12/27/13 Cadillac Mountain Auto Road

This road off the park loop road is closed in winter, along with most of the loop road . Snowmobiles can use it and usually pack the snow to make a nice walking surface. We parked at the gated entrance and walked up to the loop road where we were stopped by a ranger and given a warning about having a dog off leash. With Kelley on leash we continued  to the auto road and started up. We were passed by  four  snowmobiles but this last snow was the fluffy kind and did not pack so they were not much help.

The weather and the light were very variable, from completely gray, to partially cloudy, to sunny and back again. The ice and snow were  still very pretty and I took a lot of pictures and then had a hard time editing so there are more than necessary in this post. Mostly just pictures of the road and some views

Eagle Lake

Coming into the summit parking lot

Bar Harbor from the summit

and looking south

Heading back down - it was windy and colder up there.

Close up of some of the ice

Two of the four  snowmobiles stopped to give Kelley a pat- she seems to understand them now and when she hears one coming she moves to the side and lays down to wait for them to pass. We also met a man running up the mountain ( he had moved here from Georgia ) and then another ranger on a snowmobile who asked about fallen trees- there were none. Mostly we had the mountain to ourselves. We did meet more people on the loop road as we got close to our car It had been a pretty good hike in a 'winter wonderland '  3  3/4 hours