When we were there the trail down off the east cliffs was closed due to unsafe conditions. Must be they've done some work on it.

Thanks again for sharing. Sounds like you and your girls had a great time!
 
I don't think there's a spot in Acadia that isn't gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing your photos...now I'm really excited about heading up there for Labor Day weekend. Although I'm not sure that I'll want to leave after 3 days...:D
 
Thanks for posting the 2 TR's..we are heading up to acadia for some hiking & fun this Labor day weekend...and the weather looks perfect!!!:p

Your pics are making me more excited..it's been a couple years since I went last!!:rolleyes:

it's a drive but the beauty is so worth it!!!:D
 
We started hiking last May...(yes, that late in life...sigh). We got into it and felt...Acadia, too far away.

Ok...then we discovered the Mountains of Western Maine, so much for too far away (Western Maine mts are about 2-3 hrs away, Acadia...2 1/2 hrs). Acadia...you have to PAY to get in...not worth it.

THEN...the Whites captured our attention (we ended up with a yearly pass for the WMNF trails) so much for not wanting to pay to park. Acadia...the mts. are WAY too small!

FINALLY, this May, we were looking for something to do in the spring. We figured too much mud and messy trails for the Western mts. or the Whites. We, grudgingly, did Acadia. As it was off season, we parked on Rte 3 (no paying) and planned a 10 mile loop hike up Door, Cadallic, and then Pemetic. OMG!!! We've been in love with the area ever since and been back 4 times since with plans for more in the future.

Just goes to show that the Mts don't have to be BIG to have some good (some of those trails are quite steep and somewhat tricky) long (you can link trails and go forever!) hikes.

HOW BEAUTIFUL!!
 
Our impression of Sargent was that it was like a lunar landscape with all the rock. Does it still have a huge cairn at the summit? That little pond in the col was a great place to take a dip, but it sure was cold in late September. :eek: And I agree, that little tarn on Penobscot is gorgeous.

When we were there the trail down off the east cliffs was closed due to unsafe conditions. Must be they've done some work on it.

Yes, the huge summit cairn is still there. Not quite Thunderstorm Junction sized but close. The water in the pond is cold (but nothing compared with the Maine ocean water which we always swim in when we're up there). The trail that is closed much of the time (nesting Peregrines) is the Jordan Cliff trail with is along the pond. The ones going down are always open. The East Face trail on Champlain (coming down from the Precipice) is closed on the portion that traverses the side of the mountain from the earthquake damage a couple of years ago.

We started hiking last May...(yes, that late in life...sigh). We got into it and felt...Acadia, too far away.

Ok...then we discovered the Mountains of Western Maine, so much for too far away (Western Maine mts are about 2-3 hrs away, Acadia...2 1/2 hrs). Acadia...you have to PAY to get in...not worth it.

THEN...the Whites captured our attention (we ended up with a yearly pass for the WMNF trails) so much for not wanting to pay to park. Acadia...the mts. are WAY too small!

FINALLY, this May, we were looking for something to do in the spring. We figured too much mud and messy trails for the Western mts. or the Whites. We, grudgingly, did Acadia. As it was off season, we parked on Rte 3 (no paying) and planned a 10 mile loop hike up Door, Cadallic, and then Pemetic. OMG!!! We've been in love with the area ever since and been back 4 times since with plans for more in the future.

Just goes to show that the Mts don't have to be BIG to have some good (some of those trails are quite steep and somewhat tricky) long (you can link trails and go forever!) hikes.

HOW BEAUTIFUL!!

We too started hiking much later in life than I wish we had. It's never too late though and it just means hiking more to make up for lost time :)

The matter of being "too far" is definitely relative. We're about 6-1/2 hours from Acadia and 3 to 4-1/2 hours away from the Whites depending on which part. We now consider most of the Whites as reasonable for a day hike and definitely for a weekend. I happily drive 6-8 hours in a day to have a wonderful day of hiking (as opposed to not driving and thus not hiking). We've currently got about a half dozen of these (some one day, some weekend) planned for this fall and hopefully a few more in the winter. It's all about having your priorities...

You're definitely right about mountains not having to be big to be wonderful to hike. As much as I love the Whites if I had to choose only one place in New England to hike for the rest of my life it would be Acadia. Thankfully I don't have to make that choice ;)

To the others that are heading to Acadia this weekend or this fall - have a great time!
 
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