An Unforgettable Hike — Cadillac Mountain
BEEP BEEP BEEP sounds the alarm, at 1 in the freaking morning. No, this was not an accident. Just hours prior, the whole crew — Derek, Mike, Liam, Anna, Ruthie, Kaeleigh, and I (Steph) decided that it would be a great idea to do a sunrise hike. “It will be unforgettable” says Kaleigh and at the time I agreed. Which now that I am up and it is still pitch-black outside, I take it back. UGH, this is the worst.
It’s Memorial Day weekend and we are camping in Acadia Maine. Cadillac Mountain is well-known for its beautiful views, especially during sunrise. It is the first peak in the Eastern United States to see the sun. Which I guess is pretty cool, but not when you have to get up at 1 in the morning!
Despite how badly I want to stay cozied up in my warm sleeping bag, I grudgingly get dressed and get ready for this “unforgettable” hike. We seem to be the only people up in the whole campground. Derek insisted that we get up at 1 am because we are amateur hikers and do not know the trail. “Okay Derek”.
We packed our hiking packs with some food and water, and we all had some form of a flashlight. Time to hike Cadillac Mountain.
We are at the bottom of the trail on the side of the road. Everything is quiet; it is eerily peaceful. There is something beautiful about being awake when most people are asleep. We turn on our flashlights and start up the trail.
After 20 minutes of hiking, we slowly started to awake from our zombie states. We formed a hiking line — Derek at the front leading the pack, followed by Anna, Ruthie, myself, Kaeleigh, Liam, and Mike at the tail end. The crew was buzzing and eager to get to the top of the mountain.
Eventually, there was an opening after walking through woods. We had made it to the first of many ridgelines. The sight is unbelievable — it was a clear and starry night. The stars were burning ever so brightly, and you can see the lights from the surrounding towns of Boothbay Harbor. We were all in awe over the beauty of the night sky in Acadia Maine. It was in that moment, that you really appreciate nature and the beauty of it all. Nature never rests, even in the dead of night. The stars shined so bright; it was nature’s flashlight. “We almost don’t need our flashlights” I say. I spoke too soon.
Ruthie’s headlamp begins flickering and it goes out. “Damn, no one brought extra batteries or headlamps” Derek sighs. Anna is nice and lets Ruthie use her headlamp and whips out her phone flashlight. The hike must go on.
“Oh no” I say. “My headlamp just died”. Not another one. “At least we still have a few other working flashlights” Anna laughs.
“Well, there goes another flashlight” yells Liam. His light just died as well. We all sigh in unison; how do three flashlights manage to die over the span of an hour? Despite the lack of headlamps and flashlights, we still went on. Our eyes had adjusted so it was easier to see, but at times it was difficult to spot the trail markers.
We accidently went the wrong way one too many times but managed to re-orient and continue up the mountain. Next hike, we will bring extra lights and batteries, lesson learned.
Morning was slowly creeping up — the night sky was beginning to look brighter, and the darker clouds were being absorbed by the morning sky. It was 3:30 a.m. and the birds were beginning to sing their morning songs.
We laughed, we struggled, but we continued up the mountain trail. This sunrise better be worth it… and it was.
Alas — we made it to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was around 4:30 a.m. and the sun was supposed to rise at 4:56. There was secluded spot on the mountain where we gathered to rest for a little, until we would move to a better view of the sunrise. The view where all the tourists gather.
Everyone begins cheering and clapping when the sun peaks over the horizon. It was beautiful. So, if you ask, was it worth waking up at 1 a.m.? I guess it was. Would I do it again? Maybe, but next time I would cheat and drive up the mountain.
But for real, even though it was a struggle — waking up super early, trudging up the mountain, losing multiple flashlights. We laughed and experienced nature at its finest. Most importantly, we made memories that will last a lifetime. So yes, the hike was worth it.
But the hike down, that’s for another story.
