Take A Hike!: Beehive and Champlain; South Ridge

Hiking buddy: Ian

Weather: 60, sunny!

Mountains: Beehive and Champlain (Acadia National Park)
Elevation: 520ft (Beehive) and 1,058ft (Champlain)
Ascent: The Beehive Trail, South Ridge Trail of Champlain
Descent: North Ridge Trail, Orange & Black Path, and the Park Loop Rd.
Miles of trail: 4.8

Total miles this year: 27.9

After a long evening and day of strategic planning, aka; sitting for hours on end, I was ready for a nice, looooong hike. Probably should have shared that information with my hiking buddy, but I had a feeling he wouldn't want to go if he knew it was going to be a long one. And, I really wanted the company.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for a long leisurely hike. The air was warm, the breeze was warm, the sun was shining. A beautiful spring day!

I wanted a challenge; something fun, interesting, and exerting of strength. The answer was very easy; Beehive! It is, after all, Acadia's very own jungle-gym. But, Beehive just wasn't going to be enough for me, I wanted more trail under my feet. Gorham would have been a nice addition, but not quite long enough. Champlain was the only logical answer. Luckily, I didn't have to twist Ian's arm too hard. Off we went!

I'll spare you the details of both peaks, since I have already described the trails in previous blogs, but I will share pictures with you from today's hike.

First off:

For my original post on Beehive, click here.

For Champlain, click here.

The only change to the Champlain hike, is that we took the Orange & Black Path down to the Park Loop Rd. This trail branches off the North Ridge, and brought us closer to our end point than if we had continued down with the North Ridge. The Orange & Black Path winds along the east side of the mountain, eventually splitting into two options; one path meets up with the Precipice Trail, the other continues on down to the Park Loop Rd.

Pictures from today... enjoy!