ACADIA - DORR & CADILLAC MOUNTAINS: 4/21/11
On a day predicted to be partly sunny and very windy, I planned a hike that would take in a great variety of Acadia scenery. I was not disappointed.
I started the hike late morning at the trailhead on Route 3 for the Ladder Trail up Dorr Mountain, just south of a pond known as The Tarn. I planned to ascend Dorr, but by a longer, easier and more varied route.
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In a short distance I turned L on the Kane Path, which runs at easy grades down a valley to the west of Route 3, with many beaver wetlands. Much of this first mile was through bright, open hardwood forest.
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There was a peaceful beaver pond at the junction with the Canon Brook Trail, featuring a view of Huguenot Head across the water.
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I strolled out onto the walkway the Canon Brook Trail follows along a beaver dam.
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The other side of the pond provided a view up to the cliffs of Dorr Mountain. I then continued south down the valley on the Canon Brook Trail, passing more beaver ponds and listening to the daytime hootings of a Barred Owl.
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A mile from the trailhead the route swung west for a short climb to the junction with the Dorr South Ridge Trail. Before heading up the mountain, I wanted to see some cascades farther west on the Canon Brook Trail. I soon reached this idyllic streamside spot by the junction with the A. Murray Young Path.
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Then the Canon Brook Trail climbed steeply up a rocky hardwood ravine.
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Looking down a steep stack of rock steps.
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The trail ducked in and out of the brookbed, requiring some care to stay on course.
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After a 350-ft. climb the trail edged along the rim of a nifty flume. According to local lore, this was originally the Canyon Brook Trail, but somewhere along the way a mapmaker's error dropped the "y." Here, then, was the canyon.
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At the head of the flume was a beautiful cascade. This spot alone was well worth the hike. But as the late-night TV ads tease, wait - there's more!
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Above the flume the trail climbed steep, open slabs of granite which were, thankfully, mostly dry.
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At the top of the ledge was one of the finest spots I've seen so far in Acadia, a comfortable lounging perch with a view across the valley to Champlain Mountain....
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...and the brook sliding down beside you.
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After enjoying some sun here, I descended back to the Dorr South Ridge Trail.
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Right from the start, this was a delightful, easy to moderate climb up granite slabs through stands of pitch pine, a tree I associate with the sandy soils of Cape Cod, but which can also thrive on these barren ledgy slopes.
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Partway up, I could look across the valley to the cascade and slab I had just visited.
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One of the few steeper pitches on the Dorr South Ridge Trail.
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There were many views south to the ocean; in the foreground is a beaver pond nestled at the base of the ridge.
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At times the trail emerged on wide expanses of ledge, here looking east to Champlain Mountain.
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Not far below the summit, perches beside the trail provided an excellent close-up of the steep, rocky face of Cadillac Mountain. The wind was cold and fierce here, forcing me to don fleece hat, gloves and multiple layers.
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A visitor stopped by briefly on the next ledge over.
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Looking out toward Frenchman Bay.
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A sign and large rock pile marked the windblown summit of Dorr (1270 ft.).
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The water around the Porcupine Islands was a beautiful shade of blue.
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It was fairly late in the afternoon, but I wanted to explore the wild, cliff-faced gorge between Cadillac and Dorr, and, if time and trail conditions allowed, make a side trip to the summit of Cadillac and then descend the remote valley between the two mountains on the A. Murray Young Path. From the summit of Dorr I continued a short way north to a multiple trail junction.
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The trail down into the notch dropped steeply, as expected.
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There were some great close-up looks into the notch (or gorge as it's called locally), with impressive ragged cliffs on the Cadillac side.
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Just another scramble on an Acadia trail.
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From the floor of the notch, I could look up at cliffs and talus on the Dorr side.
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A forested corridor led to a four-way junction.
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The start of the climb on the Cadillac side. Rugged country out here.
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Soon I was looking across at the west face of Dorr.
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View south down the notch, with the ocean on the horizon. There were many great ledge perches along this climb; unfortunately there was no time to linger this late in the day.
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Looking down to the floor of the notch.
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Once above the wall of the notch, the climb eased, with the Cadillac summit area in sight ahead.
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A view down the valley I planned to descend.
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Though Cadillac is accessible by auto road, the summit area is only lightly developed - a parking area, a paved loop trail, one radio tower back near the partly-wooded true summit, and a gift shop building tucked into the trees.
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The "viewing summit" offers a great sweep over the ocean.
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There were some nice panorama panels here. I couldn't find any printed versions of the Cadillac view panorama at the stores we visited during our stay.
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The true summit is about 0.1 mi. SW of the view summit, along a gravel spur road that serves as the start of the Cadillac South Ridge Trail.
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Yup, here was the benchmark - the highest point on the U.S. eastern seaboard: 1528 ft. or 1530 ft., depending on which USGS map you prefer.
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It was almost 5:00 pm, time to head down. This was a neat shelf section of trail on the way back down to the notch.
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At the bottom I turned R on the A. Murray Young Path, which at first led through a rock-strewn birch corridor between the walls.
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Then it led through a jumble of talus, with a few patches of old, deep snow where I stepped very carefully to avoid postholing into crevices between the rocks. What a wild stretch of trail - Acadia's version of Mahoosuc Notch.
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There's talus everywhere at the bottom of the notch.
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Farther along there were views up to the cliffs on the Cadillac side.
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Then the trail mellowed out and began a pleasant descent down this quiet valley.
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Farther down, it followed a tumbling stream. In places the footway was paved with flat rocks.
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Brook scene in the lower part of the valley.
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Near the lower end of the trail was a plaque commemorating the man for whom it was named.
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From here, it was an easy 1.2 mi. walk back to the car, with a stop to admire the evening scene at the beaver pond. Come December, this will certainly be included in any list of "best hikes of the year."