Saturday, August 28, 2010

Acadia National

August 12, Day 5:

After hiking Katahdin, we drove to the famous Acadia National Park. Day 5 started with breakfast at a local place where I had more blueberry pancakes. They even had homemade bread with homemade strawberry rhubarb jelly. Delicious. After a good breakfast, we scheduled some kayaks for our last day and then went to hike a short trail called "Beehive", right on the coast. What can I say, it was another beautiful hike. Good ocean views, hardwood birch trees, mild temperatures and plenty of blue sky. We drove around Acadia National Park to some of the small seasonal towns, found free ice cream (always my favorite), and headed back to our campground outside of Bar Harbor for a campfire meal of clam chowder (they say "chowdah") and lobster bisque. The best part was the taste.


Now after dinner we had s'mores. Let me tell you about my stance on s'mores. I pride myself on my s'more-making ability. I probably sound arrogant, but I think I have the perfect setup. I roll with a warm graham, chocolate near the fire during the s'more process for softening, 2 slow-roasted mallows that are done when they is near-liquid all the way through with a slight carmelized outside, and placed warm on the chocolate for a gooey consistency. There is your recipe for the week right there. Enjoy.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A-Scent of Katahdin

Day 4, August 11:
I forgot to mention in my last post about the stars. I was actually dumb enough to try to photograph the gorgeous night sky in Baxter State Park. I need a tripod and some crazy exposure time to capture that. Pass. The stars here are just breathtaking. The 4 of us sat on a dock at the campground and took them in. Words can't describe. I love seeing the Milky Way and shooting stars. I literally can't come up with a way to inform you about Maine's beauty.
It's 5:20 am and it's already light. My campmates manage to wake me up for the adventure pinnacle of the trip. It's Katahdin day. The people in Maine are a little weird when it comes to their parks. You have to register to hike as they only take a certain number of hikers per day. You also must register for a specific parking lot, which determines the trail you ascend the mountain. We drew the hard trail. Shorter, but MUCH steeper. It was basically a rock scramble all the way up. The hike was 4,000 vertical feet in 4 miles. That's steep.
I mentioned my favorite sound in Maine, the pebbles tumbling into the sea. Now for my favorite smell in Maine. You might think it's blueberry pancakes or lobster or the sea. I'm actually going to choose the fresh pine scent. Maine is the most forested state in the US and you can smell it. Now remember that Zateran's last night? Well, it turns out that if you eat that stuff, it gives you monumentally bad gas. Sorry for the bad thoughts. Even outside, on a mountain, with wind and the strong pine, each of us would walk into a horrendous cloud of nasty.

One of the cool things about this hike is the view. About a mile into the hike, whenever you take a break, turn around and the view is just spectacular. You can see for miles and there is no civilization in sight. Mmmm. After an adventurous, tiring and a blast of a climb, you reach a false peak where you can truly take in the view. Heading toward the summit, I come across some wild blueberries which are delicious. I love wild food. Apparently Henry Thoreau made a journey up this mountain awhile back.



The summit is a great place. 360 degrees of awesome, vast, woods. There is a trail called the Knife's Edge which extends along the ridge at the summit. It's nothing but rocks with cliffs on each side. The path is only a few feet wide and not super-stable, but fun. We took a different trail on the way down for some variety and to save our joints from a painful descent. Katahdin has a stream on this trail with some sweet falls. Not shown here is the swimming hole which was used by all of us. Cold. Really freaking cold. But awesome.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Goodbye Camden, hello Baxter, Day 3

The sun rises here at around 5 am in the summer. I'm not much of a morning person unless I'm hunting. Or on vacation. This morning we are going for an early morning paddle. It is about 75 degrees with no wind and sunny. Perfect. The outlying islands paint a picturesque scene as Todd and I paddle our kayak amidst lobster buoys. We make it across the Camden harbor channel to the lighthouse and discuss the rest of the day's activities. After paddling back, we return to our campground for breakfast. This breakfast will consist of bacon and eggs. Man stuff. Our breakfast location was beautiful to say the least as we looked over the ocean and the surrounding islands.

After an extensive nap at the above location, it's time to go hit up the mountain which overlooks the Camden harbor. Now we begin the journey to Baxter State Park where we will climb Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachin Trail. We enjoy a good sunset as we approach our camp. Tonight's dinner is Zataran's Jambalaya with hot dogs. For dessert, oreos and milk. This comes in to play later.


