Acadia National Park, NOW (Ocotober 2008)

[nancy s.]

I just came back from Acadia yesterday. Colors were pretty spectacular as the reds and oranges of the maples are

about peak there NOW. Of course, with only one day partly wet, the weather helped a LOT.

 

A few follow. These were with a digital P&S. I didn't even break out the Digital SLR.. rather shoot 645 actually.. and

slides.. so that is what I did. When I get those back from the "drugstore" I will share.. maybe post to my page or

something.<div></div>

[nancy s.]

Another, from the Hike up Pemetic Mountain.<div></div>

[nancy s.]

The Rainy Day morning on the Walk Around Witches Hole from Rt 233.<div></div>

[nancy s.]

Swamp Maple (soft maple or Acer Rubrum).<div></div>

[nancy s.]

And, my traveling companion, of course. She is the BEST traveling companion I ever had. She never whines about the ride (or its length), never complains about the food, doesn't add to my restaurant bill, doesn't smoke or sniff any illicit substances or transport same across State Lines (like my LAST traveling companion.. of course he never inhaled...). She is clean and neat and doesn't mess up the order of things.

 

Yeah.. this photo has a lot wrong with it.. but this animal not only helped me UP the trail, she would stand and wait (on my request for those things) and between her and the walking stick, helped me and my bad knees down some very rough and rocky terrain. She was big enough to help too. :)

 

On top of that, when I had to go and shoot I could leave her with my equipment and ask her to down and stay there and she would guard it and stay with the stuff. She did this where there were no people and she did this where there were hundreds of people (like at Jordan Pond House). She also would walk at my side, never pulled and while keeping an eye on other people and dogs, did not drag me to either meet them or tear their heads off. She is well trained and no one messes with me with her along. Between her and the walking stick we got it pretty well covered. LOL<div></div>

[ShunCheung]

The attached image was captured last Wednesday, October 8, 2008. I think the foliage was near peak at that time at Acadia. I captured this particular image partly because there is a row of bare trees in front and that ruins the scene to some degree, and I wanted an example of that situation. But overall, the conditions were really good and there were not a whole lot of bare trees on Mount Desert Isalnd.

 

As I pointed out in another thread, when we left Acadia the following day, the colors looked really great under the overcast sky.<div></div>

[tomwatt]

Thank you for sharing. Acadia has always been one of my favorite places on earth. I am just jealous I didn't go (I had thought of zipping up there myself either of the past two weekends).

[nancy s.]

Shun, that is Hadlock Pond. I have a P&S image of it that I don't like and a slide that will be developed. The dead trees you are referring to are not the result of foiage loss but are drowned trees due to beavers raising the level of the lake. That is the swampy end and that is typical of drowned trees in swamps. I believe if they had their foiage you would find that most were Hemlock.

 

I walked the back side of that place on the carriage path from the gate house north to the intersection. It was a pretty walk and there is a lovely stone bridge built in 1926 as I recall with the inlet to Hadlock Pond flowing under it.

 

The foliage seems bett4er on cloudy days. I think this is due to no blue refraction in the air and the trees are evenly lit so there is no deep shade. It allows the reds and yellows to really "pop."

 

BTW I stayed in Town Hill on Knox Road in a house I rented just north of this site.

[ShunCheung]

Nancy, thanks for the explanation. I found that row of bare trees really out of place.

BTW, that is Upper Hadlock Pond.

[nancy s.]

Come to the Adirondacks next year and look around. I might have some new places for you to go depending on what gets acquired and open to the public in the next 12 months. Fact is, I have some film I am dropping off from a work related trip there end of September of many places not seen by the public.

 

There are a LOT of those bare trees and swamps and alder swamps (you haven't had an experience until you have battled your way through a Black Alder Adirondack Swamp in Black Fly Season in May.. LOL).

 

However, there is a lot of fall color too. You can get the right "mood" sometimes on rainy days with scudding clouds and those bare trees in drowned swamps. Some of it is better rendered in Black and White.

 

The trick with any place like this is getting OFF the road and hiking. Acadia is nice because the Carriage paths make it easy to walk a lot of places. However, for the vistas you need to climb up the mountains. I have been up all of them on the east part of the island but NOT the Beehive. No ladder rungs for me, Pigs will fly b4 I do that. I wanted to do Sargent and Penobscot but my knees and the time didn't give me enough days to rest between climbs.

 

The place isn't going anywhere tho, so there will be other times. :)

[tomwatt]

Nancy, you can also get to the top of Beehive by the back route, a path that takes you alongside "The Bowl". My first time to the top of Beehive, after struggling my way up the rungs, I was greeted by a toddler at the top... the whole family came up the back way!