I have been on the fence all week about hiking The Beehive. I have read all about it, most of it sounding terrifying: ladder rungs, grab bars, narrow cliff edges. Well, today is our last full day and time to get off the fence. We, once again, found rock star parking in the Sand Beach parking lot and set out on the trail. I had myself a good bit worked up, which I know didn't help matters.
Lily tried to hide the sign from me, but I already knew all about the warnings.
We gained some elevation but nothing too hard or scary and the view was already paying off.
A beehive on The Beehive!
Aw dang, this is getting real!
The leader of the pack. She led all our hikes this trip.
Okay, so this is lovely. Why are there no bars to hang onto on the left side when you're crossing this grate? SE was already over by the time we got to it.
Lily looking all cool and like a pro.
Just waiting on mom
Me looking anything but cool and glueing myself to the left side. But I made it.
We have to be done, right?
Nope! Check out Lily way above me.
Please look at SE in the back, just sitting and waiting.
We did it!! Sorry, James, there are no pictures of you on this one, buddy. It takes two hands to hold on for dear life.
Thankfully, this hike is a loop so you don't have to go down the way you came up. Good thing, as they would be calling a helicopter to come get me. Once was enough! We hike down to the Bowl, a small mountain lake, and explored.
The fish would immediately gather and occasionally nibble. Lily jumped in and was surrounded.
On the way down, we saw a snake. You want to talk about frazzled nerves.
Hike Stats:
Distance: 1.6 miles
Elevation gain: 518 feet (in about .3 miles)
Once we made it back, we ate our picnic lunch near Sand Beach. We had one hike left: Great Head. It was now or never, because our bodies are tired.
From the lookout at Great Head, you can see The Beehive. James tried to take a picture through the binoculars. We climbed that!!
The Beehive
The Beehive
This was a beautiful spot where we perched for a while. Despite our exhaustion, this was a great hike. Fairly challenging with beautiful views. If we had more in us, we would have explored more around the rocky coast, but...
Hike Stats:
Distance: 1.6 miles
Elevation gain: 285
Next we drove down to Thunder Hole again! I think we heard the best booms on the first day. It is a pretty amazing spot.
We drove back to Bar Harbor and had pizza at Rosalie's. We've eaten a lot of pizza this week, but it has all been excellent.
Back home for one last exploration around the shore. We saw a bald eagle flying along the tree line.
We showered and packed up some to get ready for our next adventure. Originally, I had planned to spend the next three days in Vermont. That is, until I realized moose are abundant in northwest Maine. I started exploring the area and found a wilderness camp on Lake Nahmakanta. This is where we will be heading tomorrow and will be completely OFF GRID!
Good night, Acadia!
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