Hiking the Beehive and not

Friday August 16, 2013
Acadia National Park

 

On David’s ‘To do Before we leave Acadia’  list is hike the Beehive. 

 

It’s not on my list.  I need a scout for rungs and ladders trails to see if really short legs can handle them.  So he’s going today to hike it and report back.

We drive to the Sand Beach parking lot and he is walking to the trail head across the road at 6:45am.  The parking lot only has one car in it so his chances of being the only one on the trail are pretty good.

 

 

I take my chair and go down to the beach. 

 

On my list is to go somewhere lovely and just sit and enjoy.  So here I am.  No swimmers, no lifeguard.  Not even any other sun worshipers at least for a while.

 

 

I play around with my camera taking pictures of this glorious morning, this magnificent surf, these outstanding cliffs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my spot for this morning while David is hiking.  Isn’t it fantastic!  Early mornings are just wonderful. 

 

 

 

After a while, I walk to the other end of the beach and look back at the waves rolling away from me like can can girls doing their leg kicks one after the other.  The sound is like an echo as they crash and then the next and the next and the next.

 

 

 

Near Great Head there is an inland stream which sometimes flows into the ocean and other times is just a lake.   I look up at the Beehive.  I’ve brought my binoculars but I don’t see David yet or anyone else for that matter.  But I do see this magnificent reflection on this gorgeous day.   He’s got a perfect day for his hike that’s for sure.

 

 

I head back to my beach chair thinking I’ll bring it up here so I can watch for him.  I have some information with me that I plan to look through on what to do in Lubec, where we are going on Sunday.  On my way, I pass by Greg from Minneapolis who is painting Great Head.  The paintings of Acadia at the foot of his easel are beautiful.  He would love to quit his job as a lighting engineer and be able to paint full time.  I recommend the book Your Money or Your Life and encourage him to seriously think about just doing it.  Life is short.  Live the life you dream of.   Don’t wait! 

 

 

I get distracted from my intention to move when  this Amish family comes down to the beach.  The mother has obviously made all the dresses for the girls and women in the family.  The kids have a wonderful time running and climbing.

 

 

Someone comes by and the mother asks if he will take the family picture so they all  line up.  Absolutely everyone loves the beach.

 

 

Including this little fella who tells me that someone started this deep fort yesterday but he has finished it today.  He shows me all the places he has dug it out.  When he’s in the bottom it’s almost over his head.

 

 

 

David returns much earlier than I am expecting.  It has taken him under two hours to do this hike.  I am really shocked that he is back so soon.  I thought I would have much longer here.   But a couple of hours is better than no hours although I could stay all day.  And next time, I’ll at least stay until it gets toooo crowded.

  

 

 

 

David has written about his hike of the Beehive and I’ve included it here.

 

The trail starts out with a modest climb through a rock strewn path. Here and there I find nice steps arranged bring some order to the climb and reduce the tedium of looking for a safe place to place each foot.

 

 

 

 

 

After two tenths of a mile up, I reach the cutoff to the Beehive trail.

 

 

 

And then as I enter the woods to follow the trail, I see this stern warning.

 

 

I heard this trail got the name because someone of note observing the flocks of folks on the trail from a distance thought they looked like bees crawling all over the surface of a beehive. Here is the distant shot from the sand beach parking lot. Folks on the trail do look pretty small if you can see them at all.

 

 

Due to the popularity of the trail, I planned a particularly early start, arriving at trailhead at 6:45 AM. It paid off, I only encountered one person while I was climbing up – a young woman who appeared to be running the trail. She passed me on her way up and again on her way back down.

One of the reasons for the popularity of this historic trail is the awesome views you get along the way, and the other is the ironworks installed in the form of hand rails and ladders that makes it possible to ascend this steep rock face. Here are some of the ironworks and some of the views along the way.

 

 

 

 

Maybe this is Sherry on walking on sand beach.

 

 

 

 

 

The view down from one of the exposed edges.

 

 

 

 

Must be getting close now.

 

 

And here I am at the summit at 7:45 AM. Very happy to have made it safely up with no crowds and great weather!

 

 

 

From here it is mostly a downhill over to the Bowl, a freshwater lake up between The Beehive, Enoch Mountain and Champlain mountains. Here is some of the trail and a few shots of the Bowl providing nice mirror images of neighboring peaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it is only seven tenths of a mile back down to the Loop Road near the Sand Beach parking area. Lots of stairs, steps, scrambles and some easy walking here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

When I pass the cutoff for the start of the Beehive, I see lots of people heading up – this is the second group that passed in the time it took me to walk by.  Sure am glad I started early!!

 

 

 

I’m down to the Loop Road by 8:45. The Sand Beach parking lot is still mostly empty. Amazing!

 

 

 

Mission accomplished, I go down to the beach to see what Sherry is up to. I find her reading maps, making plans.  She’s pretty surprised to see me so soon.

 

 

As we are leaving the beach we see this little fellow working hard in his sand fort.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps when he grows up, he’ll hike The Beehive Trail too.  And when I return I’m ready to take on The Precipice Trail!!