Battie 7/12/2008

Today we decided to take a different direction. Instead of heading North on route 16 in New Hampshire, we decided to head North-East and drive to Camden. Shelby had always wanted to see this quaint coastal town so we decided that today would be a good day as we were going to get a late start on the road.

We got on the road at about 10:15 and drive up I95 to I295 to Route 1 North until we hit Camden. The trip took just under 3 hours due to the heavy traffic...It is tourist season after all. We parked downtown and walked around and visited some of the small shops on the Main St, and we went down to the Harbor and watched the ducks for a bit. We even saw a Cormorant fishing in the harbor and sunning itself on the rocks. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me at the time. We then decided to get a drink and sit by the harbor for a while and watch some of the boats coming and going.

Upon finishing the soda, we decided to that the view must be great from the Camden Hills and that we should go take a hike up Mt. Battie. We drove to the trailhead on Mt. Megunticook Rd and began our 1/2 mile trek up the mountain.

For a tiny mountain of only 800 feet, it turned out to be surprisingly steep. The rock that we were stepping on was smooth and our boots did not grip very well. We both commented on how tough this little climb was turning out to be. This was actually a full body hike in places and we both thought that coming down might be even tougher. We did know however that we only had 1/2 mile of this and that it was going to be over as quick as it began.

Sure enough, we reached the top in less than 30 minutes, and were able to see the distinct tower at the top... Do you see it? Pretty hard to miss this distinguishing landmark. You can actually see the tower from the harbor in Camden, but it is much cooler in person to look at. We took a quick trip to the top to check out the views and we were not disappointed.

We looked out and saw the Penobscot Bay and all the Island in it. There are too many islands to name here, but they are all very interesting to look at. If ever there was a time to have a wide angle lens, now was it. The more I hike the more I try to convince myself to buy a decent camera. The 6 Megapixel Fuji will have to do for now I guess.

On the way out of the tower, I thought it would be cool to take this picture. Too bad I don't know the people sitting on the bench, but feel free to... +Insert Sentimental Caption Here+

At last, we made the hike down, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the town of Camden on the way.

If you are ever in this area of Maine, I would highly suggest climbing this mountain. Actually, there is also a road to the top, but I assure you, you will appreciate it more if you put in the effort to make the walk.