A Ride Around Jordan Bubble Pond Loop in Acadia

August 20, 2012

A Ride Around Jordan Bubble Pond Loop in Acadia

Betsy Perreten, my stable manager, and I decided to trailer two of my horses to Skylands, my home in Maine, for a six-day visit. On one of the days, we took a long ride on one of the carriage road loop trails in Acadia National Park. The carriage roads are one of the wonders of American parks. They were wonderfully constructed in the early 20th century to exacting specifications and the drainage, the surfacing, and the roadsides of these 16-foot wide roads are impeccably built. The trail we chose is known as the Jordan Bubble Pond Loop, accessed by entering at Jordan Pond Gatehouse, going up the left side (west) of Jordan Pond and looping around and down to Bubble Pond and back to the trail. It was a wonderful ride!

: This was the beginning of the ride once we entered Acadia National Park near Wildwood Stables. We had to ride through the back streets of seal harbor village to enter the park.

: The side walls of the carriage roads have lichen, moss, and ferns and are beautiful objects themselves.

: Ramon and Betsy up ahead – Ramon loved the ride especially on the shady roads, like this one.

: The woods are pretty pristine, but there are stakes and blown down trees along the way.

: Even small rivulets have been lined with stone by the fastidious road builders.

: Craggy rock outcroppings are evident everywhere, cut away in many instances by the road builders, in order to make road beds along the steep inclines.

: Spruce and fir cling with shallow roots to the tops of the granite rocks.

: Soaring trees, some of them aged and failing, shade the forest floor and the carriage roads.

: This lovely bridge crosses the paved Park Loop Road seen under the bridge.

: These rocks, called Rockefeller Teeth, often line the edges of the carriage roads and Park Loop Road.

: The road rises gently, but surprisingly steeply, to the cliffs above Jordan Pond.

: Some trees develop large bumps along the trunks. All I could think of was bowl making. These burls are natural deviations in the cells of branch buds, causing deformations along the trunks.

: These burls would actually make some interesting bowls of varying sizes.

: The only problem we and the horses encountered on this ride were the bicyclists, who rode in packs and were noisy, fast, and a bit careless around the horses. There are posted signs with guide rules for bikers, hikers, and horseback riders which are pretty clear about etiquette on the carriage roads.

: The forests above Jordan Pond are pretty majestic and healthy and very beautiful to look at along the ride.

: The roadsides in the park are kept neat and clean by hikers, bikers, and riders alike. Everyone appears to respect the natural beauty of the parks.

: This was our first glimpse of Jordan Pond through the trees.

: There is a giant rock slide south of Deer Brook Bridge.

: As we approached the summit, (we had been riding for two hours at this point) the views of the bubbles, the pond, and the forests emerged as if by magic!

: More of the rock slide – There are several such slides in the park, all pretty ancient and very difficult to climb.

: Everyone in this picture is on a bicycle, except for Betsy, who is astride Ramon in front of me. The drop to the right is almost two hundred feet and the views are really spectacular.

: The clouds were rolling over the tops of the mountains and there was a lone kayak in the middle of Jordan Pond.

: More of the rock below the mountain tops – such a beautiful contrast of color!

: The big hill in the center is South Bubble, and to the rear, left, is the North Bubble. Pemetic Mountain rises to the right. At 1234’ above sea level, Pemetic Mountain is the fourth highest peak in Acadia National Park.