Precipice, Anemone Cave, and Jordan Cliffs

On our last day in Acadia, we PACKED IT IN! We still had a bunch of things we wanted to do so we started super early on the Precipice Trail, which was great because there were not giant lines of people who were afraid to be there. 

Coming up through the boulder field was super fun! 



Starting to get to some of the rockier bits..

Matty did so great on this hike! We were very careful around a couple of wet patches and he did a great job taking his time and making sure his footholds and handholds were secure. 

Once we got to the rungs we caught up with everyone ahead of us, but it wasn't too bad. 

I LOVED this hike. 

Yes, the drop will probably kill you if you fall, but...it's very unlikely that you'll fall unless you do something dumb (like hiking it in the rain). 

As you may be able to tell, Luke was directly in front of me and Nathan was directly behind me. 

Yep, the drop is as big as it looks, but honestly, it does not feel treacherous--they do a REALLY good job placing the iron rungs. 

Such a cool trail and over way too quickly!! 

We headed back down the mountain and enjoyed some pretty amazing views. 

Then it was on to Anemone Cave--another one that the park service doesn't really advertise but there is a trail to it (they just don't tell you the direction of the cave once you get to the end of the trail). Again, this is one where you can die (and people have) depending on your choices. If you go at low tide, you'll be fine. 

We thought this was gorgeous and it was a good quick stop! It is SUPER slippery inside the cave so be careful, and know that you need to be comfortable taking huge steps up and balancing on one foot. 

Then we headed back to Jordan Pond (again!) to hike the Jordan Cliffs trail to round out our iron rungs trails (I think we did every one in the park). 

This was SO gorgeous; it was the first time we had seen Jordan Pond with blue skies. 

The kids were enchanted by this TEENY staircase. 

It could be that I was tired, since we did this in the afternoon, but I thought Jordan Cliffs was harder than the Precipice trail, simply because there was more route-finding and actual climbing involved. You would not want to go on this one if you can't use your arms to pull your bodyweight up to the next hold, and you need to be comfortable actually climbing. It's definitely a class 3 scramble. 

This part was hardest for me--I was pretty tired! But after this it is much easier and you're just walking vs. climbing. 

We took a quick snack break at the ridge and made the delightful discovery that our Trader Joe's gummies included lobsters! 

This was SUCH a beautiful hike--this is the summit of Penebscot Mountain and it was absolutely gorgeous. It's supposed to be one of the best views in Acadia and it definitely delivered. 

Literally just so incredibly beautiful. 

And I spotted a porcupine! 

But eventually it was time to go...downclimbing was so hard because all of our feet were so achy after hours and hours on granite! Any tiny patches of dirt or pine needles on the trail were greeted with an announcement every time. 

Reindeer moss!  I didn't expect it but it was all over Acadia. 

Then it was back to our rental house for the last time, passing this charming antique shop we had gone past every single day (I really wanted to buy some buoys but felt like I would probbaly not know what to do with them when I got home). 

And back to Matty's lobster claw, which he was finally persuaded to throw away (it was starting to smell pretty gross). 

 

Acadia day 4: Lobstah!!

On our fourth day in Acadia, it was time to check out one thing that this area is famous for--lobster! (Or as the kids took great glee in saying with a Boston accent, "lobstah!"

First lobster-related thing of the day--I went on a solo (extremely rainy) run to be sure that the lobster pound we were planning to go to that night was where I actually thought it was and to check that it was open that day (I didn't want to make that mistake with hungry people). 

Then we drove to Bass Harbor and boarded our nature cruise! I had done a TON of research on the available boat trips before we came and kept seeing this one recommended; it was fantastic and I'm so glad we opted for it vs. one of the longer whale-watching tours that we were debating (kind of an iffy time of year to see whales). 

The tour is narrated by a guy who is a second-generation tour/lobsterman/something and his wife (who was the one actually driving the boat). It was SO interesting to hear about the history of the fishing industry in this area, all the rules governing your catch, the fact that you can get a commercial lobster license at age 8, etc. Also super interesting to hear from someone who had gone to college and studied oceanography/sustainable fishing and then come back to the area where he grew up. 

First we went past Bass Harbor Head, very cool to see the lighthouse from the water. 

We went past a few islands that are inhabited by single families or a small group of related families--this reminded me SO much of Barbara Cooney's Island Boy. Super interesting to hear how they handle things like school and groceries. 

I thought this looked like a delightful summer home; Matthew wasn't so sure. 

We saw soooo many seals!! Really hard to get a good picture of them but it was so cool to watch them. 

And interesting to see that the bald eagles have built their nests directly next to the rocky ledges where the seal pups are raised. 

Then the next part of the tour involved pulling up lobster traps and checking out everything inside, throwing back all the crabs, etc. 

We learned a lot about all the lobster-fishing regulations and how the lobster population has made a huge resurgence in the last few years--and three of the lobsters he pulled out had eggs, which was SO cool! So we also got to watch him notch their tails to signify that they're egg-bearing females, which means they are safe from trapping forever. 

Eventually it was time to head back--we LOVED this tour! 

Since we were already on the quiet side, we decided to go up the Beech Cliffs trail and ended up summiting, but apparently I didn't take pics of the fire tower (oh I remember why, Matthew fell down and I was patching him up). 

Then it was time to head to the lobster pound!

At first we were sitting outside and it was FREEZING so I went in and basically begged the manager to move us inside. 

We ordered two (2-3 lb) lobster dinners, a couple of lobster rolls, mussels, and a bunch of sides. It ended up being the same price as the boat tour that morning, which I was expecting, but honestly--the boat tour was a better value! Juliet had a great time dissecting and eating her lobster; Luke and Neil polished off the other one, but the rest of us...not so much. I think what tipped it over for me was when Neil handed me a piece of lobster meat that was very very obviously claw-shaped and it just...I couldn't do it. This I now know about myself: I prefer warm lobster rolls. 

But all in all, it was definitely part of the experience and a fun night!! (And Matthew took the lobster claws home after I showed him how to pull on the tendons to make them open. It was tough talking him into leaving them behind when we left a couple days later!) 

And a pic of the lobster pound to take us out--fun to start and end my day there!