There’s No Place Like Home

11: Becoming Mainers

May 30, 2016

The population of Maine increases with the temperature: each day we see more and more cars on 1A (the main highway between Bangor and Acadia National Park) and our once-quiet lake community is overrun with the buzzing of pontoon boats, yapping of dogs and/or their owners down on the railroad trail, and the shrill screams of children as they take turns cannonballing into icy-cold Phillips Lake. While we are enjoying the more social vibe “the summer people” have brought to our neighborhood, we are not digging what the population increase has done to our local national park…

Taking a break from the rental search for a quick day trip to Acadia National Park and a little climbing…

We have heard that Otter Cliffs are a “must do” – a section of cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. You set up an anchor at the top, lower down, and climb out.

Except…what are all these people doing here? Oh wait, we forgo: A), it’s the east coast. B) It’s a National Park and C) It’s Memorial Day Weekend. The quietness and seclusion of the Western Slope of Colorado has completely spoiled us. To me, this climbing scene is such a turn-off.

Thanks to Stéphane’s persistence, we were able to find a secluded section of the cliffs to climb. Here he is setting up the anchor.

We’ll come back on a non-holiday, non-weekend, early morning and climb so of the more legit routes but it was nice to get a little taste of the area.

One of the realities of living out here is that there is just a lot more people packed into a lot less space: something we are trying to get used to; something we don’t really want to get used to… I keep telling myself, “we aren’t in Colorado anymore”… Now where are those ruby-red slippers?

Sara Hefti

There’s No Place Like Home

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