This past weekend, my brothers Harrison and Keith came for a visit and some exploring. There’s nothing like being outnumbered by boys to get me quickly out of my comfort zone! You may have heard of the famous Precipice Trail (Acadia NP), which is an exposed trail on the side of a cliff that ascends about 1,000′ in a mile. Hikers must use iron rungs and ladders to help ascend this difficult path to the summit of Champlain Mountain. Of course, this was the trail they all wanted to climb so we made plans to do it.
My brothers arrived midday on Saturday and it had been a wet and rainy morning in Maine, followed by a cloudy and humid afternoon. Because of the moisture, I insisted we didn’t hike Precipice that day (the peanut gallery argued, of course, but I won in the end). Instead we hiked Gorham Mountain, which Patrick and I knew to be a fairly easy hike with some great views. We ascended via The Bowl trail, which leads by a small pond on the side of Gorham Mountain.
After taking a minute to snack and enjoy the scenery we continued on to Gorham Mountain summit where Harrison almost decided he was going to camp out until the end of blueberry season. We practically had to drag him out of the patch of bushes he found. After his tongue had been dyed a very Violet Beauregarde blue, we descended down the Cadillac Cliffs trail. Of course, they needed to climb and see how far up the cliffs they could get.
We took Ocean Path back to the car, exploring along the way.
We stopped for Jamaican food at Taste Jamaica in Ellsworth on the way home. It’s a small, bright red joint decorated with lights and a Jamaican flag. Inside is a counter and the kitchen (take out, or eat on one of their picnic tables outside). Jerk chicken, jerk pork, rice and beans, fried plantains, and some mixed veggies later we headed for home (or so I thought). Then I got roped into one more adventure as the sun was setting. We passed by Branch Lake State Park and Patrick unexpectedly pulled in. The sign advertised a mile walk to the lake front. The sun was setting and the place was completely deserted. We started walking on an old logging road while looking out for the turn into the woods which would take us to the lake shore. By the time we reached the water, we didn’t have much time to look around as it was getting dark quickly, but the clouds were beautiful and the water was clear. Definitely a spot I would like to go back to in the daylight.
Stick around for Part 2, where I’ll write about Precipice Trail!
Here for the Weekends 
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