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Saguaro: View of the saguaro on King Canyon Trail
Planning and Overview Spring 2017

Planning and Overview Spring 2017

Saguaro National Park

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When you think about our national parks, Saguaro probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.  Unless you live in Tucson, Arizona, since the park straddles the city.  Established in 1933 as a National Monument, and upgraded in 1994 to a National Park, Saguaro was formed to protect its namesake – the Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea).  Pronounced Sa-WAH-ro, the cacti grow very slowly, but can get as tall as 40 feet and live for more than 150 years…

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Hawksbill Summit Loop Trail

Hawksbill Summit Loop Trail

Shenandoah National Park

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We’ve explored Shenandoah quite a bit, but there are many hikes we haven’t made it to.  The southern district springs to mind, as we usually frequent the closer north and central districts.  There are hikes that we haven’t done that are (according to popular opinion) some of the best the park has to offer.  If you search for best hikes in Shenandoah, Hawksbill is usually on the list. So, we traded in a humid summer day in DC for cooler…

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Schoodic Point & Schoodic Head Trail

Schoodic Point & Schoodic Head Trail

Acadia National Park

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It was our last day in Maine, and we had gone to Schoodic Peninsula to check out the newest addition to Acadia NP.  We had already explored the Schoodic Institute and Sundew Trail.  Before our trip, we had seen photos of waves crashing onto rocks at Schoodic Point.  And a ranger at Schoodic Information Center had recommended hiking up to Schoodic Head, which would be the last hike of our trip. Schoodic Point The drive to Schoodic Point from the…

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Southwest Harbor Shops and Restaurants

Southwest Harbor Shops and Restaurants

Acadia National Park

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Southwest Harbor is small town on the southern end of MDI’s west side. Our first taste of it was seeing the harbor itself on the drive in. There are several piers, and one had a small pulloff. It looked so picturesque with boats scattered around, and we just had to stop and take some photos. The harbor is small, so we definitely recommend stopping to take in the views. To us, this was quintessential Maine. Southwest Harbor is also the…

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Beech Cliff Trail & Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Beech Cliff Trail & Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Acadia National Park

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The west side of Mt. Desert Island doesn’t have as many hikes as the east side, and overall the hikes didn’t interest us as much.  The one trail that we decided to do on the west side was Beech Cliff Trail.  It interested us because, like the Beehive on the east side, this trail features some unique obstacles.  In this case, multiple iron ladders.  So we woke up in Seawall Campground on our second to last day in Maine, and headed…

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Acadia: Thunder Gulch Trailhead
Thunder Gulch Trail

Thunder Gulch Trail

Acadia National Park

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This trail wasn’t even on our radar when we arrived on Isle au Haut. Why not? Simply because it’s not on any maps, so we didn’t know about it. I did find it on a USGS topo map, but it’s not on any published park maps. The trail is maintained occasionally, but it’s off the beaten path and takes time to get to. The trail is 1.8 miles out-and-back from the trailhead, but it takes 2.4 miles along an unpaved…

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Acadia: View from Duck Harbor Mountain
Duck Harbor Mountain Trail

Duck Harbor Mountain Trail

Acadia National Park

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Duck Harbor Mountain is the most prominent feature near Duck Harbor Campground.  Rising to an elevation of around 300 feet, the mountain forms the best hike near the campground too.  There are a few loops that can be created via the Duck Harbor Mountain Trail, and we chose a 4.2 mile loop.  The loop starts near Duck Harbor Campground and ascends to the summit of Duck Harbor Mountain, then heads west along the coast, and finally returns north to complete the…

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Acadia: Duck Harbor Campground Sunset
Duck Harbor Campground

Duck Harbor Campground

Acadia National Park

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Arriving at Duck Harbor is an experience – you see the dock as you come around Eben’s Head, see the park ranger waiting for you, and all the people getting ready to board the boat to return to Stonington.  But most of all, the view of endless rocky Maine coastline, with mountains in the distance.  And it’s all another adventure waiting to happen. “Kill Nothing but Time…Take Nothing but Pictures…Leave Nothing but Tracks…” – Anonymous (Posted on Duck Harbor Campground…

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Acadia: Ocean view while Kayaking
Kayaking West Side MDI

Kayaking West Side MDI

Acadia National Park

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We waffled a bit on whether or not to go kayaking, but only because there’s so much to do in Acadia.  We decided to in the end because we wanted more practice as we plan to kayak at many other parks.  It gave our legs a rest from hiking, provided great views, and was our closest look at some wildlife.  We learned a lot about the park through this experience.  None of the water surrounding Acadia is actually part of…

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Acadia: View from top of Pemetic Mountain
Pemetic Mountain Northwest Trail

Pemetic Mountain Northwest Trail

Acadia National Park

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We started off our third day in Acadia with another iconic hike – Pemetic Mountain. Located on the east side of Mount Desert Island, right near Jordan Pond. There are four trail options to the Pemetic summit, and the northwest path (4.2 miles) seemed most interesting to us. The previous day, we hiked the Beehive, which features iron rungs and a small iron bridge. Pemetic has its own unique obstacles – ladders – which sounded fun. We’ll check out another…

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