1/13/14 Little Long Pond

Still lots of ice around. We thought conditions might be better at Acadia because it's usually a few degrees warmer on the coast. As we neared the pond  we saw that there was still quite a bit of snow and that there was probably going to be  ice too. We parked by the gate on the other side of the pond rather than the usual parking lot because I was afraid the Friends Path might be icy. We walked across the end of the pond

to look at the West Side Trail ( which we usually do) but it was pretty icy and we decided to stick with the carriage roads.The pond was mostly frozen but in one corner was an open patch. Kelley tried to get to the water but the ice in front of her kept breaking and spooking her and she gave up.  Back to the east side of the pond and the road and fields were free of both snow and ice. This didn't last long and we were  soon having to pick our way around large patches of ice.

Added to this was a woman ahead of us with a male dog that kept coming back to us and wanting to hump Kelley. When we came to the trail across to Jordan Stream and the West side Trail I decided to give it a try as it couldn't be much worse than the carriage road. It turned out to be better- mostly snow with little ice.

Just before we reached Jordan Stream we came to another (or a branch of Jordan) stream. Kelley had earlier found a tiny stream that ran under the road but this was the real thing.

When we  came to the Jordan we found the bridge partly broken and snow covered. It looked too risky and we turned and returned to the carriage road. For some unknown reason, conditions on the road became much better with packed snow and very little ice. This was true until we came to the bridge across the stream , the bed of which which was solid ice.

looking over the side at the stream below.

After the bridge, conditions varied from good to patches of ice but mostly not too bad. We met one other woman with her little dog. She was also tired of the ice ( we have more rain forecast) and unhappy that the skiing was also ruined ( cross country skiers use the carriage roads ) . We continued on the roads to complete a circuit of the pond. Not the best conditions but a pretty day .  2  1/4 hours