Maine 2018

Mount Desert Island/Acadia National Park, Maine

Saturday, October 6 through Tuesday, October 16, 2018

We flew from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Portland, Maine via Dulles International Airport in Virginia, near Washington DC. We spent the next nine days hiking on Mount Desert Island, mostly at Acadia National Park. We returned to Oklahoma City via Newark (New York City) International Airport, New Jersey.

I tracked the trip with a Bad Elf GPS Pro+ GPSr (GPS receiver), using my iPhone 8 (Gaia app) as a backup (along with the FlightAware and FlightRadar24 websites)..

NOTE: the downloadable GPX tracks are the full GPX files, while those shown on the provided "view map" links are simplified (with minimal effect on geographic accuracy) for much faster viewing.

Topographic maps are denoted by a "(Topo)" link. Bright pink/magenta lines represent manually-powered transportation (e.g., biking, hiking).

Original GPX tracks are unedited.

Businesses are named below for reference only. No endorsement should be inferred. If you wish to see my opinion of the places mentioned, see TripAdvisor (for those that I have actually rated).

Overview

Overview map—This is a composite map of all the GPS tracks on a blank US/Canada map. Just Maine, and just MDI.
All GPS tracks / view map—The whole trip, including walking, driving, etc.

Saturday, October 6

GPX / view map —Driving to the Will Rogers World Airport (Oklahoma City). I didn't get the GPSr running on time, so the first few minutes of the trip are not shown. We missed the turn for long-term outdoor parking, so had to go through the parking garage and go around again in the parking area.
GPX / view map —Walking through Will Rogers World Airport.
GPX / view map —Our flight from Oklahoma City to Dulles International Airport, near Washington DC.
GPX / view map —The short walk from our arrival gate to the departure gate at Dulles International Airport.
GPX / view map —The flight from Dulles International Airport (near Washington DC) to Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine.
GPX / view map —A "noisy" track showing our approximate path through the airport in Portland.
GPX / view map —(Incomplete track—I thought the Bad Elf GPS Pro+ was tracking, but it wasn't until after I checked it about 10 or 15 minutes after leaving the airport) Driving from Portland to Ellsworth, Maine. We parked downtown, intending to go to Finn's Irish Pub, but the wait was too long, so we went elsewhere. (See the next entry for another track of this drive.)
GPX / view map —(Same track as the previous entry, but from the Garmin/Navigon iPhone app instead of the Bad Elf Pro+ GPSr.) This track was edited to remove a couple of strange, extraneous track points.
GPX / view map —Driving from downtown Ellsworth to our dinner spot (we attempted a second restaurant west of town, but it was also overflowing, so we went with "Plan C"). We stayed at the Kimball Terrace Inn in Northeast Harbor for the entire trip.

Sunday, October 7

GPX / view map —Driving to breakfast in downtown Northeast Harbor, then driving to near Lower Hadlock Pond, then to the Jordan Pond House area, and then back to Lower Hadlock Pond. We were attempting to assess the status of tree color, and parking availability. Lower Hadlock Pond was one of the few places where parking was available.
GPX / view map —Hiking around Lower Hadlock Pond. We started at the southernmost point, and hiked clockwise around the pond. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving from Lower Hadlock Pond to Asticou Azalea Garden.
GPX / view map —Walking around the grounds of the Asticou Azalea Garden. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving from the Asticou Azalea Garden to dinner in Northeast Harbor, then to the hotel.

Monday, October 8

GPX / view map —Driving from the hotel to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then the Jordan Pond area (full parking again), then to the canoe rental site near Long Pond. Because of weather conditions and our lack of preparation for sun, we elected not to rent a canoe that day (and we didn't have any later opportunities, either).
GPX / view map —Driving from the canoe rental site to Eagle Lake.
GPX / view map —Hiking counterclockwise around Eagle Lake. We started at Eagle Lake Road (north of Eagle Lake), and reached the south end of the lake just before sunset. We walked back north on the east side of the lake during dusk and night. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving from Eagle Lake to Bar Harbor (for dinner).
GPX / view map —Walking to/from our dinner spot in Bar Harbor.
GPX / view map —Driving from Bar Harbor to the hotel.

