After a great first-time Acadia bushwhack last year - McFarland Mountain northeast of Eagle Lake - I climbed Youngs Mountain, its northern neighbor this year. Both times with our 60-pound Britanny/EnglishSetter mix - on a leash! (more below)
(Wish I knew how to include photos inline rather than as a link.)
Photo shows Youngs Mt over the northern Breakneck Pond, where we started. A 680' summit (yes, above sea level) doesn't make for a very impressive shot! The roughest part was probably crashing through the first couple hundred vertical feet. Then some fun connecting one "clearing" with another until I found surprisingly open views at and near the top, which I decided was a nondescript boulder.
Photo shows a typical view from an Acadian summit, but Youngs' viewpoint is distinct, I guess, by being maybe the northernmost in the Park.
* If you've done whacking like this, you may know about the difficulty in route finding while avoiding treading on fragile flora. The moss/lichen that covered most of the "clearings" in the woods were lush, and several inches thick. I rock-hopped as much as I could, but my goal of reaching the top took precedence over more conservative concerns. Selfish I suppose, and/or lazy.
* Surprised two grouse near the top.
* Earlier the same day, we also surprised a good-sized deer while doing a much easier whack up Great Hill, a couple miles away.
* McFarland Mountain, last year's "whack", isn't much of one if you approach from the south. I didn't know this until, after crashing west from Breakneck Ponds, I found the very-slightly-cairned and ancient? way south to a road off of 233.
* Yes, all the whacks mentioned here were done with Buddy on a retractable leash. This energetic rescue would run and not stop if we unleashed him. Makes whacking a bit more challenging! "Nope, back up. Nope, other way. Nope, sit, stay. OK, go. Wait. Nope, back up." etc. All in all, though, a dog seems to be able to pick out a decent way through the woods ... if you're 30" tall and have four-on-the-floor.
(Wish I knew how to include photos inline rather than as a link.)
Photo shows Youngs Mt over the northern Breakneck Pond, where we started. A 680' summit (yes, above sea level) doesn't make for a very impressive shot! The roughest part was probably crashing through the first couple hundred vertical feet. Then some fun connecting one "clearing" with another until I found surprisingly open views at and near the top, which I decided was a nondescript boulder.
Photo shows a typical view from an Acadian summit, but Youngs' viewpoint is distinct, I guess, by being maybe the northernmost in the Park.
* If you've done whacking like this, you may know about the difficulty in route finding while avoiding treading on fragile flora. The moss/lichen that covered most of the "clearings" in the woods were lush, and several inches thick. I rock-hopped as much as I could, but my goal of reaching the top took precedence over more conservative concerns. Selfish I suppose, and/or lazy.
* Surprised two grouse near the top.
* Earlier the same day, we also surprised a good-sized deer while doing a much easier whack up Great Hill, a couple miles away.
* McFarland Mountain, last year's "whack", isn't much of one if you approach from the south. I didn't know this until, after crashing west from Breakneck Ponds, I found the very-slightly-cairned and ancient? way south to a road off of 233.
* Yes, all the whacks mentioned here were done with Buddy on a retractable leash. This energetic rescue would run and not stop if we unleashed him. Makes whacking a bit more challenging! "Nope, back up. Nope, other way. Nope, sit, stay. OK, go. Wait. Nope, back up." etc. All in all, though, a dog seems to be able to pick out a decent way through the woods ... if you're 30" tall and have four-on-the-floor.
