Day 7 - Bubble, bubble, toil and summit

Our last full day in the park wasn't bright and sunny. As a matter of fact, it had rained all night and it was still drizzling with more showers in the forecast. Still, given the options of driving an hour north to check out Schoodic Point, the mainland portion of the park or attacking as many summits as we could, we chose to stay and climb. A good choice. We had looked through our guide book and had marked all of the easy and moderate trails, figuring that the kids would be able to handle those. The strenuous trails we thought could wait until our next trip and the ladder trail - which consisted of iron rungs pounded into vertical rock faces - would definitely be for the future. The kids had done very well with the moderate trails so we figured, what the heck, let's try one of the strenuous trails and see what happens? If there is a problem we can always turn around... We decided to climb the Bubbles that overlook Jordan Pond. The South Bubble is rated as a strenuous trail whereas the North Bubble is rated as moderate.
the rain had finally let up, so we set out to tackle the South Bubble. We shouldn't have been worried. The kids, being the natural climbers that they are, really have no conception of easy versus strenuous and loped up the trail with no difficulty. Karen and I held our breath and tongues a few times, but we couldn't have had more fun. The view from the top was spectacular. The summit looks down on Jordan Pond and in the distance, the ocean can be seen providing an amazing vista. After a quick snack, we headed back down then took the turn to the North Bubble. This trail was a piece of cake in comparison. There were many steep climbs, but wooden staircases had been laid in the trail. By the time we reached the summit of this Bubble though, the mist and clouds had moved back in and really nothing could be seen below the summit. It was an ethereal experience. On the top of the Bubble there sits a huge boulder, left by the glaciers, named Egg Rock. It sits precariously, leaning over the edge of a cliff. It looks as if it will fall with the slightest touch, but it is actually very secure - as we found out. The Bubbles having been conquered, we decided to take the road and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. I really can't say enough about the power of rocks and boulders to inspire the childish imagination and need to move. It was chilly and damp but the kids were all over. There was a serious conversation about staying on the trails and rocks to preserve the environment on the summit. Several of the plants are very fragile and have limited biomes that can be quickly ruined with foot traffic. Cadi and Cole understood and tried to be careful.
It was time for lunch, so the negotiations began again... Mom and Dad prevailed with the offer of lunch at the cabin, hiking then dinner and ice cream in Bar Harbor. The afternoon was a bit better weather wise and we decided to take on the summit that held the most interest for our daughter - Acadia Mountain. At over 800 feet, Acadia is not huge, but the trail is rated as strenuous for several nearly vertical climbs and rock falls. Also, the round trip trail, which included a fire road at the end, was nearly 3 1/2 miles. Undoubtedly, this was the best hike of the trip - challenging, picturesque and just plain fun. The back side of the trail was dramatically different from going up. Where as the trail that we took up was heavily wooded with few views of the surrounding area, the way down was very open. There was a lot of scrub pine, wild blueberry bushes and the occasional birch tree. This was an interesting dichotomy. We finally made it back to the car and decided to head back in to town. It had become chillier as the day went on and the mist was thick and wet. It hadn't really dampened any of our fun while we were hiking, as the exertion kept us warm.
It was kind of sad, realizing that this was out last dinner on Mount Desert Island, but we were in good spirits and still enjoying ourselves. Dinner was a local sub place that served absolutely enormous portions for a cheap price. Not only was it good deal, but the food was really good. Afterwards, we headed out on the town to look for mementos of our trip and of course, a good place for ice cream. I don't remember the full name, but the Emporium on Main Street had some outstanding ice cream - the blueberry sorbet and the moose droppings were great. We did shy away from the lobster ice cream, though a brave soul did order some while we were there... We headed back to cabin to bundle up and begin the packing process.