Tuesday, October 9

GPX / view map —Driving to breakfast (a little walking included), then to the Jordan Pond House parking area. This involved several "orbits" of the parking lots, because of the crowds and lack of available parking (the park's bus service ended for the season on October 8).
GPX / view map —Hiking from near Jordan Pond House to the south end of Jordan Pond, then down the Jordan Stream Path to the Cobblestone Bridge, then along carriage roads to the Stanley Brook Bridge, and finally carriage roads back to dinner at the Jordan Pond House. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving from the Jordan Pond House to our hotel.

Wednesday, October 10

GPX / view map —Driving/walking to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then driving to the parking area for The Tarn.
GPX / view map —Hiking generally counterclockwise on various trails, including the Jesup Path, Hemlock Trail, Great Meadow Loop, and Gorge Path. We reached the Gorge/Hemlock intersection after sunset, and descended the somewhat challenging Hemlock Trail in the dark (with flashlights). (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving into Bar Harbor for dinner.
GPX / view map —The brief walk to/from dinner in Bar Harbor.
GPX / view map —Driving from Bar Harbor back to the hotel.

Thursday, October 11

GPX / view map —Driving/walking to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then driving to the Jordan Pond House area.
GPX / view map —Hiking counterclockwise around Jordan Pond. It was a windy, rainy day, and we encountered only about 5 to 10% of the normal foot traffic (in fact, we saw no one on the Deer Brook Trail or the carriage road!). (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving back to the hotel.
GPX / view map —After drying off at the hotel, we drove the short distance to downtown for dinner.

Friday, October 12

GPX / view map —Driving/walking to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then driving to the parking area for Parkman Mountain. Since it was full (as expected), we returned south to the (new) parking area for the Hadlock Brook Trail.
GPX / view map —Hiking up the Hadlock Brook Trail to the Waterfall Bridge, and back down the Maple Spring Trail. As usual, it was getting dark as we began the descent. We took a carriage road near the bottom, then the final descent via the Parkman Mountain Trail and Hadlock Brook Trail. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving into Bar Harbor for dinner. We also stopped at a grocery store to pick up cold medicine (since I was coughing a lot from a cold).
GPX / view map —Walking to dinner in Bar Harbor.
GPX / view map —Driving back to the hotel.

Saturday, October 13

GPX / view map —Driving/walking to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then driving to the parking area for Bubble Pond.
GPX / view map —Our meanderings in the general vicinity of the north shore of Bubble Pond. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving to the parking area for the Bubble Divide trail.
GPX / view map —Hiking the Bubbles Divide trail and Bubbles Trail to the top of the South Bubble. As usual, our descent was after sunset. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving to Bar Harbor for dinner.
GPX / view map —Walking to/from dinner in Bar Harbor.
GPX / view map —Driving back to the hotel.

Sunday, October 14

GPX / view map —Driving from the hotel (we had breakfast in the restaurant adjacent to the hotel) to the north-side parking area for Beech Mountain.
GPX / view map —Hiking to near the top of Beech Mountain, via the west branch of the Beech Mountain Loop Trail to the lookout tower, then down the Beech South Ridge Trail, and then back via the Valley Trail. We encountered an injured hiker at 44.3041,-68.3423 (on the Beech South Ridge Trail, about 200 m north-northwest of the intersection with the Valley Trail—a rescuer had already reached her, and additional rescuers were on the way). (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving to dinner in Southwest Harbor.
GPX / view map —Walking to/from the restaurant (Beal's Lobster Pier) from/to the parking lot.
GPX / view map —Driving back to the hotel.

Monday, October 15

GPX / view map —After breakfast adjacent to the hotel, driving to a parking area near Lower Hadlock Pond.
GPX / view map —Hiking on carriage roads (mainly Around Mountain Carriage Road) to The Amphitheatre. This was another rather rainy day (particularly later in the day), and we saw relatively few other people, especially after the rain began. (Topo)
GPX / view map —Driving to the Jordan Pond House and gift shop (dinner at JPH), then back to the hotel.

Tuesday, October 16

GPX / view map —Driving/walking to breakfast in Northeast Harbor, then driving to the Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine.
GPX / view map —Walking within the Portland International Jetport (very noisy track, including a few stray points that are greatly in error).
GPX / view map —Our flight from the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine to the Newark/New York International Airport, Newark, New Jersey.
GPX / view map —Walking and (bus) riding around the Newark airport.
GPX / view map —Our flight from Newark/New York International Airport, Newark, New Jersey to Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
GPX / view map —Walking through the Oklahoma City airport, then driving back to the starting point of the trip...mostly after midnight, so technically most of this track was Wednesday.