2/16/12 Little Long Pond Area

Supposed to rain tomorrow so we wanted to get in a good one today. We had been told there were trails ( not on the maps) to Barr and Redfield Hills and thought we would see if we could spot them.

A gray cloudy start from Little Long Pond but temps in low 30's and little wind.


This was a great 'dog day' for Kelley. We started walking with a couple with a small boy, a baby in a stroller and five dogs and walked along with them for a short distance. I wasn't able to get pictures because everything was in constant motion.

This tree looks like it's been through some rough times but survives



We next met two more dogs that Kelly got to play with for awhile. They have all got their own stick.



Had to have at least one lichen picture



There was some snow still on the carriage roads and even some patches of ice but nothing not easily got around and it was mostly quite good walking.


Zoe, another new friend Kelley got to play with. We actually met them again later in the walk for a second go round

We found several spots that looked like they might be trails but all of them quickly petered out so we did not find any of the trail we were looking for.

After making the turn back south we met Bailey ( who we had met before) and her mistress and walked with them for awhile ( I failed with those pictures too) . Bailey is young and full of energy and Kelley had great fun with her.

We turned off the carriage road and went to the West Side of Long Pond Trail to finish the hike. Kelley found open water to get into. She had been puzzled and frustrated when she found the pond frozen - even venturing out onto it to check it out.




During the last part of the hike the sun appeared and we had a different view of the pond at the end.


A nice 3 hour hike with lots of fun for Kelley with all of the other dogs. This area of the park is privately owned and there is no leash rule so lots of folks bring their dogs here to allow them to run free. We had never, however, met as many as we did today

2/14/12 Goose Ridge Trail

Beautiful sunny day - temps in the 20's, rising to the 30's, and no wind. We started from the trail head on Freedom Pond Rd. ( there is no road sign at the intersection) . The trail starts in fairly dense woods as you make the gentle climb to the ridge.



Where the woods open up. There were a few icy spots near the start but most of the trail was easy pleasant walking.

Kelley was happy to be out on the trail in snow.


The trail passes through Spirited Horses Ranch and this is from the overlook there and we would later have our lunch.









We walked to where we could see Penny Road and then turned and retraced our steps back to the start. A very enjoyable 3 1/4 hour walk in a peaceful setting.

2/13/12 Sears Island

Cold, mostly cloudy, and very windy but we caught the tide right. We started out along the east shore not sure how long we would follow it. There was some ice but not as bad as on our last visit. When we reached the Blue Trail, Kelley was ready to abandon the shore so we took that to the Tower Rd. Last time we had found a trail that led us across to the main road but the one we took this time meandered quite a bit before ending back at the shore short of the jetty. We followed the shore again to the jetty and then started back on the main road. We met and man and his dog and Kelley got to play for a bit which made her happy. We took the Green Trail back over to the shore and followed that back to the start. Not the best day weather-wise but we got in a 3 1/4 hour walk and had our lunch in the car.




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2/12/12 Bangor

We got only about an inch of snow but it turned quite cold. It was 5 degrees with a wind chill 0f -10 when we headed downtown for what I expected to be a very brief walk. I was bundled up pretty good and Kelley seems to be impervious to the cold and was excited to be exploring downtown- lots of different scents. I let her choose the route so we again ended up it some odd neighborhoods. There were even a few people about for her to greet. I only took a few pictures as I was reluctant to unzip my coat and take off my gloves. We did have a nice hour and a half walk with the help of some clear skies and bright sun.




This was an accidental extreme over exposure that I think resulted in an interesting picture.


When I realized how bad the exposure was I went back and re-shot it.

2/11/12 Eliot Mountain

Forecast for Acadia: Winter storm warning, 30's, several inches of snow, 30 mph winds. Kelley's kind of weather. Sounded like an interesting hike to me too. Once again, not knowing what we would encounter, we picked an area with alternative trails. We started at the Eliot Mtn. trail head on Rte. 3. I don't think Kelley has ever done this trail from this direction.

As you can see little snow at this point and no wind.


As we climbed the snow picked up a bit but was never heavy and there continued to be no wind. It was pretty though.




A plaque about the man for whom the mountain is named.



From Eliot we took the trail down to the map house on the Asticou Trail and had our apple snack and then followed the Asticou to the Harbor Brook Trail. We met a couple who had just come up the trail and said it was in pretty good shape. If we found it difficult the plan had been to go up Eliot from Harbor Brook and back that way.

There was some ice on the trail but it's surface was degraded and it was not as slippery as that we had dealt with on the last hike over here. The snow continued to be light with no wind and the hike quite pretty. Made me think of Frost.


Most of the brook was frozen ( Kelley had found water to get into before this)




And she managed to find some open water here too.


While not the dramatic hike we had anticipated it was very nice- quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. 3 hours.

2/10/12 Walden and City Forest

Another late start. Kelley had got into some skunk- not sprayed because just in one area of shoulder so I think she rolled in it. Mary was here and offered to help bathe her- a major undertaking because she hates baths. That accomplished we headed to Walden- a beautiful sunny day with mild temps. I let her pick the route. We soon met Sophie and her person and that was good fun for Kelley as they walked with us to the rail bed.



One of the trails Kelley chose took us into City Forest where we met more of her friends and they walked with us to near where they were parked






and we turned back to continue on alone.


Beautiful day, nice walk, 2 1/4 hours

2/9/12 Former Snowmobile Trail and Bomarc

Another late start - dentist this time.

There is a utility easement that runs behind our house ( and woods behind that). Every year until this one there has been a snowmobile trail created that, just a short ways from here links into other trails that go for miles in several directions. It has been really nice to be able to access this without even getting in the car. This year it was not even cleared. But yesterday there was activity and we though preparations for the trail. Today we checked it out and found some clearing but only a short distance and that by the power company. We decided to walk further to where the regular trails begin but we found no activity except a bit of foot traffic. There is just not enough snow for the sleds and this is strange because other nearby cities have enough snow . We took a side ( non snowmobile trail) and walked that for awhile until it took us to Bomarc - a business/industrial park that used to be a missile site.

There we found this long corrugated metal building in poor repair but with these nice old doors.


We walked on through Bomarc and then a mobile home park and back to the trail we had started on. So, we were disappointed by the trail situation but had a nice hour and a half walk on a mild sunny day.