Dorr Mountain Summit--Step by Step by Step – Wednesday – July 17, 2013

Bill and I would be hiking by ourselves today.  We wanted to hike to a summit but didn’t want to work too hard;o))  Our research led us to Dorr Mountain, the second highest peak on Mount Desert Island, behind only Cadillac Mountain. It’s named after George Dorr, who’s affectionately known as the father of Acadia National Park.   

There are multiple paths to the summit. We chose to start from Sieur de Monts Spring. From there we would hike up via the Emery and Schiffs Paths (Dorr Mountain East Face Trail) to the summit and return via the North Ridge, Hemlock and Jessup trails for a total of 4.2miles.   

Here is the description I read to Bill:

“Like a stairway to heaven, this route’s hundreds of granite steps take you along switchbacks and the base of sheer rock walls to the grand views atop Dorr Mountain.  In addition to the mountaintop vistas, you have to admire the handiwork that went into constructing the stairs.”

Bill said it sounded very doable and he would be fine with 100 steps;o)  However, when I read, I said, “a hundred granite steps!”  Oooops--my bad;o((  As we learned, there is a big difference between a hundred and hundreds! Yeah, this hike turned out to be more difficult than we anticipated, but definitely one of our favorites!!  

We loved every bit of Emery Path and Schiffs Paths. How they built those stairways through the granite is amazing. The workmanship is impressive. There were dramatic curving section which hug the side of the mountain with a precipitous drop on the other side. It may be a bit unnerving to those who are uncomfortable with heights….so sorry Bill!!  But he did great and actually began to enjoy it so much that he hiked it again in a few days with the rest of the gang.   

One of the nicest things about this hike is the lack of hiking traffic.  We only saw one set of hikers just as we reach what we thought was the summit.  They took our picture for us and then continued on to Cadillac Mountain.  After they left, we realized we weren’t at the summit:o( It looks like the summit, but it’s not. The summit is 0.1 mi further away up the Dorr South Ridge Trail.  So to make it official, we got new photos at the REAL summit.   

Our trip down was on the Dorr North Ridge Trail to the Hemlock Trail and ending on the Jessup Trail back to Sieur de Monts Spring.  There were no stairs, but wonderful views as we hike the granite faces above the tree line.  Then we did some rock scrambling through the pines and hardwoods on the Hemlock Trail.   

What  a wonderful day :o)) 

 

Dorr Mountain is definitely on our “DO AGAIN” trail list!!

 

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