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The Star Point is a unique formation of rock. During high tide the hole is under water. You can reach it by being a guest in a hotel at Salisbury Cove and then hike the shoreline to find it. This area I have read is a place where Native Americans still have ceremonies. They believe there are special powers here. I tend to agree.
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 We decided to try to make it up the mountain again this year on the sled. We got about six miles up and the sled just stopped. Last year we tried heading up the mountain too but was only able to make it 3 1/2 miles up and the sled quite...we were unable to make it and got towed down by friends, per my post for February 2017. This year there were many helpful people that offered to help us back down the mountain...again. Next year I'm going to bring my Yamaha. Not sure but I would guess that Dave's sled just can't do the altitude. I sure did want to see the view from the top this year. Everyone that came back down said it was so frigid they could barely take their glove off for a picture the wind was so strong...I would have liked to experience that feeling none the same.
 We have read about a fresh water lake pretty close to downtown Bar Harbor. It is not a lake that the Park promotes to tourists but if you know where it is your one of the lucky ones. We normally would not have gone down Crooked Road except for the detour this year because of the road repairs, but so happy we did. I remember reading about this lake but never knew exactly where it was. While driving I noticed the Lakewood Pond Road sign the PVT at the end of the sign confused me some but as we drove up the dirt road to check it out I then realized it was part of the Acadia National Park, because of the sign stating it being part of the park and it the hours the lake was open. It is a quiet part of the park. Little did we know what little treasures were hidden here. The first time Dave and I drove through we parked the truck and we walked down to the water. You can't drive right up to the water. It's a little walk through some shady trees and a nice path to get there. It was a very peaceful place. All we needed was a chair to sit by the water and a good cup of hot coffee, neither did we bring with us that day. We left there swearing we would come back soon because I read on line that there was also a secret little pond within a short hike called Fawn pond. What we didn't know at the time though was both Lakewood and Fawn Pond had a nice history to them.
We went a short distance toward the Dam on the right. When we got to the entrance of the dam, we took the left. The road we took was just before the bridge in the on the loop road. The road left had a gate on it restricting vehicles from entering. Continuing a short distance lead us back on Route 233. To the right was a guard rail on the road and from where we stood a short distance down we could see the Duck Brook Road sign.
We crossed the road and went left a very short distance. Just off the road was an old trail heading into the woods. Sometimes there is debris at the mouth of the road but today it was clean.
Just after we started walking on this trail I looked to my right and started seeing concrete foundations. Inside the "foundation" wall was sandy mossy ground, trees and shrub were growing inside and on the ends of the concrete wall we found old rock/brick wells with pipe holes inside them. The wells were shallow and dried up and crumbling. in 2016 I started reading about the history of Eagle Lake so I knew it was a water filtration system to supply Bar Harbor with drinking water back in 1901
 following each system we counted three leading up to the stone tower
The old cast metal hose no longer in use. It has been replaced with poly pipes 
 Directions to the 700,000 gallon water reservoir and 500,000 gallon metal tank  When Dave and I found the abandoned stone water tower trail close to Eagle lake along with the water filtration system that was used at the time to supply the drinking water from Eagle Lake to Bar Harbor in the late 1800's when Bar Harbor was a summer place for the rich and famous, the early Rusticans and the Philanthropists. Today thanks to posts from J R Libby from his Abandoned Trails post we followed his directions back to the Duck Brook Road and parked at the Duck Brook turrets bridge. Dave and I have biked and hiked Witch Hole times before and didn't realize what was located right under our noses. So today we were on a mission to find the abandoned 700,000 gallon water reservoir and 500,000 gallon metal water tank sitting somewhere on a hill as shown from maps in my July 2016 blog. Driving down the Duck Brook Rd until we got to the swamp where the beaver house is located on the left hand side of the road and that same side the water pump station, we parked on the right side of the road where other vehicles were parked. We were planning on finding both today. Instead of going across the bridge which takes you on a nice bike trail around Witch Hole Pond, today we went straight on the bikes. The road is closed to cars but bikes are allowed. We went right by the abandoned water reservoir the first time and biked around to the Park Loop Road to the bridge and found ourselves on top of the same bridge we were a short while ago underneath. On top was where I thought the reservoir was but not finding it, we retraced our tracks back under the bridge and once I looked at the map again we found we had gone right by it the first time...trying to be more observant when we retraced our track, knowing it had to be right in that general direction by the bridge, because when we were on top of the bridge Dave noticed the trail lead down the side of the bridge we could have saved ourselves time and work if we would have just walked our bikes down the slope of the bridge. Once back under the bridge I looked up to my left and noticed the rocks looked to be formed and rather man-made. Dave headed up the little hill and sure enough there it was. behind us on the other side of the bridge toward the left we headed up the hill toward the right.
