2/3/10 Carriage Roads and Sargent Mountain

Gray day but little wind. We were surprised to find several inches of new snow at Acadia ( there had been none in Bangor)and it continued to snow throughout the hike. This made Kelley happy as she loves fresh powdery snow. The new snow threatened to alter our plan which had been to attempt the North Ridge Trail up Sargent Mountain.We started on the carriage road from the Parkman Mtn. parking area and the walking was good as there was a hard layer beneath the new snow. As we approached the Sargent Mountain Trail Kelley ran ahead and turned onto the trail and looked at me to see if she was correct ( picture below). Not wanting to disappoint her we decided to give it a try. The lower part of the trail was not too difficult in spite of some sections of deep snow and small hidden ice patches.The upper part of the trail became treacherous as this area is open and mostly sheets of granite, many with snow covered sheets of ice. Taking to the scrub beside the trail ( Kelley kept looking back and looking like she was wondering what was taking me so long)and moving carefully we managed to attain the summit. We descended on the same trail but crossed the carriage road and continued to the Parkman Mtn. Trail, taking that back to the carriage road and then back to the car. 3 3/4 hours


The dim light and the falling snow resulted in pictures that appear almost monochrome.

Carriage Road Giant Slide Loop






Sargent Mountain North Ridge Trail