The Memorials of Acadia National Park

Start of FOA/Acadia NP's 2013 Volunteer Season

This Tuesday a group of volunteers raked drainage ditches, cleaned culverts and removed forest litter from the Kebo Brook Trail in Acadia National Park. This was the first day out for the volunteers this year and there will be many more days until the volunteer season ends with the arrival of next winter's snow.

The volunteers are under the aegis of Friends of Acadia, an independent nonprofit located in Bar Harbor, ME, with work projects selected by Acadia National Park. They meet at the flagpole outside Park Hq off Route 233 at 8:15 Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, depart for their assignments at 8:30 in Park-provided and equipped vans and return by noon. The work varies from easy to difficult, non-technical to technical and can accommodate physically fit youth to seniors. Contact FOA for additional information and other ways to volunteer (http://friendsofacadia.org/).




Work break


















Finished and smiling

Tuesday's task had the volunteers working on one of the Park's newest trails. The Kebo Brook Trail, a gently rising 1-mile trail, starts at Kebo Street beside Holy Redeemer Cemetery and ends near the Park Loop Road bridge over Route 233.*1

It parallels then crosses Kebo Brook, which originates in The Gorge between Dorr and Cadillac Mountains, and runs along the base of Kebo and Cadillac Mountains. Completed in 2012 by the Park's trails crew and FOA volunteers, it sets up access to several loop hikes by use of the Strath Eden Path, the Kebo Mountain Path, the Gorge Path, and the Cadillac North Ridge Trail.*2



Kebo Brook Trail (purple)

Strath Eden Path stone at trail junction

A nice feature of the Kebo Brook Trail is its easy accessibility from downtown Bar Harbor via the Great Meadow Loop Trail. It is a pleasant1-mile walk from the village green to the trailhead on Kebo Street.*3  Plans are in the offing for transportation this summer to the Park Loop Road end of the trail by the Island Explorer, a free shuttle bus service.

This FOA/ANP volunteer effort is fun and social and a unique way to get into the heart of one of America's best hiking and most beautiful national parks and contribute to its care and well-being. The physical exercise and exertion are also welcome personal benefits.

Footnotes:

1 Kebo Brook Trail GPS coordinates:

Kebo Street: N44° 22.555'  W068° 12.827'
Park Loop Road: N44° 22.773'  W068° 13.930'

2 Strath Eden Path - an engraved stone identifying this path is at its junction with both the Hemlock Trail and the Hemlock Road near Sieur de Monts. GPS location:
N44° 21.997'  W068° 12.765'

3 See blog post "A Memorial Walk: Bar Harbor to Sieur de Monts," dated June 24, 2012.