This reservoir was abandoned around 1928. At that time trees were the only thing filling this space. It was abandoned presuming it was worn out and leaking badly  This area burned in the great fire of 1947, as seen today by the charred remains of the trees inside the dried up stone reservoir
below are the new water lines pumping water to Bar Harbor-Dave and I checked out a few side trails and found these new pipes.
Once back to the truck. We walked to the water pump station and across the road from the pump house there were two paths going uphill. One had a big gate on it and in the distance we could see a wire fence. This is not the path we took. I believe it is the new tank that is in use up in that direction. Walking a little further same side of road we noticed what looked like another overgrown path heading up the hill. Getting close to it we found an old rusty chain hooked to the trees. We followed this path up the hill. The path opened up somewhat and was easy going. It was a short distance but all uphill The 500,000 gallon water tank was build in the 1930's to replace the old water reservoir we just visited today. This was also found by directions from J R Libby  The elevation of this tank is at the base 325 feet above the pump house. The water couldn't gravity feed because of the incline so pumps were used at night to fill it during the peak summer months when water was in much demand from the booming tourist season. In 2001, another 500,000 concrete tank was built near this 1935 tank the one I believe is gated and fenced off. The purpose of the new tank was to further increase the contact time between the chlorine and water before it reaches the town. The tank behind us today is abandoned but looks to be in great shape as it sits on top of Great Hill.
Dave and I ride our bikes around Witch Hole Pond often and ride right by this place. Like most happy little things that we find while ON FOOT are the unusual, historical, unique, lost places. All we need is a general location and a good sense for adventure.
We decided to hike Little Long Pond today toward the Rockefeller boat house. There were many dog owners walking their dogs. This is a great dog walk park. Rockefeller loved dogs and the dogs share this path with humans. Many were taking a dip in the lake today...the dogs I mean, not the humans. Dave and I checked out the boat house, the only part of the Rockefeller Mansion left now. At the boat house people come here and picnic and swim on warm days. It is very inviting.
In 1993, the Rockefeller's property was placed under a conservation easement held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, ensuring that it wouldn’t be built upon in the future. Little Long Pond and 1,000 acres of carriage roads and hiking trails joining each other between Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor with the road to the Acadia National Park just a skip down the road. You can walk the Richard Trail, Eliot Mountain trail, check out the Thuya Rustic Lodge, and the Thuya Gardens. The Asticou Gardens are within walking distance via the road or through the woods. Little Long Pond was owned by the Rockefeller family for multiple generations, the land has long been open to the public and Thuya Lodge was built and owned by Charles Savage...truely a must see. Don't be in a hurry when you go. Other trails connect to walk to Jordan Pond, Cedar Swamp and Penobscot Mountains. Dave and I decided to continue walking on the carriage road hearing stories from people that earlier this day Martha Stewart rode by in her carriage. While we were walking not really knowing where we were going just that we were on the carriage road heading toward Northeast Harbor and Thuya Gardens we came up to a cross way going left that lead to Jordan Pond, hikers coming from that direction said was approx. a mile away. To the right we were pleasantly pleased to see an unusual bridge built in 1917, the only cobblestone and oldest of Rockefeller's bridges on the island. Jordan Pond stream flows beneath it. It was just a joy to find. We must have spent over an hour just sitting there and marveling at its beauty. We continued a few more miles and found ourselves in Northeast Harbor in the parking lot for Little long pond where we parked our car earlier today.
