Cadillac Mountain. The Bar in Bar Harbor.
Jun. 19th, 2021 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerMaine Week Travelog #11
Acadia National Park - Thursday, 17 Jun 2021, 9am.
As I wrote last night we decided not to get up at 3:30am to visit the summit of Cadillac Mountain at dawn. Instead we reserved a pass for 8am. We set our alarms for 6:30am, woke up somewhat begrudgingly, pulled together our hiking bags for a day of adventure (this plus later hikes), and left by 7:30. We arrived at the access road to the summit at 7:45, a bit early for our 8am ticket, but that was okay with the ranger guarding the road. We headed on up to the summit at 1,529'.
![The view at (checks watch)... 3.5 hours after sunrise... from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/737902/737902_original.jpg "The view at (checks watch)... 3.5 hours after sunrise... from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]")
The remainder of the drive took awhile so we weren't at the top until nearly 8:15am— nearly 3½ hours after sunrise! There were still 360° views, though. Including this view (above) across the Gulf of Maine to the Atlantic Ocean.
Turning slightly inland I also liked this view of islands near Bar Harbor:
![Islands near Bar Harbor, seen from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/738062/738062_original.jpg "Islands near Bar Harbor, seen from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]")
The chain of four small islands stretching left to right are Bar Island, Sheep Porcupine Island, Burnt Porcupine Island, and Long Porcupine Island. The one with the quay near it is Bald Porcupine Island. Yes, someone coming up with names here a few centuries ago apparently had a porcupine obsession.
![The 'Bar' in Bar Harbor, as seen from Cadillac Mountain. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/738458/738458_original.jpg "The 'Bar' in Bar Harbor, as seen from Cadillac Mountain. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]")
Bar Harbor is the town on the coast in the mid-ground of the pic above. Bar Island is at the center-left, just beyond it. Note that brownish strip on the left side of the island connecting it to the mainland. That is actually a bar— kind of like a sand bar, though made of rock not sand— connecting the island to the mainland. It is exposed at low tide and can be crossed on foot. Thus the "bar" in Bar Harbor! Now all we have to figure out is why Mainers call it Bah Habbah.
Acadia National Park - Thursday, 17 Jun 2021, 9am.
As I wrote last night we decided not to get up at 3:30am to visit the summit of Cadillac Mountain at dawn. Instead we reserved a pass for 8am. We set our alarms for 6:30am, woke up somewhat begrudgingly, pulled together our hiking bags for a day of adventure (this plus later hikes), and left by 7:30. We arrived at the access road to the summit at 7:45, a bit early for our 8am ticket, but that was okay with the ranger guarding the road. We headed on up to the summit at 1,529'.
The remainder of the drive took awhile so we weren't at the top until nearly 8:15am— nearly 3½ hours after sunrise! There were still 360° views, though. Including this view (above) across the Gulf of Maine to the Atlantic Ocean.
Turning slightly inland I also liked this view of islands near Bar Harbor:
The chain of four small islands stretching left to right are Bar Island, Sheep Porcupine Island, Burnt Porcupine Island, and Long Porcupine Island. The one with the quay near it is Bald Porcupine Island. Yes, someone coming up with names here a few centuries ago apparently had a porcupine obsession.
Putting the "Bar" in Bar Harbor!
While I can only speculate about why so many of the islands remind(ed) someone of porcupines, there's actually an obvious source of the name for Bar Island— and thus Bar Harbor and the town named for it.Bar Harbor is the town on the coast in the mid-ground of the pic above. Bar Island is at the center-left, just beyond it. Note that brownish strip on the left side of the island connecting it to the mainland. That is actually a bar— kind of like a sand bar, though made of rock not sand— connecting the island to the mainland. It is exposed at low tide and can be crossed on foot. Thus the "bar" in Bar Harbor! Now all we have to figure out is why Mainers call it Bah Habbah.
