Strange Trip Part Twelve: Headwind in the Woods

Miss Piggy on a Carriage Road in Acadia National Park

16 September 2020

The wind is gusting at something above 35 mph. I'm in the woods, on a carriage road, and I can feel it. I mapped the route and downloaded it onto my GPS, but I didn't look at it too carefully. I want to go to the western side today and then come up on the east side of Eagle Lake.

Some of the carriage roads on the southern end of the park go into private land. They're off-limits to bikes. Ridewithgps wouldn't let me pick those roads anyway. I'm going as far south as I can, almost to where the Day Mountain loop is.

I wanted to start farther south this time, at the Eagle Lake entrance, but I got myself confused when I saw the Duck Pond Road entrance was closed. Instead of driving on another mile or so, I turned around and went to Hulls Cove. That's going to add three miles to my trip, and I've had to start with that annoying 11% grade again.

There's Eagle Lake and Cadillac Mountain again through the trees.

The Aunt Betty Pond carriage road is pretty. I'm climbing a lot for a trip to a pond.

This must be it. The wind is blowing so hard that I have to fight my way across the clearing.

I'm in the woods again. I'm hardly seeing any people. I have no clue where I am. Sometimes I think I can hear a highway, or maybe the ocean, or maybe it's the wind. 

Something less than halfway through the ride, I come across a bridge on the Hadlock Pond road. It's peaceful and I'm hungry. I'm going to stop here, take some pictures, and have a snack.

I sit on the ledge. Some hikers and a few bikers pass. I must not be too far out from civilization.

This is Hadlock Pond:

The next turn is onto the Around Mountain road. This one loops to the southern end of where bikes are allowed and then turns back north. When it turns I'll take the first eastern road to get back to the east side of Eagle Lake.

There's a lot more climbing and a lot fewer people now. I have no idea where I am or which way I'm facing. My GPS has switched off a couple of times too.

Wherever I am, I'm kind of high up and this road was put here in 1932.

I'm starting to see the roads that are closed to cyclists, which means I'm at the southern end.

Then there's another closed road, one that ridewithgps said I could get through. I panic a little. I could set my GPS to send me back the way I came, but I don't want to do that. I set it to get me back to Hulls Cove as directly as possible. 

I ride on a bit and come across a sign that points to Jordan Pond. Perfect. Whatever the GPS had in mind wasn't this. I reset it to Hulls Cove and point my bike towards Jordan Pond. I hope I don't wind up in the spaghetti of trails and mobs of people up there. 

As I round a corner, I see a piece of paper on the road. It's a carriage map. I pick it up. Too late for that, but at least I have one now.

It looks like the GPS wants to dump me onto Park Loop Road. I'm not doing that. I reset it again. It sends me past Jordan Pond, fortunately skirting the crowds. I didn't want to come back this way, but whatever. It's all pretty.

On the west side of Eagle Lake I pass the scree again.

And, finally, there's the underpass that will lead me to the Hulls Cove parking lot!

Somehow, the distance isn't much farther than what I'd have done had I been able to keep to the original plan. When I upload the route and check the park web site again, I see that part of the Around Mountain road is closed for repairs. Serves me right. Looks like I could have gotten to the eastern side of Eagle Lake had I simply calmed down a minute and checked the map I'd saved to my phone. I'd also have realized I'd already been on that road, in the other direction, two days ago.