Maine Hiking - Schoodic Mountain

A week after Blue Hill, we tackled another mountain.  This time we went east instead of south, to the Donnell Pond preserve.  It was a bit hard to find, and once I finally found the road in I wasn't aware of just how long you had to go on this narrow dirt road, when large dump trucks would come flying out from nowhere.  It was a bit nerveracking and I almost turned around, but just when I thought I should go back, a parking lot came into view!  There were 12 or 18 cars there, and an outhouse (yay!) and kiosk.  I put on my boots and after Sammy had done his thing, headed down the trail to the beach.

The beach was GORGEOUS.  It was a beautiful day, absolutely perfect.  There were a few families/groups on the beach, maybe 4 or 5, but it was quiet except for a couple kids playing.  I ate my PB&J and enjoyed the view while Sammy lay in the sand.  I was surprised it was so sandy.  I got out my camera to take some pics and found that the new rechargeable batteries my mother had bought were crap.  They'd been charging several days and let me take 3 pictures before they died.  Lesson learned: always pack extra batteries. 

We then walked up the beach and headed toward the trail that went up Schoodic Mtn.  It was easy enough at first, and beautiful.  It was by far my favorite place to hike in Maine (so far) but hey, I haven't been that many places.  It got a bit steeper and I just took it slow.  There seemed to be a lot of people coming down.  Several of them seemed to have nothing but flip flops on.  I was shocked. The older folks seemed to be huffing and puffing, the kids acting like they were taking a sunday stroll.

We climbed and climbed, eventually coming to a point where we were climbing over boulders.  We met the lady we had talked to the the parking lot, who didn't seem all that friendly then but did now.  She told me it was 10 or 15 more minutes.   10 or 15 minutes later we met another couple, who insisted it was only 10 or 15 more minutes.   Climbed for another while.  We then met a third group, a family that also had a dog, who also said it was 10 or 15 minutes.  Jeepers. 

Eventually we got there, it actually was I think, less difficult to get up than Blue Hill, the last part of it anyway, though it was much longer.  The first lady, the parking lot lady, when I told her I'd come up from the beach said "Oh yeah, that way's brutal."  Great.  I seem to have a knack for picking out the worst trails. 

The summit (this time I was sure it was the summit!) was worth it.  It was spectacular.  I am angry still that I had to take my pictures of it with my cell phone camera. 

The trail back to the parking lot was much easier I must say, though to be honest I prefer going up the hard way.  My fear of heights makes it difficult to stomach scampering down piles of rocks on the side of a mountain.

Length: Aprox 3 miles.  Elevation: About 1000 feet. 

Schoodic Mtn Hike - Aug 20 2010