At the end of August, the planets (including Pluto and Xena) unexpectedly lined up, giving DH and me an unexpected chance to scamper off to Maine. The Trek-along coconut candy socks, #126, trekked along too.
When it rained, everyone (socks included) just pulled on rain gear and kept on trekking. This is one of the cairns on the south face of Cadillac Mountain, which is a good hike rain or shine. Visibility was about 50 feet (15 m), which made for an introspective trek.
Heavy surf at Schoodic Point precluded a seaside rock scramble – this was the wave action at low tide. That square rock nub in the center of the photo is a nice place for a picnic on calm days.
Instead, the socks perched safely on an interpretive sign explaining the distinctive geology of the peninsula. The socks felt an instant affinity for the candy-striped pink granite and black basalt. The rain made the normally nondescript lichens plump up and turn improbable shades of parrot green. Hm... Schoodic Point... could be a yarn colorway.
Eventually the sun came out and we trekked to one of our favorite beauty spots, the second summit of Acadia Mountain. This is the view looking south over Somes Sound toward the Cranberry Islands: to the left are the summer mansions of Northeast Harbor; to the right is the national park; in my hat are some components of a happy summer trek: sock, water bottle, and salt lakrids from Pansar (whose rebel Baudelaire is smoking, er, but at least salty licorice is excellent on a warm weather hike).
Acadia Mountain is a moderate to strenuous sampler of the varied terrain in the park. Progress can be slow, not least because the trail winds through wild blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) patches with their tiny, seedy, yet irresistable fruit. Not only is it OK to eat the blueberries in a national park, there are helpful signs with suggestive place names. There are mountain cranberries (also Vaccinium spp.), too, which to my taste are too tart for trailside snacking.
The hike was an opportunity to field test two other warm weather hiking snacks, Clif Shot Bloks and fruit jellies ("made from real fruits") from Harbor Candy. About the best that can be said for Shot Bloks is they're nicer than the usual roughage and goo that passes as pocket food. Fruit jellies, on the other hand, not only are compact, non-melting, and can withstand a certain amount of battering, they're also very tasty.
By the end of Labor Day weekend, my tally for the Trek-along stood at 2.4 pair: one pair in Trekking #129 for Pam, one pair in #100 for Katherine, and a pair in progress in #126 for me. Many thanks to Margene and Norma for organizing this excellent summer sock- and hike-along.
Now it's on to Twisted Knitters and Socktoberfest!
1 comment:
The one and only time I was at the top of Cadillac Mountain (and, I was all by myself, so I drove), it was foggy as anything, and the visibility almost nil. But I parked at the top and walked out to the lookout and . . . like a fan was turned on, I got to watch the fog roll away from the top. So pretty!
Your sock looks like it's enjoying a well-deserved rest--and, what a view!
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