While on Little Hunter Beach, Bar Harbor in 2017 trying to make the most of our wonderful camping trip and wanting to see all there is to see, here we were looking for heart rocks. I love this beach. The stones were singing in the tidal waves their peaceful music. Our Acadia National Park Junior Rangers understand the value of leaving these stones where we found them but sure did enjoy looking for special shapes and sizes while we were here. A great educational spot 
HEART STONES
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 | A little artwork done by someone before us. They had the same thought as I did as we walked through here. The area we were walking looked like a scene from the Hobbits. |
To get to the ice cave take the Golden Road in Millinocket to Abol Bridge (about 19 miles). Just after crossing the Abol bridge (this is a one vehicle assess bridge) turn left on the dirt/sandy road just after crossing the bridge you will have an amazing view of Mount Katahdin and the rapids and then follow the road about 3 miles. At the fork in the road the right goes to Hurd Pond Access you want to bear left and drive a little bit longer maybe a mile and park on the right before the bridge that is gated off, you can't go any further at this point. The parking area is noted with a sign stating Ice Caves Parking Area. Walk across the bridge and the trail starts on the left at the sign that says Ice Caves, Scenic Lookout and 1st Debsconeag lake. The trail is well marked with blue paint on the trees and rocks. |  Debsconeag means “carrying place,” named by the native people for the portage sites where they carried their canoes around the rapids and waterfalls. |
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Dave and I about to hike our second trail for today. Going to see if we can get into the ice caves
The trail is mostly up hill going to the caves. There are many rocks to climb over and go around.
This whole area has so many glacier rocks. It is a spectacular sight.
what a guy! He would have heisted me up but luckily we could walk around this rock.
The trail to the ice caves is about one mile and goes through the tall pines and extremely large glacial rocks, the rocks are covered in moss and ferns, many have trees that have grown up and the roots surround them.
| | .At one mile there is a sign pointing to the .2 mile scenic lookout. The lookout is on top of a cliff...with a very steep drop off...so safety is important. The view is a must to see. At the sign if you took a left it leads to the caves, toward the arrow is the lookout cliff. We went to the lookout first because there were already others heading toward the caves at the moment. |
| feeling pretty high up today  |  |
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There are metal rungs, courtesy of the Nature Conservancy, to climb down into the cave. As you go down, the temperature drastically changes. Just standing in front of the entrance today my glasses fogged up. Down inside it's the same as the temp in a freezer. If visiting in springtime you should have warm clothes, mittens and ice grips for your shoes and a long piece of rope so that you can get yourself back up again. During the spring and summer, the ice covers the walls of the caves and starts to melt and forms ice cycles .
There are a few rooms in the caves, the first one is big enough to walk around in and head into the back rooms. The back rooms are smaller and harder to get squeeze into. If you are claustrophobic it won't be something that you would want to investigate. If you like searching small places make sure you bring warm cloths and flashlights because even the larger front room is very dark.
| you might walk right by it if you didn't know it was there | |
| In the cave entrance looking up. Today is hard to get into the cave but Dave had to try. |  |
Dave wasn't able to get into the larger room very far because of the ice build up and snow on the ground. He could get down but the problem would have been trying to get back up. We didn't know if the snow covered floor was solid where their is a stream that runs through keeping the floor in ice and snow. We didn't bring a rope to get us back out and the snow slope would have made it impossible to get out. It will be getting dark in a few hours so we didn't attempt to go down. The ice cycles were like bars on a jail cell today. They extended all the way from cave ceiling to the floor. The cave height is about 8-10 feet high normally but the snow inside made it a crawling experience.
This location is also the location of an EarthCache for those that follow the Maine Earth Cache
This cave is a talus cave, which means huge boulders of rock lying in a heap and do not really fit together, so there are crevices and cracks between them. The shrinking glacier, leaving huge boulders which came from the north, formed these caves. Talus caves are rather rare, especially the big ones.
