October 13th, 2023.
This was my first full Day in Acadia National Park during my 2023 visit. Little did I know going in that there were going to be a freshly instated reservation system for Cadillac Mountain! When I went in 2017 there was no such thing and it was easy driving up and snagging a spot for sunrise / sunset. I did get my Dad and I a reservation for a sunset on our last day in the park, but we had no luck procuring a sunrise reservation.
The only option I had to see a sunrise from the summit was hiking up the Cadillac North Ridge trail. I woke up early around 4:35 and drove over to the trailhead and got the last parking spot available. I hit the trail around 5:00 and reached the summit just over an hour later at 06:13.
The views that morning were spectacular with the soft pink and orange pastel tones of the sunrise contrasting beautifully against the blue fog rolling over the peaks in the image above. Shortly after the fog dissipated and we had clear views as far as the the eye could see. That’s when I got the image below.
The rest of the morning was equally enjoyable and on my hike back down Cadillac Mountain I captured a few more images. I got a few images of Bar Harbor proper. There was also one quite nice image of the fall foliage turning on the trail as the morning sun came through. It was funny hiking down what had been pitch black earlier in the day. I was seeing how much foliage I had missed on the way up.
This was truly a fantastic way to start the day off. My Dad and I continued to have a great weekend for the rest of the trip. That evening we even went to hike around Jordan Pond and saw a great sunset. Those images are worth saving for another time though.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the next one!