Maine: May 2009

There's nothing better after arriving in Maine late on a Saturday night, than getting up Sunday and going for a morning hike before breakfast, and I use the terms "morning" and "breakfast" loosely. Today I didn't let a little light rain deter me from hiking, and even though I've been on most every mountain in Acadia at one time or another, I realized that I'd never hiked Kebo Mountain, and I use the term "mountain" loosely too, being that the summit is a mere 407 feet. Nevertheless, with questionable weather, the length (short) and location (near Bar Harbor) were both favorable, and the hike was quite enjoyable. There aren't spectacular views from Kebo, but after only a few steps up you start looking down on Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands, and when you do reach the summit, you get views of and can continue on toward Dorr, Cadillac, and Champlain Mountains if you're of a mind to.

The North Ridge trail starts from the Park Loop Road, not long after it becomes one way going toward Sand Beach from the Cadillac Mountain entrance. There's no parking area, you have to park in the right lane of the Park Loop Road. The hike up is one of the shortest in Acadia, three tenths of a mile. Continuing down the other side of Kebo to the trail junction has many ups and downs and makes for great exercise; despite it being 53 degrees, the activity and the humidity combined to make the flannel shirt I started out wearing totally unnecessary after only a short way. If you go left at the first trail junction, you're on the Strath Eden trail, another left turn takes you back to the Park Loop Road. Going the other way will take you on a short hike to Sieur de Monts Spring. The walk back to the road is a quite pleasant and mostly level walk through the woods at the base of Kebo. It's not a major hike but it's a nice way to reacquaint the hiking muscles with the trails of Acadia after some time away. Here are some photos from this morning's hike.