The ice cycles were thick and barred the entrance to the cave. Dave was able to snap a few pictures of the ice formations inside.
It was rather warm outside today in the middle 60's but the fog escaping from the entrance left the cave a mist. This is the entrance to one of the rooms
| | Dave said "come on down it's cool!" "Not me, said I. |
Dave stepped down into the cave. The snow sloped down another 8 to 10 feet. He wasn't going any further without a rope or snow axe, but he sure wanted to.
 No you can't go! Come on out of there! Maybe next time. |  |
If we would have had more time we would have gone the distance down to Debsconeag lake but it was getting late and I wanted to get my feet out of the woods before dark.
While going to the Ice Caves today, Dave and I were talking so not paying attention to the driving and veered right when we should of hopped on the Golden Road from Millinocket but found ourselves at the Baxter State Park at the park gate and was greeted by a park ranger. We planned on turning around but when she told us it was free for us to go through because we were from Maine, we felt privileged to check out where this road went. We entered the park and was given a map showing directions to the big and little Niagara Falls we have in Maine. Since we were planning on hiking today we thought we might hike the mile or so in to check out these falls as we thought with all the rain we have had it would be worth seeing. Dave said we can never take a wrong turn in Maine, it's all just a bunch of happy discoveries. Today proved to be one of those happy discoveries.
The road toward bubbling brook was closed off because of the flooding in the area so we went left...it was our only choice today. The drive in was approx. 13 miles/ 20 miles an hour. We headed toward Daicey Pond from Abol campground road.
we passed many ponds and Appalachian trails as well as lean to's for hikers to sleep over on after a long day trip. Signs say bear territory.
a very scenic view of the moutain
walking on the Appalachian trail
Good information in case I get too close to a bear.
Dave signs in that we are heading to the falls
The ranger told us the trail is mostly flat and easy going. I didn't see much of that...although they were hiking trails they were not mostly flat and easy going.
| This was a nice stretch of walking. |  |
| lots of wet spots with the rain we have had in the past few weeks. not sure if this tree saw a forest fire or a hit from lightening. trees in this area are charred |   Bear Scat-made me a little nervous |
| there were those trees that looked like they may have been caught in a fire. possibly a lightning storm. | upon this rock I will grow. it amazes me how healthy the trees look |
lots of debris in the trail we went around. It is still early in the season, it looks like the winds raised havoc in this area. Still a very pleasant hike, just had to find a way around
Listening to the rapids as we walked. about a mile in we came to our first view of the water.
The Toll Dam-was it named for a reason... guess I will need to do a little research.
Research-this is all that remains of the "Toll Dam" that was built in 1880. The dam was built by the Sourdnahunk Dam and Improvement Company. The picture below is a sketch of the wooden logged dam that was built in the 1800's
Logging companies cut wood during the winter and in the spring they would dump the logs into Nesowadehunk Stream.
The logs were guided down stream by the river drivers with each log having markings on it so they could be told apart by what company they belonged to. When the logs reached the Toll Dam the Rivers Drivers would count and sort the logs by company and a fee of .63 cents per 1,000 board feet was charged to allow the logs to pass through the dam. After passing through the dam the logs then went over both Little and Big Niagara Falls. At the end of their journey at the West Branch of the Penobscot River there was little or no bark left on them because of this when the logs reached their destination they could tell a Sourdnahunk log from the rest because of the bark lost going through the falls.
Logging companies cut wood during the winter and in the spring they would dump the logs into Nesowadehunk Stream.
The logs were guided down stream by the river drivers with each log having markings on it so they could be told apart by what company they belonged to. When the logs reached the Toll Dam the Rivers Drivers would count and sort the logs by company and a fee of .63 cents per 1,000 board feet was charged to allow the logs to pass through the dam. After passing through the dam the logs then went over both Little and Big Niagara Falls. At the end of their journey at the West Branch of the Penobscot River there was little or no bark left on them because of this when the logs reached their destination they could tell a Sourdnahunk log from the rest because of the bark lost going through the falls.
