Great Head

Great Head is a rocky peninsula or promontory (I'll call it a promontory) that juts out into the sea past the north end of Sand Beach, and this year I decided to make Great Head trail my solo hike.

The trail is actually a complete loop up and around Great Head. One starts at Sand Beach, climbs immediately to the top of the promontory, walks out to its farthest point on the Sand Beach side, crosses the end of the promontory (which is much wider than it appears from a side view), and then returns on the other side along a flat and sometimes squishy trail that ends at a wide path leading back to Sand Beach. Actually, if one doesn't want to climb rocks and doesn't mind mud, the easiest way to reach the point of Great Head is to park at the Great Head parking area on the north side and take only the flat trail out and back.

Because I knew from previous hikes that it afforded the best views, I took the rocky (i.e., climbing) path starting at Sand Beach. Initially, I had no intention of making the full loop but planned to return by the same route. However, by the time I had climbed the first (and toughest) part, I realized that I was going to have more trouble climbing down than I had climbing up. They had made the rocks a lot bigger since the last time I did the Great Head trail nine years earlier. I didn't like the prospect of the muddy section of the loop, but muddy feet are preferable to a sprained ankle, especially when one is hiking alone.

Though I know that the park authorities discourage people from doing it, a solo hike in Acadia always evokes a certain serenity. This time, having spent a good part of my time around the three boys, the opportunity to be by myself with nature was all the more welcome. After the initial climb, I paused for quite a while to snap pictures of Sand Beach (the surf, usually almost nonexistent, was up) and to let my aging knees recover.

The walk to the point is quite short, and I stopped there again to admire the surf and the ocean. I had never before crossed the "head" of Great Head, having always taken the trail up one side or the other and back the same way, and I was surprised to find how wide it was. Indeed, as I followed the trail up and down rocks, I began to think that I was mistaken about my route.

Looking south from Great Head.

Eventually, though, I came to a familiar place, recognizable because it contains the ruins of what was once a tea house. We had discovered these on an earlier hike, and we somehow learned that there had been a tea house on Great Neck. How people got there I don't know, but probably there was a carriage road. Now only a few steps and a magnificent view of the ocean remain. Near this spot, on the high promontory overlooking the sea, several artists and writers – individually or in small groups – were busily sketching the view and recording their thoughts. It is the perfect place to do so, and I thought that I might someday like to spend an afternoon there just writing whatever came into my head.

But it was time to head back. One should not spend more than the expected amount of time of a solitary hike – people worry. Because the Northeast experienced a very wet spring this year, the trail back was even muddier than usual. But I didn't mind. Great Head is worth the hike, whichever route one takes.

Looking down to the waves at Great Head (the photo does not adequately capture the depth of the drop).