The Average Guy's (and Gal's) Hiking Guide to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

By Michael Calpino

A visit to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island should be on everyone's bucket list. And no visit is complete without getting out on a trail to experience the natural beauty and scenic views from one of the many peaks or seaside vistas.
However, everyone has questions. Can I handle the hike I want to take? Which ones have the best views? What is the terrain like, is it steep or rocky? Should I take my six year old or my dog?
This is a hiking guide that answers those questions and more for the average person. Over eighty hikes are described including the most popular as well as those off the beaten path. Each one not only contains information on terrain, steepness and views but there are over three hundred pictures so you can see exactly what to expect on each trail.
This guide is an indispensable addition to your trip and will help you match your abilities to the various trails so you can get the most out of your vacation. You can hike Acadia and create wonderful memories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359492749

Book preview

The Average Guy's (and Gal's) Hiking Guide to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

The Average Guy's (and Gal's) Hiking Guide to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

by

Michael Calpino

© 2019  J and M Publishing

For Kelly

My hiking partner and partner in life

www.michaelcalpino.com

Introduction

Hiking in Acadia National Park and on Mount Desert Island is a wonderful and rewarding way to spend at least some of your visit to Maine.  That is why well over three million people visit every year.  The terrain is unique, the mountains not too high, there are over a hundred trails covering 158 miles and they range from easy gravel paths to climbing cliff faces.  The views from the tops of most mountains are spectacular, a just reward for your efforts.

This book is designed for the average person.  My wife and I, the ones who hiked all the trails contained in this book, are average middle aged people in decent shape.  Therefore the ratings are relative and the median is what I would consider average.  If you are young and spend your life on outdoor adventures, the ratings may seem easy but the information on the hike and expectations will still be valuable.  For the rest of you, know that we did all the hikes, even the most difficult.  That said, don't overdo it if you are not used to strenuous exercise.  Start out small and see how it goes and work your way up.  Your time in the gym is great but hiking uses muscles and requires skills you don't get in the gym.

Before you go, familiarize yourself with the park rules and follow good hiking etiquette-be friendly and courteous, hikers going uphill have the right of way.  You can go to the national park website for those details.

Above all else, enjoy!  Take your time, savor the view, put the phone away (except for pictures), sit on a rock and listen to the waves pounding the shoreline, the birds, the wind in the trees.  Stop and pick some wild blueberries, smell some flowers.  Be in the moment and soak it all in.  The pictures will never do justice to the views or the experience, they are merely hints to help you remember what you actually saw, smelled, heard, tasted and felt.

Preparation

It is best to be properly equipped to hike the trails in Acadia.  Most of the trails are not long but they are rocky so unless you are going to stick to the easy gravel paths, flip flops are not proper footwear.  At the very least wear some sneakers, a good hiking boot is best.  The more popular trails have been well used which means that millions of feet have worn the rocks down and they can be slippery, even when not wet.  Tread grip is important.  Wear appropriate clothing.  Layers are often good in Maine.  It may be cool in the morning but you could be sweating by noon.  Clothing that wicks away sweat is ideal, it will keep your skin from chafing.  Think about bringing a poncho, you never know with the Maine weather.

Pack some provisions.  Water at least, some snacks are nice.  A basic first aid kit is always a good addition, include an ace bandage in case of a sprained ankle.  A hiking stick is your preference.  We found them helpful on a lot of trails, especially picking our way down a rocky decline, but on others where there are a lot of ladders and rungs, it is best to leave them behind.  Make sure it has a loop for your wrist so you can hang it from your arm if you need both hands to scramble.  Don't forget your camera!

Trail Maps

When you enter the park you will receive a park map that has many of the trails on it in light tan.  Most are not labeled and the map is really useless for hiking.  If you're going to hike any trails beyond the easy paths in the most popular areas, you need to get a real trail map.  It will be the best five dollars you will spend.  The trails are easy to see in bright red.  It gives distances for each section of the trail and this trail map is topographical so you will be able to tell how steep each area of a trail is.  It also shows roads, carriage trails and even bus stops so you can plan your day.

The Quietside trail map is also available for the western half of the Island and it is free!  There are a lot of locations you can pick it up.  It is not topographical but it does give distances and rates the hikes according to difficulty.     

Explanation of terms

Next to the name of every hike in this book is a snapshot of what you can expect.  The first is distance, given in miles.  This is taken either from the trail map or the signs at the trail head.

The second is difficulty, given as a rating from one to five and based on terrain, not distance.  One is the easiest and would be a flat gravel path with no obstructions.  Five is the hardest with steep, difficult terrain requiring some scrambling or rock climbing.  These ratings are not absolute but relative to the other  hikes in the park.   If you are an experienced hiker, you may not find a five particularly challenging.  If you sit at desk fifty-one weeks a year and don't get a lot of exercise, you may find a three is all you can handle.  My ratings are subjective but I believe accurate for the average person.

The third is labeled ascent which is a mathematical description of the steepness of the hike.  Using the topographical map, I found the steepest part of the hike and divided the difference in elevation by the distance to come up with a percentage.  Hikes with little elevation change have percentages from zero to five.  The steepest ones will have around a thirty percent grade or more.  These are from the steepest areas of the hike so if you are on a two mile hike, some of it may be a gradual or moderate ascent and there may only be a short section that is steep.

Within the descriptions of the hikes themselves I will use several descriptive terms that you should familiarize yourself with.  In regards to steepness, I apply the terms gradual, moderate and steep to the ascent.  Gradual is anything under ten degrees.  Moderate is under thirty and steep is anything above thirty degrees.  When you look at the pictures, they usually don't do justice to the steepness of the hike.

The next term is scrambling.  This refers to the times when you will have to put down your walking stick and find handholds and footholds to climb up the face of a rock.  At times the park will have put some aids in like iron bars or ladders, but not always.  If you have a dog with you, this may be difficult for them.  On some trails, they are prohibited.

Regarding the terrain itself, you will see terms like rocky, very rocky, rock pile, flat rock,  rooty and pine needle or gravel path.  Rocky it what you will find on most hikes in the park.  You will have to watch your footing to make sure you don't twist an ankle or trip.  Very rocky means there are no spaces between rocks for sure footing.  A rock pile is large rocks or boulders that you will have to climb over.  Flat rock consists of large slabs that can be found at various angles or inclination.

Rooty is a path in which tree roots are exposed and constitute a tripping hazard.  A pine needle path is an easy path cushioned with pine needles and a gravel path is one groomed by the park.  The park has