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September 04, 2010 |
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Acadia's Beehive Trail will leave you buzzing with excitement. (...continued)
Nearing the top, the view of the terrain you've already covered is intimidating. There's Sand Beach, waaaaaay below. 
Looking in a northernly direction, we have Champlain mountain, Egg Rock's light house, and an occasional sailboat out at sea. 
No actual climbing involved on the way down, but it's no picnic either! The breeze starts to pick up a bit; just enough to cool you down in the summer, or make you downright COLD in any other season. The top of the Beehive can be 20 degrees cooler than the bottom in mid-summer. If you turn around and look down, you'll see you've climbed quite a bit, and it's no longer safe to jump. The hikers way down below that follow in your footsteps are now pointing at you and saying "Holy Shit! Those dudes are crazy!" Soon after, you’ll recognize the final climb when you look up and see about 12 separate pieces of iron sticking out of various rocks along the way. The trail here is almost straight up, for about 50 feet towards the clouds. You'll use your hands and arms as much as your feet and legs to conquer the Hive. The vistas from the top are amazing. The stunted growth of the pine trees makes them easy to see over. To the north is Park Loop Road, lying in the shadow of enormous Champlain Mountain. Out in the water is an island (Egg Rock) with a lighthouse on it. To the south is the Cranberry Islands. And huge, flat pieces of rock adorn the summit, with ample room for everyone to sit down, have a drink, and reflect on your recent brush with death. The Beehive Trail continues down the other side of the first summit rather steeply, but nothing close to what you just came up. In the small valley, it crosses a small white birch forest, and then reconnects with the bowl trail, rising up to another summit where the views get even more amazing. Now we've got The Bowl below, a glacially carved lake formed millions of years ago, sitting below imposing Cadillac Mountain in the distance. The most amazing thing about this western view is that it's the only one I've been able to find in the park where there are no houses, no Bed and Breakfasts, and no roads or carriage roads. This view hasn't changed in a hundred years. Hopefully it remains like this for centuries to come. You can continue down to the Bowl, or turn around and follow the Bowl Trail back to the parking lot, bypassing the Beehive Trail. The trail on the way back, although not as vertical as what you've already conquered, is very steep and rocky, and has plenty of places to lose your step. In spots where trees are near the trail, people have been using them as handholds for so long that they've smoothed out the bark so it's not rough anymore. When the trail flattens out and softens up some, follow it thru a white birch forest and past the pond that you saw from above. Following wetter days, a small rust-tinted brook trickles through to the pond, and mucks up the trail a bit on it’s journey, but before long. You’ll be back at that intersection. Hopefully there’s some hikers pointing up and gawking, so you can exclaim “Holy Shit! I can’t believe I just did that!” Additional Info
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