7/17/13 Hunters Brook and The Triad

Still very hot here ( supposed to go to 90 again) but the forecast for Acadia was quite a bit cooler so , somewhat sceptically , we headed for the island. Decided on Hunters Brook because of the water for Kelley and the beauty of it. We parked on Rte. 3 and walked down to the park loop road and the nearby trail head. At 9:15 it was 72 degrees- not bad- and no deer flies.

The first part of the trail closely follows the stream - the water was fairly low

and then turns west away from the stream, crosses a carriage road, and climbs, fairly steeply, to the trail to the Triad.

a panoramic view from the Triad - click for the large version



After we reached the Triad and had our apple break we headed back the way we had come. Kelley was happy when we reached the stream part of the trail again and entered it several times. Even with the low water level there were plenty of pools deep enough to satisfy Kelley.

The hike took us 2  1/2 hours and when we finished the temperature was only 76.  A good hike on a pretty day.

7/16/13 Marsh Island

It continues hot and uncomfortable. Today we got an early start but it was 80 degrees at 8 o'clock. ( Several more days of around 90 degrees are forecast). After a dip in the pond we started down the trail - Kelley was not enthusiastic and then was engulfed by deer flies so we just turned back and gave it up. I only took a few pictures while she swam.

In the afternoon we went over to the Kenduskeag Stream Trail. Kelley was happy to cool off in the water but showed little interest in walking the trail. Very unusual for her. We are both tired of the heat. After we gave up walking she was back in the water and joined by two other dogs which she liked.

7/14/13 Sears Island

Hot again; around 90 degrees and several more days of it predicted.  A friend accompanied us and we thought the island would be a bit cooler and we got a fairly early start. It was cooler at the beginning  but by the time we got to the Blue Trail we were happy to get off the shore and into the woods. Kelley was happy to have the ocean but she also seemed happy when we got into some shade.

 A very small pollinator

There were a lot of these Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, especially in a field of milkweed.

This one I will submit for and ID

All in all a pretty good hike. We were glad we had started early. 2  3/4 hours

7/13/13 Little Long Pond

The hot weather has returned. Yesterday we went, with a friend, to Newman Hill. The swarms of deer flies were incredible and I spent the whole two hours of the hike trying to kill the flies attacking Kelley instead of taking pictures.  She  seemed less bothered then I and enjoyed getting in the ponds and just being out in the woods. Today the forecast was for more heat so we got an early start for Acadia and Little Long Pond: one of Kelley's favorite hikes because of the water and other dogs. Today the insects were not bad and we beat the hottest part of the day on our 2  1/4 hour hike. We met several people and friendly dogs and there were lots of opportunities for swimming. Unfortunately I was trying some new camera settings and screwed up all of the pictures except this last one.

A pleasant outing in spite of poor documentation.

7/11/13 City Forest

Another day of on and off rain. We managed to get in two hours at City Forest before the rains came.

Still lots of water about for Kelley to get into.

We took a different route today, going south on the old rail bed and avoiding the more open north end and there were only a few deer flies- it seems they like the open areas. We have not had a big problem with them on the trail in the woods but mainly on the rail bed ( which we use to make a loop) .

I think this is a hoverfly

and don't know what these are but they reminded me of fireworks

lots of insects about today

this one was new to me

and one last dip in the beaver pond before we head up the hill

All in all a pretty good outing. Kelley always seems happy here- I think because there are lots of other dog  scents around, though we met no other dogs today, and water.

7/9/13 Whistle Stop Rail-Trail

Rain forecast, a friend needed a ride to and from Pittsfield, and Kelley had an afternoon  vet appointment in nearby Newport. We decided on this rail trail we had not done before because it was closer than if we drove it from home. We started at the  Farmington end and walked an hour and a half to a where the trail crossed a busy road and then turned back. We had a very light rain/mist the whole time so I had my camera in a plastic bag. Kelley liked the trail because it was new and there was lots of water to get into. We passed some kids on an ATV near the start and a runner near the end but otherwise we had it to ourselves.

The section we did was pretty much continuous woods.

Few flowers but also few insects to bother us

Reflection in one of the pools

At the road where we turned around we talked to a boy who told us the other end of the trail had more bogs and variety. We found a large patch of day lilies in a yard there.

Near the start we had crossed this bridge over the Sevenmile Stream and Kelley had been very tentative. On the return she was more blase

the stream

Not our most interesting hike and the weather did not help but a good outing for Kelley

7/7/13 Bangor

The heat continues so we did an early two hours downtown- no deer flies to bother Kelley. We parked near the Penobscot and walked along that first to give the girl water access

We then walked through town to the Kenduskeag for more water opportunities and saw some thing along the way.

There is a small bridge in the middle of town across the Kenduskeag and attached to it are some flower boxes. This duck was settled into one of them and did not move as we approached. I hoped she was not injured but was on her eggs.

There were lots of flowers along the way

Kelley in the Kenduskeag Stream

A little further along ( close to the middle of town) from a bridge across the stream

More work by the graffiti artist who calls himself   'Pigeon' . He does his work on paper and then uses wheat paste to attach them to walls- so they are not permanent.