The east side of Mount Desert Island is where most of the visitors congregate. Bar Harbor is the largest town on the island, hosts the park headquarters, and is filled with the requisite gift and t-shirt shops. To continue sharing the beauty of the island, Bar Harbor will be skipped.
South of Bar Harbor, along the jagged coastline, an interesting collection of geological features lie in close proximity, most prominent of which is Beehive Mountain.
Looking north from the Thunderhole area, Sand Beach is in the upper center, the peninsula jutting out to the right is Great Head, and the peak on the left is Beehive Mountain.
A sandy beach is a rarity in rocky Maine and is always a popular spot for those seeking a beach experience. This beach is located in a dramatic setting among the wooded mountain ridges that reach to the sea.
Thunderhole was so named due to a nearly vertical shoreline where the waves are funneled into a crevice, creating a thundering sound as they crash against the rock wall.
On the day these images were made, the waters were calm, silencing the namesake thunder. The beauty of the pink granite rock walls was sufficient to be a major attraction.
Oh, for such calm days when trying to cruise the boat along the Atlantic coast.
The Great Head trail is a good prelude to the Beehive trail and gives a somewhat different view of the coastline. Although very close to Thunder Hole, the rock formations along the Great Head shore were much different in color of the granite and structure of the rock.
The peak of Great Head is only 145 feet, however, the trail along the shoreline provided many great views of Frenchman Bay and the Schoodic Peninsula.
Looking west, below, this peak allowed a descriptive view of Beehive Mountain. The trail up Beehive Mountain follows the sometimes sheer rock face.
The Beehive Trail is classified as a "ladder" trail by the park service. That is the most difficult of the ratings and indicates that some steel bars have been inserted into the rock to create handholds.
Or, when the narrow ledge requiring hikers (climbers?) to cling to the rocks is missing a section, a metal grate has been added. This grate is off camber, sloping toward the outside of the cliff, and is polished smooth by hiking boots. It did not create a feeling of confidence.
The trail blazes often lead right over the edge of a cliff.
A great reason to climb up this trail rather than down.
Looking back over the edge. For reference in keying the images together, the rock ridge on the right side of this image is where Jill's right hand is gripping in the above image.
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| Thor Engblom Photo |
A view from above.
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| Thor Engblom Photo |
Up the face and over the ridge.
A glacier-placed boulder sitting on a ridge along the trail.
The peak of Beehive is not as high as many of the other mountains, but it still provides spectacular views.
