Mountain Top to Ocean Cove - Day to Hunters

Sunday July 9, 2017                                                                              Most Recent Post:
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David feels like he’s ready for another hike so we plan to hike up Day Mountain and then come back down and hike down across Hunter Cliffs to Hunter’s Beach and back up.  We’re expecting a total of about 4 miles. 

I picked Day Mountain because, as you can see on the map, there is a green carriage road to the top and all around the mountain.  So if the trail proved to be too steep, it might be possible for David to take the carriage road instead.  We couldn’t be sure the carriage road would be less steep since many of them are not.

We parked at the Champlain Monument Parking on Route 3, at the gold star and headed north on the blue trail.

The Day Mountain hike was mostly through the woods and was quite rocky and rooty.  There are boardwalks through the marshy parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some tall trees in this forest and some tall mushrooms as well.

 

 

 

 

 

And of course there is more beauty at our feet.

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what was on this tree.  It was hard like wax.  Perhaps sap but white??  Anybody know?

 

 

Naturally if you are climbing  a mountain, no matter how small, there are up hill stretches.  Some of them are rooty.

 

 

Some of them are rocky.

 

 

You have to follow the blue blaze wherever it goes

 

 

 

Once you are on rock faces, you follow the cairns and hope no one has been malicious and moved them or changed them.

 

From the mountain’s shoulders we had some nice views, for a short time.

 

 

Rock face in the woods – blue or cairn?

 

 

 

 

We find the summit.  We have to set the camera at our feet to get this picture and didn’t notice until too late that David was sitting in front of the summit sign.  Oh well, we enjoy the views before heading back down. 

 

 

 

 

Nothing but the blue Atlantic as far as the eye can see

 

 

David decides he wants to take the carriage road to see what that’s like.  I like a quiet hike in the woods rather than the crunch crunch of the road’s gravel under my feet so we head down by different paths.  Remembering the map, I wonder if he will have more views than I will.

 

 

 

Doesn’t matter, I like my woodland path and the beauties.

 

I don’t think he’s trying to hide under the ledge but it does offer great protection from clomping boots.

 

 

 

I arrive back at the parking lot but David isn’t here yet.  I think, well the carriage road isn’t as straight a path down.  So I take the opportunity to go hunting for the poor Champlain Plaque.  

The Plaque was put up in 1904, to mark the 300th anniversary of Champlain‘s “discovery” and naming of MDI,.  The Seal Harbor Village Improvement Society (dom’t you just love the name) placed a monument honoring Champlain on Sea Cliff Drive overlooking the ocean at the spot where he was supposed to have landed.  It was a very popular monument, perhaps too popular for nearby residents.  It was relocated in the 1970s to an obscure Seal Harbor ledge abutting Acadia National Park, where it now overlooks Route 3 near the entrance to the Day Mountain Trail.  And that’s where I found it.

Seems an insult to the original Society to hide it this way.  You can no longer see it even from route 3.  The picture above is an old one of the original placement.   The one below is today.  I wish they had at least put it on a trail since it is really out of the way.

I hope you can read the plaque.  Click the picture if not.

 

 

I hadn’t thought of the real reason why it took David longer to get back.  Yes he had views along the way but he also had to make many stops for  these.

 

 

We’re back at the gold star on the map now and head south  to the Hunter Cliffs and Beach.  The trail is not part of the park system.  I couldn’t find any information on who maintains it, such as it is maintained.  We found it a bit hard to follow but we managed.  Notice the trail sign is not one of the Park’s.

It’s down down down.

 

 

There are cairns.   They are a bit far apart for absolute comfort.

 

 

It’s a rocky path over the cliffs.

 

 

 

But there are also enticing views as we get closer and closer to the water.

 

 

That point is Hunter’s Head on the far side of the beach to which we are headed.

 

 

More Down, watch your step.

 

 

 

 

The last part of the trail is through the woods.  We can see the water ahead of us.

 

 

Through the woods on the edge of the cliffs.

 

 

 

Here he comes, out of the woods and onto the rocky beach in the beautiful cove.

 

 

Looks like a few other folks had the same idea.  But they came the easy way and brought chairs.

 

 

This is Hunter’s Brook.  I’m looking back from the shore.  There is a parking lot at the nearest road and a trail that follows the brook down to the beach.  But what’s the fun of that other than it’s easy to bring chairs? 

If you look at the map, you’ll see a little red dotted line running from the end of our blue hike up to a P on the road.   That’s the Hunter’s Beach Trail from P for parking lot to here.

 

 

I’m looking back at the cliffs we came here on.  What a beautiful beach.

 

 

One nice thing about sharing your destination is that you can have better “selfies” taken by someone else.  That’s Hunter’s Head behind us.  No trail over there as far as I know but the park loop road goes by.

 

 

When we turn around on our sitting stone, this is our view.  I just love it!!

 

 

The beach is covered with all sizes of rocks and stones.  Some of them are cobbles like this one.  Some of them are pink cadillac granite like this one.

 

 

 

The lower face of Hunter’s Head.

 

And now it’s time to head back.  Since it was down down to get here, it will be up up to get back.

Another terrific day in Acadia National Park where every trail is wonderful.