A couple more inches of snow this morning so after clearing drives we headed for the Hidden Ponds. We would not do the Tunk trails because they have some difficult sections for Kelley even under good conditions. We parked at the new parking lot and headed off. Kelley excited by the new powdery snow and being on the trails. The footing was good and the walking easy. No one had preceded us and the snow unbroken except for ( I think) coyote tracks for a long ways. We bypassed the turn for the new loop trail and continued on the old trail. There is a sign saying it is 'no longer maintained' but it's in good condition and you would not think it neglected. The trail runs along the side of a ridge for awhile and the drops down to run along the side of the pond before petering out. We did a bit of exploring and found a wide trail marked with orange tape and followed that for awhile and then another trail off that but they were taking us in the wrong direction ( we had hoped for something going around Tilden) and we left them to explore on another day.
We backtracked to the loop trail and took that back to the main trail near Salmon Pond where we stopped and had our lunch before walking back out. A very pleasant outing with the feeling we had it all to ourselves. 2 1/2 hours.
No pictures today because I forgot to put a memory card in the camera. An older post shows the area but under different conditions in May
http://hikinginmainewithkelley.blogspot.com/2010/05/51610-hidden-ponds-and-tunk-mountain.html
I'm curious. Whilst not carrying a camera did you enjoy the hike more than usual?
ReplyDeleteHi John - I did not. When I discovered I had screwed up I thought " ah I'll just enjoy the views and no pressure to produce something to document the hike" but I found myself seeing things and wanting to reach for my camera.
ReplyDeletehi
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say hi. I could be wrong but I think I encountered you and Kelly on the way up to Mt.Eisenhower. I was hiking alone and you were back packing with Kelly and 3 other hikers in November last year. Your blog is great and posted pictures are quite beautiful. Thank you for sharing those information. * One thing I remember during our conversation is, you said, hiking in Acadia in the winter time is the best,, I still couldn't make it there but I hope I can do it soon.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,,, Sun.
Hi Sun
ReplyDeleteI have not been on Mt. Eisenhower but thanks for your kind comments. I do think winter is one of the nicest times in Acadia, mainly because we often seem to have it all to ourselves and also the snow adds it's own beauty to an already beautiful place. We hike Acadia year round so if you make it up here perhaps you will run into us.