Kentuckians In Maine – An un-Tucked Special

One mile was the posted length at the trailhead of the Anvil Trail. The hike is actually a little over two miles out and back, but no one taking the trail that day seemed to care. Two miles is a cakewalk for most hikers, and it was overcast but otherwise fine trekking weather on coastal Maine’s Schoodic Peninsula. 

Starting out, I was super confident. The forest didn’t look daunting from the trailhead, at least not any more so than a day hike at The Pinnacles or Raven Run back home in Kentucky. Why not set out in boat shoes to hike a terrain that I really knew nothing about? So, I did.

Two miles took two hours (at least), with the three-point system — both feet and one hand, sometimes all fours — employed most of the way. Not that any of us hiking together came prepared for that. One friend and I snatched up branches along the way to help steady us on the switchbacks and steep hills. At one point we climbed 130 feet at a 25 percent grade, per the calculation of a hiker who took the same trail and wrote about it for the National Park Planner.

Once we reached the top of the trail it was after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, spitting rain, foggy, and a lot cooler than it had been at the trailhead. The trail looked unfamiliar from above, so it took a while to find our way out.

Not gonna lie: it was a little freaky not knowing how to get down the trail. And a little scary. I mean, I saw The Perfect Storm. Yeah, that happened off the coast of Massachusetts, with emphasis on off coast, but my imagination ran amok. Would this turn into a “Lord of the Flies” thing — and I’m the fat one? No one was more relieved than I when we found our way out.

Only after we had descended the trail from the Schoodic Head overlook and reached pavement did I bother to check my phone for the trail rating:

So, here’s a question: If we had known everything we now know about the trail, would we have changed a thing? Maybe. But then again, when the hemlock, birch, and pine call out to you, you gotta answer. When all was said and done, it was actually pretty fun!

And so began the adventure of this Kentuckian and friends in Maine.

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park welcomes 3.5 million visitors a year, making it one of the nation’s 10 most visited national parks. Sand Beach, Cadillac Mountain, the Otter Cliffs, Ocean Path — all are found in the park, and all were part of our nine-day Maine adventure. 

Altogether Acadia National Park offers visitors 27 miles of scenic roadway, around 160 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads gifted to the park by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his family. The National Park Service website describes the carriage roads as a means to “preserve the line of hillsides and save trees, align with the contours of the land, and take advantage of scenic views.” Carriage rides are offered in the park, too, with booking through Wildwood Stables.

Most of Acadia National Park’s 47,000 acres is found on Mount Desert Island (the Schoodic Peninsula, where we hiked the Anvil Trail, is the only part of Acadia National Park on the mainland.) It’s the same place that you’ll find Bar Harbor — a hip, well-to-do town with chic restaurants, great blueberry ice cream, and coastal mansions that bring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s East Egg and West Egg to mind. 

Lobstah, Anyone? 

Kentucky has the Hot Brown, and Maine has its lobster roll — a mix of lobster meat, mayo, and sometimes lemon juice usually served in a hot dog bun. It’s expensive (especially this year, when the market price for lobster is high) but worth the price for those who are craving the very literal local flavor. 

You know you’ve arrived on Mount Desert Island — home to Acadia National Park, and our home throughout our Maine trip — when you start to see signs for “lobstah” on nearly every corner. I enjoyed a four-inch lobster roll for $25 at a Northeast Harbor hangout called the Nor’easter Pound and Market. Honestly? The sandwich was the best lobster roll I could have ever hoped to find. All lobster served at the Nor’easter is pulled from the waters right off shore by the lobsterman who owns the restaurant. Like I said, the best I could have ever hoped to find. 

Suffice it to say the sandwich was delicious, especially coupled with an Old Soaker Blueberry Soda bottled in nearby Bar Harbor. And that takes us to the next chapter in this tale: the Lighthouse and Puffin Tour. 

Lighthouse and Puffin Tour 

Crisp and cool offshore air on our sightseeing and boat tour in Frenchman Bay honed my senses as my buddies and I scouted for all kinds of North Atlantic wildlife on deck. Atlantic puffins, terns, razorback auks, and harbor seals moved among the rocky outcroppings of islands as our boat — filled with binoculars and toboggan caps — bobbed along, ready for the next big photo op. 

We sailed through Maine’s Porcupine Islands and past three historic lighthouses, the last of which is Petit Manan Light, an 1855 lighthouse in the Gulf of Maine where researchers are stationed months each year. Puffins were absolutely everywhere, making for some spectacular photography of this gorgeous bird. 

It’s important to note that the tour we booked didn’t dock on any of the islands where the birds or seals are found. If you plan to someday take the same tour and want to get photos of wildlife, I recommend bringing a telephoto lens. If you don’t want to haul one around, do what I did: hold on to the rail and enjoy the views, and the ride!

What Else Is New — Er, Different

Different is fun. Finding plants, or animals, or foods, or trails, or anything different from what we’re used to at home is one reason most of us travel. 

Take lily pads. The pond at the camping village where we stayed on Mount Desert Island was home to dozens of water lilies sporting round yellow cup-like blossoms. A little research tells me that these are cow lilies, also known as spatterdock and marsh marigold. It’s a variety found in Maine, Illinois, Missouri, and other eastern states, and possibly states beyond the eastern region. I had never seen a cow lily before, and seeing one was part of the Maine experience for me. 

Or, how about blueberries? Wild blueberries are integral to Maine’s foodie culture in much the same way as bourbon is part of the Kentucky culinary experience. Desserts, cocktails, sauces and jams, ice cream, bread, sausage — even soap made from blueberries can be purchased in Maine. And it’s all good. Yes, even the soap. ( I bought some.) 

Then there’s the Maine hot dog, or “red snapper.” These hot dogs are dyed red. Bright red. There’s really no difference in the taste of a red hot dog from a brown hot dog, just a difference in appearance. Oh, and if you ask for onions on your Maine hot dog make sure you say you want them raw, and be prepared for a bit of a funny look. At least that was my experience.

Final Word

If you invite a geologist, a wildlife biologist, forester, world-class hiker, and a few other impressive folks with knowledge of Northern Maine to dinner, you still won’t know what it feels like to be there. Make the trip yourself, if at all able. Hike the trails, stand on the granite headlands as the Atlantic crashes the shore, watch the sun rise at 3 a.m. atop Cadillac Mountain, and see things you never knew existed. You’ll have fun, I promise.