2/13/10 Penobscot Mountain

A beautiful - day-mid 30's, brilliant blue skies, and little wind ( except at the summit).We started at Jordan Pond and took the Asticou trail for about 30 minutes to the Penobscot Mtn. Trail. This is an old trail that has been reopened and provides a more gradual ascent than the older trail (now called the Spring Trail) which has a section Kelley can't negotiate. The Asticou had been used recently and provided very good footing. Someone had preceded us on the Penobscot also so this trail was easier then anticipated with only a few small sections of deep snow and the ice near the top was easily avoided.The first part of the hike is through lovely woods and then opens out to long vistas. Kelley was very happy to be at Acadia and though I had started the morning a little blue was soon also in good spirits. It is almost impossible not to have your spirits lifted by these surroundings. Even though only a short distance from roads and "civilization" it is easy to forget those facts and feel that one is alone at the top of the world. We saw no people and heard only the wind.We returned the way we had come. 3 1/4 hours