Moosehead Lake and Mt. Kineo

It's been a long time since I've done a blog post, hasn't it? I've just been rather preoccupied this summer, and I think the uncertainty of life in general in these times has made me a bit of a hermit! 😄  I do hope you all are well and had a good summer! Ours was hot and very dry. A lot of wells in the area have gone dry...so far ours is fine but we're trying to conserve water as much as we can. We did have a good rain last week and are supposed to get more this week, but we were 7 inches below normal so we're not out of the woods yet! 

Last week, my father and I and some Amish friends rented a cabin on Moosehead Lake for a couple of days. I've always wanted to see it, so was very happy for the opportunity! Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in Maine, and is situated in the Longfellow Mountains. It was also a sort of pilgrimage for me, since I've read and loved Thoreau's account of his visit here in 1853, and also know that another of my favorite authors, the poet James Russell Lowell, visited the area! We had a lovely view from the back of our cabin of several mountains - the most prominent, of course, being Mt. Kineo, which rises some 750 feet above the lake, and 90 feet below the water! 

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon and left Friday at noon...a wonderful trip, but way too short! 

If you look closely at this picture, you can see a bird (possibly an eagle?) soaring above the treetops on the far left! 

Sunrise over the lake, Thursday morning...

We spent most of Thursday driving along dirt roads deep in the woods, just admiring the scenery.  

Moose are supposed to outnumber people 3:1 in this area, but we didn't see any until we were on our way home! This would have been the perfect spot to see one, though. 

One of the prettiest places we found was ironically called Misery Pond! We all wondered how it could have got such a name! 

Interesting steps formed from tree roots leading down to the shore...

Another beautiful scene was Attean View, on Rte. 201. It was named for Joseph Attean, who was Thoreau's guide on his trip to the region in 1853. Attean died in a log-driving accident. As I recall reading, he could have saved himself, but instead chose to drown with his men. 

Behind the scenic roadside lookout is a trail leading up a mountain with even more magnificent views at the summit. It felt so good to get out and stretch our legs, and the view was well worth the climb! I could probably have spent all day up there! 

On our way back to the cabin, we followed the Kennebec river, which was also a very pretty drive...

A passing shower over the lake...

I woke up around 2AM Friday to a loon calling...one of the eeriest sounds there is, yet one of my favorites! Rain was forecasted for the day, but we had an even better sunrise than Thursday morning! 

Mt. Kineo was magnificent in the early morning sun...my pictures don't do it justice! 

But the highlight of the whole trip, for me at least, was climbing Mt. Kineo! To get to the mountain we took a boat which runs back and forth from the mountain to the dock near our cabin every hour from 9-4. Since it was raining there weren't many people going over, and our Amish friend and I were the only ones who climbed! I was glad of the rain, because the captain of the boat said it could be quite crowded in fine weather. It was a little scary though, with the rocks being slippery from the rain. The captain warned us that they had seen a lot of broken ankles! When we got off the boat, we took the trail along the edge of the lake, under steep cliffs that sometimes looked like they could fall on us!

After about half a mile, we turned off on the Indian Trail leading to the summit, which we were told would have the best views but was also the steepest climb...which I believe! 😂 It was incredibly beautiful, even in the rain! 

We were fascinated by this cave...

You can just see our boat returning to the dock to the left of the dead tree...

There is also a golf course at the foot of the mountain...

There is a 60-foot look-out tower at the summit. In my opinion climbing it was a lot scarier than climbing the mountain, but once again, the view was worth it! Thoreau, who I believe must have climbed about the same way as we did, (and also in rainy weather!) describes it far better than I can...

"...we had a glorious wild view, as we ascended, of the broad lake with its fluctuating surface and numerous forest-clad islands, extending beyond our sight both north and south, and the boundless forest undulating away from its shores on every side, as densely packed as a rye-field, and enveloping nameless mountains in succession; but above all, looking westward over a large island, was visible a very distant part of the lake, though we did not then suspect it to be Moosehead,—at first a mere broken white line seen through the tops of the island trees, like hay-caps, but spreading to a lake when we got higher. Beyond this we saw what appears to be called Bald Mountain on the map, some twenty-five miles distant, near the sources of the Penobscot. It was a perfect lake of the woods."

Despite the slippery conditions, we managed to do the 2 1/2 hour climb in just under 2 hours. But we had to wait util the boat was ready to go, so we waited outside the club house on the golf course, with this view in front of us! Our friend said it reminded him of a small Yosemite. 

It was a wonderful time (I think I said that already! 😂) and I hope we'll go again someday and get to spend more time!