11/29/11 Pemetic , S. Bubble, and Jordan Pond

Mostly cloudy but mild temperatures and no rain (it's forecast for tomorrow) but some fog. Thought it was time for a sturdy hike so we decided on Pemetic. We started from parking at Jordan Pond


and took the Pond Trail to Pemetic SW Trail. This is a fairly challenging trail for Kelley as it becomes fairly steep and there are several rocky sections to negotiate. This was the first but she managed to find her own way around all of the hard spots.




And as you ascend you cross several large granite ledges- more tricky for me than for Kelley



It doesn't have to be a lot of water




After you reach the junction with the South Ridge Trail it's mostly open rock to the summit




This was our view from the summit


We took the Pemetic NW Trail down to the loop road, This is also a fairly difficult trail- steep and rocky. Again, Kelley managed this trail without help from me.


From the loop road ( closed for the winter) we took the trail to South bubble where we had this view of Eagle lake.



Bubble Rock is a glacial erratic carried here from many miles away and left when the glacier retreated.


We then took the Bubble Divide down to Jordan Pond. This is also a very rocky trail and fairly steep in places.

Kelley working out a way through large stones.


When we got to the north end of Jordan Pond she was glad to find water to get into.


Unfinished beaver work
After having our lunch we took the Jordan Pond Trail back to the south end where we were parked


and walked over by the pond house for some different views of the pond








A somewhat strenuous hike but an enjoyable one . 3 1/2 hours

11/28/11 Walden

Another rainy day so back to Walden. We managed to get in an hour and a quarter with only light sprinkles.

The snow is almost all gone after our relatively warm days.



Today we spotted mostly lichens






And this graceful grass

11/27/11 Bangor

Rain predicted on a gray dreary day. We wandered around downtown for an hour and a half with Kelley selecting the route until we ended up on a dead end street near the golf course and I had to take the lead. There were people about for her to greet and lots of scents to check out.

11/26/11 Walden

Thought we needed an easier day so we went to Walden to see if conditions had improved. The start of the trail was in good condition with boot and snowshoe traffic packing it down so off we went. Kelley was once again very excited to be running in the snow. Conditions varied on the rest of the hike depending on who had preceded us -from what we started with to a single snowshoer to we were the first on that part of the trail. None of it has hard going as yesterday.

In spite of a couple of warm days there was still a good amount of snow.








Near the end of the hike we came upon Sophie, a dog Kelley had met in the past and she got to play awhile and Sophie was as excited as Kelley. A nice outing 1 1/2 hours

11/25/11 Breakneck Road

A beautiful day in the 40's. One of the local stations gave snowfall totals for various places in the state and said Northwest Harbor (on MDI) only got a tenth of an inch. It is not unusual for the coast to get rain when we get snow. However, when we arrived at the Breakneck we found that they had much more than that.

The first part of the hike was easy as there had been several walkers before us and the snow was packed down. After we crossed the stream it became more difficult , mostly breaking our own trail. . Kelley was very happy anyway and would run ahead gleefully and then wait for me to catch up before taking off again.

When we got to the ponds we moved over to the carriage road to make a loop back. There had been a few walkers and skiers but as it is more open there was also more snow.










My legs became tired and sore and I was worried about Kelley's but she continued her running behavior to the very end. Even though it was a bit of a slog it was great to be out in the woods on such a beautiful day. 2 1/4 hours

11/24/11 Walden

After cleaning the drive we went over to Walden to check out the trails. No one had preceded us so we had 8 or 9 inches of unbroken snow. I thought it was a bit of a slog and was worried it might be a strain on Kelley so we gave it up.


Back home we spent an hour and a quarter walking in the neighborhood. A pretty day and there were people out clearing their drives that Kelley could greet. And a yellow lab she played with briefly and then we ran into her favorite friend Sarge who she also got to play with while his owner and I talked. So, a pretty day, friendly people and, other dogs - not a bad outing.

11/23/11 Snow Day

Snowed all day and the roads were very bad so we stayed home. Kelley loves the snow and gets very excited so we took a couple of walks around the neighborhood. I have never let her be off leash around here because I am afraid for her and cars but there was little traffic today and she so wanted to run in the snow.

11/22/11 Sears Island

Cold but sunny with little wind. Wanted something less strenuous today so we headed for Sears Island. Because we knew the tide would still be fairly high we planned to do the interior before the shore and not be in the water. We took the main road ( interesting to Kelley because of all the prior dog traffic) to the jetty and then turned south to follow the shore around to where we started.

These were along the road




Still some frost on the plants in the shade.






The shore provided it's usual variety of interesting things to see.