To make sure the logs drifted freely along the river, men called "log drivers" guide the logs. These drivers usually divided into two groups. The more experienced men were called the "jam" crew or "beat" crew. They watched the spots where logs were likely to jam, and when a jam started, tried to get to it quickly and free the logs before too many got stuck, otherwise the logs would pile up and create a dam that would back up for miles. This back up could take weeks to break up the millions of board feet, losing some to the shallow waters. The jam crew would use peavey and dynamite to break up the logs. The River Drivers stood on the moving logs and ran from one to another keeping them moving. Many lost their lives as did an unknown Candadian who is buried at Foster field a mile or so going straight instead of turning at the Daicey Pond marker. Being a jam crew was a very dangerous job, many fell and were crushed by logs.
A larger group of less experienced men brought up the rear, pushing along the straggler logs that were stuck on the banks and in trees. They spent more time wading in icy water than balancing on moving logs. They were called the "rear crew." Other men worked with them from the bank, pushing logs away with pike poles
A larger group of less experienced men brought up the rear, pushing along the straggler logs that were stuck on the banks and in trees. They spent more time wading in icy water than balancing on moving logs. They were called the "rear crew." Other men worked with them from the bank, pushing logs away with pike poles
photo of the 1800's River Drivers
| Little Niagara is pretty fierce today. Those logs didn't have a chance to keep their bark in this stuff. |  |
Heading to Big Niagara Falls
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For a wrong turn taken today...it sure was a happy little discovery.
 
| Today we went to Acadia National Park to give our new bikes we bought at the Bar Harbor Bike Shop a good workout. We drove West on Route 233 just past Eagle Lake and on the left at the Park entrance just after the overpass was the entrance we were looking for. The park gate was still closed and we could see that it was a very busy area as we had a hard time finding a place to squeeze our truck into. Seems everyone else had the same idea as we did. The day was warm with a slight breeze. The park loop road was great, no snow or ice left that was there the week before when we checked it out. On the bikes, I quickly found the road had lots of up hills and downs. Mostly ups though. Just before the second pull over to look down toward Eagle Lake I noticed the water falls were gushing. We had our bikes so didn't follow it down today. Last year we did follow the falls down to the Eagle Lake carriage road and the falls were well worth the trip down. The carriage roads are closed to bikes and people for the moment. Lots of ice melting everywhere. Eagle Lake was open except for a few icy areas hanging on to winter I turned around from where we stood to take a look at the trail going up the side of the hill, it is at this point that the Green Mountain Railway went up to Cadillac. It's an old hidden trail but following it a bit last year we found many areas where there were the railroad spikes everywhere and I have read that if you follow the trail further up the mountain, there are tracks still embedded in the rock and ground. That will be on my bucket list for this year. |
| Eagle Lake most of the ice is gone from the lake  |  |
| bubble Pond bridge |  |
Jordan Pond and the bubbles in the background.
Once we got to Jordan Pond we saw many cars in the parking lot. I didn't know how they got there with all the gates that are closed right now. I never knew you could get to Jordan Pond in the wintertime before the gates open. Dave and I road our bikes to see where the road went so that we could find it later and was pleasantly pleased along the way when we came upon a graveyard. It was a well kept and very old grave yard, mixed with some rather new graves too. We had to check it out. I found a grave stone with Dorr on it but it wasn't George Dorr...maybe a relative though. Once we knew where the road came out in Seal Harbor we headed back toward Eagle Lake and the truck. We traveled fifteen miles today.
| I wondered if this person was related to George Dorr's family | very old but regularly visited graves in this yard . Well taken care of |
Jordan Pond Carriage House
gateway to the carriage trails
| we rode our bikes fourteen miles today-however I was on foot more than riding when it came to those hills | |
 I thought this sign was just funny |  | Until we came across this by Jordan Pond |
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