Book Review: Hiking Acadia National Park (A Falcon Guide)

This past weekend two hikers from Massachusetts were found dead on Dorr Mountain in Acadia.  This incident made me realize how appreciative I am for the Hiking Acadia National Park book that I picked up this past winter.  Around two and a half weeks ago on March 4th I had been hiking after work on the Kane Path and had considered hiking up Dorr Mountain.   I quickly consulted the guide (which I've downloaded to the Nook app on my phone) and saw it was "strenuous to expert" and had iron rungs and ladders.  Given the extensive ice, time of day, and my lack of ice climbing experience and equipment, I continued my pleasant walk along the flat Kane Path.

The book is a trove of information about almost all of the trails in Acadia National Park from short easy walks to the most challenging hikes and climbs. For each it provides a summary, narrative description, map and photographs. The narratives are entertaining and descriptive and provide a clear picture of what to expect for each hike.  The added benefit of having it in ebook format on my phone enables me to adapt quickly if we arrive at Acadia and find that our plans need to change because of a trail closure.

To be clear, I'm not judging the hikers that passed away on the mountain last weekend.  I know nothing about them or their qualifications and they may have been expert ice climbers.  It just struck home that they died on the same mountain I considered hiking just a short time ago, and that I may have at least started to attempt were it not for this book.