Sunday Hike

It begins at the shores of Jordan Pond, a one-mile long lake surrounded by mountains. Then it continues along a carriage road through spruce-pine forest with occasional teasing ocean views. At one point the road crosses a stone bridge which spans a small rushing brook. A cliff wall looms into view and then the trail which skirts that same cliff wall appears: stone stairs, a short rock scramble, a walk along a ledge guarded by a wooden railing, a short wooden bridge, another walk along the cliff side, and a final long climb around the overhang. The granite southern ridge of Penobscot appears. It navigates a mile-long course marked by small inukshuk-shaped cairns for more than a mile: sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean; a multitude of islands; bays, harbors; mainland mountains; blue sky; April sun; to the summit marked by a large rockpile and sign. The trail then descends into a wooded col between Penobscot and Sargent Mountains: a small secret round pond, still frozen. The trail then declines along a brook, iced-over in some areas, water running beneath: rocks, roots, dead leaves. The trail ends at a different carriage road, the brook is a frozen waterfall now disappearing beneath another stone bridge. The road runs along the base of the mountain above Jordan Pond, and returns to the shores.