A Foggy Jaunt up Gorham and The Hive

Hiking buddy: Myself!

Weather: Low 50s, fog and rain

Mountains: Gorham Mountain and Beehive (Acadia National Park)
Elevations: 525ft (Gorham) and 520ft (Beehive)
Ascent: South end of Gorham Mountain Trail and Cadillac Cliffs
Descent: North end of Gorham Mountain Trail, ladder trail of Beehive (what else?!)
Miles of trail: 4.5

Total miles this year: 50.5

FIFTY miles. 

I'm a little giddy on the inside knowing that I am already a quarter of the way towards my goal of hiking 200 miles of trail within this hiking season! It may already be May, almost halfway through the calendar year, but the hiking has only just begun... and it will increase as work hours become more flexible and the weather becomes heavenly warm this summer. I'm super pumped!

I hadn't planned on hiking today, considering the weekend has been wet and dreary. But, there was a break from the rain this afternoon and I took full advantage of it!

For my original post on Gorham Mountain, click here.

For my original post on Beehive, click here.

The fog was rolling its way across the trail, it was so completely serene. I ran into a few other groups of hikers, but other than that, I was on my own. The waves at Sand Beach were crashing in the distance, as usual. It was just me, the pounding of my boots on the trail, and the sounds of nature surrounding me. It was quite perfect, actually. 

Usually, I'm not a fan of hiking alone. When it is just me, I try to bring the pup along for some company. But, today that wasn't an option. This was literally an impromptu hike after a long annual meeting (yes, another one!) and before another gig this evening. I had an hour and a half to get a good hike in. I still can't believe I fit Beehive and a walk along Ocean Drive into that time span. I was only a few minutes late to my dinner meeting...

Gorham Mountain

Gorham Summit

With absolutely NO view available, this was strictly a hike to get the lungs burning. It was quite nice, actually, to look around me and see nothing but the mountain for a short distance in front of me. It helped me focus on the moment, not on what's ahead. Good advice to be applied to life, don't you think? I know I can become too enthralled in thinking about the future, those thoughts can cloud my head all too easily. It's always a nice reminder to remember to focus on the here and now, live in the moment.

I decided to head down towards the north end of the mountain and try The Hive...

There's that view I love! The fog had receded just enough to catch a glimpse of the sandy cove. 

Now, I don't highly recommend hiking this trail after or during wet weather conditions... looking back on today, it probably wasn't a wise decision, especially since I hadn't told anyone that I would be doing Beehive. Don't worry, I already gave the back of my hand a little slap. The granite was definitely slippery, as well as the rungs. I took it one step at a time, and with the fog rolling back in, there wasn't a view to become distracted by.

Once safely off the ladder trail, I booked it down the mountain and back to my car. I already knew I would be late for dinner! That, and it had really started raining at that point. I contemplated hitching a ride back along Ocean Drive to my car parked on the other end... But, you know what? Everyone needs a little adventure in the rain every now and again!