Excelsior Not So Much

On one of the rainy days we spent in Acadia National Park, everyone pulled on rain gear and rambled along Homans Path to gawp at damage from a rare 3.8 magnitude earthquake last October. This granite boulder had a piece sheared off (notice the fresh, lichen-free rock surface). It takes quite a bit of force to split granite.



The socks are the third pair from last year's Trek-along, which I finally finished somewhere on the road. They also got to return to Acadia Mountain and pose hanging off the second summit. As hoped, they are excellent hiking socks and I'm as delighted with their performance as their appearance.



DH and I also rented bicycles and pedaled around on the all-weather carriage roads. Originally built for John D. Rockefeller, today they're a gift to cyclists and less-able or weary hikers, as well as continuing to serve their original purpose, only these days the carriages haul all kinds of tourists, not just millionaires. (I don't understand why one guy is staring at the pasture patties instead of the scenery.)



Last year, DH and I started climbing Day Mountain, but had to turn back before reaching the top because the shades of night were falling fast our rentals needed returning. This year, DH was determined to summit. (DH is camera shy, but the Tofutsies sock dangling out of my rack trunk is not.)



Our motto was "Conquer Day Mountain!" Some lines from Excelsior by Maine author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may have been declaimed too. But when we got to the summit, it turned out its height isn't all that impressive. Elevation 583 feet (180 m)? One sock length??? Now that's a bit embarrassing.



So we pedaled around a couple small lakes and up and down a nubble for good measure. While heading back to the rental place, we noticed that ducks really do line up.



I assume they're an aquatic paceline. Amazing.