Climbing in Acadia National Park

Gabe, Paul and I at the entrance to Acadia National Park, Maine

Gabe, my brother Paul and I just got back from a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. We were really fortunate with weather because it only rained when we were driving. When camping, climbing or hiking the weather was perfect. I am not sure I would want to drive out to Maine again. It was a long time to drive and the frequent toll booths really slow your pace (not to mention over $90 in tolls out and back).

We took a side trip to Lake Placid and the Adirondacks and camped a night there. When we arrived at Acadia, I was amazed at the number of people there. According to the NPCA, Acadia has over 2 million visitors per year and is ranked 9 among the most visited national parks. The density of traffic was probably worse than any other national park we have been in. It is probably because Bar Harbor is smaller town with narrow streets. Parking was nearly impossible to find.

With all that said, camping at the Blackwoods campground in the park was fantastic. We enjoyed our time there. However, the best part was the climbing. We climbed at Otter Cliffs and The Precipice (Son of "O") and some other single pitch routes over two days. We also did some hiking to take some photos from the top of some of the mountains. Beautiful views of the ocean and the pink granite offered some great photo opportunities. It was some of the best climbing we have ever experienced. I would go back to climb at Acadia again, but would probably lean toward flying into Boston and driving up from there.

Gabe and I on a climb at Acadia National Park . Directly behind us is the Atlantic Ocean.

Climbing at Sugar Loaf in Winona, MN

Gabe and I spent a day climbing at Sugar Loaf, in Winona, MN. It was the first time we had climbed there. The routes are shorter but having a place like that so close to La Crosse compared with the drive to Devil's Lake is great.There are a small number of bolted sport routes on Sugar Loaf, all are fun to climb. Sport climbing is where bolts have previously been drilled into the rock so you can clip your rope into them as you climb to protect you in case you fall. The view is spectacular when you get to the top. We climbed a few routes and then set up a top rope to run some laps on a couple of areas. Contact us at www.midwestmountainguides.com if you are interested in climbing.

Here you see Gabe on a route at Sugar Loaf in Winona, MN

Teachers and Families Climbing at Devils Lake

Getting Angie tied into the rope and ready for a climb.

Jodi and Jax enjoying a successful climbing day.

Gabe and I took the Logan Staff and their families climbing at Devil's Lake on Mother's Day. They fearlessly scaled the vertical quartzite rock faces of Devil's Lake State Park.What a beautiful day it turned out to be, cool in the AM and warm sunshine in the early PM. We also managed to stay away from the swarms of flies by the lake. Everyone had a great time which was followed by a social at The Barn (a local Baraboo eatery).

Skiing at Welch Village

Gabe and I went to Welch Village in Minnesota for a short ski get-a-way on Saturday. The weather was crisp and cold but the snow was great. Welch has a nice selection of runs and quite a few short black diamond runs. We worked out way to the back bowl and met Nick (one of the members of the Mt. La Crosse Ski Patrol) by chance in one of the lift lines. We skied together for a while before Nick had to go meet his family. Gabe and I spent the rest of the early PM on the front side and then headed out to out hotel for the night for some pizza and relaxation. The video above was taken of Gabe on one of the runs in the back bowl at Welch.