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Initial Ascent, Day 2

Before I blog about Day 2, I'd like to say I want to meet the guy who invented the bag flour is sold in. And punch him in the face. It is impossible to transfer flour from that dang bag without making a huge mess.

August 9:
Thanks to my Big Agnes sleeping bag with integrated sleeping pad, I awake refreshed. Josh and Todd know this dude from Blacksburg who is vacationing in Maine and has given us the heads up on the best spot for breakfast.
Blueberry pancakes are the obvious choice since blueberries are a big deal in Maine. They are the best pancakes I've ever had, which is a bold statement due to my degree of pancake intake.

Pictured here is the first hike of the trip. It wasn't very long, only about 1.5 miles up to this gorgeous overlook of some lake. Afterward, we went swimming in it. Cold, but not as cold as the ocean seen above. The best part about Maine's oceans is the sound. The waves crash and as they pull back out, the water pulls small rocks across bigger rocks making a really awesome sound. I am truly basking in the Lord's creation.



Here we are touring the Camden Harbor, looking at crazy expensive homes and boats and watching lobstermen do work. Part of me thinks that would be fun work. Maybe I don't have the sea legs. After this tour, a dinner cookout along the beach complete with burgers, brats, smores, corn, and pasta salad, not necessarilly in that order. Another fantastic day in Maine.







I have an idea

I got from Maine yesterday. It was awesome. I've been thinking about how to describe this trip to you. So I will enact a retroactive log of my journey. Aside from this weekend (dad's in town as well as a quick visit to the Outer Banks to visit a buddy I haven't seen in awhile) I will write daily as if I'm still on vacation in order to provide a snapshot of each day. Today's entry will revolve around the night before leaving a.k.a. my buddy Justin's wedding as well as the drive up.

August 7-8:
One of my roomates from college, Justin, got married tonight. It was a fantastic celebration. The icing on the cake (pun intended) was when, immediately after the cutting of the cake, I asked the wedding planner what kind of cake it was. If you don't know me well, I have had an obsession with wedding cake since childhood. Upon asking what kind of cake it was, the planner cut a big piece of cake and set it in front of me. First piece of cake = delicious. Easy math. Nothing compliments wedding cake like Yuengling.
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Immediately after dancing a bunch and enjoying the diverse and sweet buffet, Todd and I headed for Springfield to pick up our other hikers. Then I fell asleep until IHOP in Philly at 8 am. A quick look at the map showed we would drive through NYC and up through Connecticut. Driving through Wincasset, ME around dinnertime we embarked on the first of my culinary goals for the trip: Lobster. Pictured is the famous Red's Shack Lobster roll. It is a hot dog bun with a whole pound of lobster on it served with hot butter. Whoooooa. Cross that off the bucket list. The night finished with our first campground in Camden, ME. This is going to be a good trip.


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Whoa

2 posts in as many days. Crazy I know. I wanted to give an update. I went to a wedding this past weekend and it was my buddy Kevin's from college. What a party! Dancing was great, food was good, there was even cornhole. If you don't know what cornhole is, see wiki. I'm rapidly becoming a fan of outdoor weddings, particularly those out in the country. This one was at some big house out in Botetourt County. Gorgeous. It was fun because the groom's crew-of which I'm a proud member-are dudes from VT and the bride's crew is a group of girls from JMU. Good times.

This weekend makes wedding #4 of 8 this year. My roomate from college, Justin, is getting married. In the words of Will Ferrell, what an idiot! That will be crazy fun. After the wedding, I'm heading to Maine with some old friends. Hiking, kayaking, and lobster here I come! I'm pretty excited. I'm always up for leaving the city. I can't wait for trees, dirt and campfire smell.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Things that make me laugh part 2

I'll start with some funny videos. This first one you may have seen. I'm not sure what this guy is talking about, but that Ibex is mad. Next is an actual clip from Congress. This guy was actually elected to public office. Awesome. Maybe I'm a terrible person for laughing at this. Finally, this kid makes me laugh.

In other news, hockey season is over for me. My team did not make the playoffs, although I am pleased with the second half of our season. We lost the first 6 games of a 20 games season which is hard to come back from. I actually had a few fans this year which not only encourages me but challenges me to play better since I'm not the most graceful creature on skates. It is evident that I did not learn to skate at the same time I began to walk. So if you're reading this and came to one of my games, thank you.

I am still studying to retake my exam. My class is called an "upgrade" and meets at 6 am everyday so I am relearning how to wake up early. Not easy and not fun. I think hunting is the only thing I do well early in the morning. Maybe that's because you can sleep while hunting and nobody knows.