It’s been quite a while since I’ve been on the trail, and most certainly when I can take my time instead of the power walking, long distance hiking that my 70 year old friend likes to take me on.

While I still have plenty of wonderful Parisian experiences to share, we’re going to travel to a new place this week and enjoy the cool nights and balmy days of Mount Desert Island in Maine. A summertime favorite that allows me to escape the heat of Maryland, it’s a tough drive up but the reward is so worth it.

We’ve been socked in by the fog the past day which may discourage many, but for me it’s an opportunity to go waterfall hunting. In planning and charting my hikes I use the All Trails app which also has a solid website presence. With an annual fee, it provides trail maps by both what has been charted and by other hikers. According to images provided by other hikers a nice waterfall was associated with the Lower Hadlock Pond Trail. And so the exploration began.

The trail snakes around the Lower Hadlock Pond and offers stunning lake views – that is, if it wasn’t fogged in. The trail was fairly flat with a little meandering. More challenging were the roots and rocks that were just waiting to trip me up when I wasn’t looking. I’ve learned that I cannot look and hike. With my eyes glued to the ground I started to appreciate the little things in the forest.

The trail continued around in a lovely circle – but the waterfall that was promised did not appear. Now I’ve learned that the waterfall is found on the upper Hadlock trail at the Waterfall Bridge. Needless to say, I’ll be heading there next.

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