Hiking and Fall Light Show

 

🥾Pleasant Mountain

"The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them."

- Saint Francis de Sales

 

Where is Pleasant Mountain?  In Denmark!  Denmark, Maine that is.  Towns in Maine are very... diverse 😁.  There's China, Mexico, Purgatory but I don't think any of them live up to their name.

But Pleasant Mountain was not the goal that day.  I can't remember what the goal was but it was supposed to be a hiking trail just outside of Old Town, Maine.  The Google Map lady took me to a gravel road and when it told me to turn right to an ATV/Snowmobile trail, I'm like... whelp... I guess I'm not gonna explore that mountain.

 

So then I stopped when I got cell reception and punched a plan B hike and found Pleasant Mountain.  Pleasant Mountain is southern Maine’s tallest mountain at 2,006 feet.  Yes, I am ambitious.  Actually, like my other hikes, the only stat I care about is the length of the hike.  I don't pay attention on elevation gain.  And anytime I have doubts, the next question that comes to mind is "why not?"

So I swing around, went back to the paved road and head out to southern Maine and found myself taking on the Bald Peak trail.  It's a rugged (surprise!) 2.4 mile trail from Mountain Road with a 1900 foot elevation gain.  Some parts are challenging but I don't remember being exhausted.  I think even with the impromptu decision to change plans and hike a more challenging trail, I head out early enough that I did not push my body to decent fast. 

              

 

I mean, why would you want to decent right away with the foliage at its peak and the White Mountains on the horizon?

And then there's the Firewarden’s Trail.  This one has a 1,500 foot elevation gain and every foot is worth the step. 

 

💚Fall Foliage and THE Aurora Borealis

The emoji is a butt heart!  LOL... (best intro ever!) 

Ten-ten-twenty-twenty-four started really great!  I went to Medford to get a drone footage of the sunrise and foliage.  I'm an early bird anyway so getting up early to catch the sunrise is not an issue.

The wind was calm and the sky was blue and the clouds are just moving along.  The fog added extra drama to the already majestic view of rural Maine.

The drive was equally stunning!  I had to safely stop on the side of the road and safely cross the road to get an awesome shot of the Piscataquis River.

And then spent the day per usual - working.  During dinner, my Aurora Borealis app sent me a notification that the lights will be active that night.  Drove to to Silver Lake in Katahdin Iron Works to get a different view of the Northern Lights but it was a bust.  I was looking at the south, south-west of the open sky.  North is as you guessed, behind me.

So I drove off to my normal spot at the lake aka Schoodic Lake in Lake View Plantation, Maine.  The parking lot already had a couple of cars so I guess I was not the only one with the Aurora Borealis app.

As soon as I got out of the car, I looked up and thought to myself, what a cool super thin cloud formation, almost ashy.  And so of course I took a shot of it using my phone.

No words can describe what happened next.  No picture and do justice of what most of us witnessed.  It was almost a dream come true.  The lights are still not that visible to the naked eye but every flashes you can see, every time the sun emitted a flare, the open sky pulsed like it had a heart beat.  It was indeed an surreal experience.  One that I will carry for the rest of my life.  Unless I get Alzheimer. 

 

    

Where to next, Puu?

We are going to Tampa, FL and to Lake Arrowhead, CA.  Yep, it'll be a long flight!

In the meantime, check out my store to see more images like this!  Or maybe follow my Instagram page.  Or maybe get some free stock photos.  Thank you internet!

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