Monday, May 06, 2013

Acadia National Park - Spring 2013

Great weekend camping at Acadia National Park this past weekend with Kate and a big group of friends. The weather was just about perfect and we all had a blast. It was also my birthday on Saturday, so a fine way to celebrate 41 years on this planet. Pete S.'s birthday was also nearby (today), so it was a joint celebration of sorts. 

We arrived Friday in the late afternoon, and Jim D. and Shauna D. arrived a few hours later. The rest of the gang would show up the next day. That night though, a rude awakening by a young couple who claimed we were in their campsite (park's mistake) left us all a bit irritated. I didn't wake up as refreshed as I could have, but got in a great run all the same. 

The trek Saturday morning consisted of running up Cadillac Mountain from the Blackwoods Campground, then down the west trail (steep and slow), around to the northern tip of Eagle Lake, then taking the carriage roads back towards Jordan Pond. Along the way, saw a mink and two snowshoe rabbits (coats now brown). 

Fifteen something miles into the run, I stopped to consult the map and eat some Powerbar chews. Perfect timing, as bounding down the carriage trail was Mindy and Shauna! They were on their way back and I joined them. Good thing to, as I would have went the wrong way. 

Park Loop road made the most sense for our return. It was closed to cars thanks to the morons in Congress, but it was obvious the dozens (hundreds?) of cyclists we saw were quite pleased not to have to worry about vehicles. 

Ran 20.3 miles @ 10:23/mile pace. 
Technical trails, carriage roads and a few miles of paved roads. 
Extremely hilly. 
Upper 40s to lower 50s, sunny. 
Saucony Kinvara TR, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap, Moeben arm warmers, Nathan double water belt. 

Sunday, we checked out and headed over to Eagle Lake for a group run around the loop. Then breakfast at Two Cats before heading home. Fine birthday weekend!

Ran 6.0 miles @ 9:29/mile pace. 
Carriage roads. 
Very hilly. 
Lower 60s, sunny. 
Saucony Kinvara TR, shorts, short sleeved shirt. 

Short walk from the campsite reveals this.

Some fun before the Eagle Lake run. 

Saturday's run. 

Kate and our Shangra-La tent. 

Rock hopping. 

Birthday cake for Pete and I, and a photo bomb. 

3 comments:

Sparkplug said...

Looks like an awesome weekend and a great way to spend your birthday! Sorry to have missed it.

Helen Wu said...

I'm visiting Maine from CA next month for a wedding, and looking for a great loooong run idea in this area. Want to get in a 40-50 miler, Acadia looked a bit too small for that (without repeating a lot) but I guess it could work? Thanks for the post!

Jamie Anderson said...

Helen, one could very easily put together a run that long and not repeat anything. Get a trail map of the area and look at both the carriage and hiking trails.