Trodding the Beehive

Met up with my friend Bruce from work and jumped on a plane to Bangor, Maine this morning.  We're headed to Bar Harbor for a conference, but the Maine attraction is nearby Acadia National Park.  It is my third visit to Acadia and its one of those places I can never get enough of.  We made it into town just after noon and immediately made our way to the waterfront for a lobster lunch.  It would seem extravagant anywhere else, but we were far from the only ones doing it today.  Bruce got extra points for managing a lobster tail squirt that was so spectacular as to attract comments from nearby tables.  He was of course bib-less and got soaked.

Acadia has an excellent bus system which is absolutely free (sponsored by LL Bean).   Not only does it make it easy to see the park without a car, but it also reduces traffic and makes hiking easier as you don't need to do a round trip, but can do point to point hikes.  I think its a great model for all national parks, even if a corporate sponsor can't make it free.  Our waitress at lunch had recommended we do the Beehive hike, so we headed to Sand Beach and set out.  Beehive is a combination between a hike and a climb and several areas are traversed clinging to iron rungs mounted in the stone face.  The hike is fairly short but strenuous, and the views are definitely worthwhile.  Looking up from the ground it seems impossible to find a hikeable route up this face that wouldn't be a technical climb, but its there.  We took a brief rest on top and then took off on a hike around the Bowl and then to the summit of nearby Gorham Mountain before making our way back down to the coast and hiking back through Thunderhole and finally back to Sandy Beach; where we caught the last bus to Bar Harbor as the sun set.

The beehive from the base.  We climbed this face.

Still stinking of hiking and half-day old lobster (its a miracle we didn't get confronted by a seafood-loving Bear on the trail), we found a seat on the patio at Jalapeno's for excellent Maine-inspired (seafood) Mexican dishes.