7/16-19/03
Camden and Rockport/
Camden Hills State Park

Mount Battie 800'

1.7 Miles 700' Elevation gain

Mount Megunticook 1380’

3 Miles 1380’ Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy and Emma

We thought we'd return to Camden Hills for our July vacation this year. I had spent a week camping here in 2001 while recovering from knee surgery and attending a workshop on book design at Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport. I didn't do any hiking that week, as it was all I could do to hop around after the surgery, but I managed. This time I intended to make up for lost time on the previous trip. We hiked Mount Battie several times and Mount Megunticook once, going further on this small mountain than we had been before, hiking to Zeke's Outlook and beyond on an extremely hot afternoon. We arrived in fog the first day and the late afternoon climb to Mount Battie gave us the summit to ourselves. The next day or so we spent time making leisuely strolls around town. Downtown Camden and over to Rockport Harbor were nice distractions as the weather was not great at first. The next few days were gorgeous, though too hot for my tastes. An afternoon seabreeze usually cooled things off nicely, though. This is a beautiful area which offers the best of both worlds, camping and hiking at Camden Hills, and the ocean and shops and restaurants all within a short walk. Across Rte.1 from the campgrounds the State Park extends down to the oceans edge, and we snuck down there a couple of times, watching the sun or moon rise over the water, depending on the time of day. Around Camden there are great places to eat and many shops to look into, and Camden Harbor is a nice place to sit and eat lunch while watching the world go by. Everywhere in Camden are beautiful, well-kept gardens which add to the ambience of the place. Over at Rockport Harbor things are quieter and more laid back, and a quiet afternoon beside the sailboats in the water is a thing of beauty. From our basecamp at Camden Hills we took a day trip up to Acadia to do some more hiking. The trip was about 85 miles one way, but well worth it, as we had another perfect day, albeit too hot for me again. I think Emma is on my side on this one, though I don't think it can ever be hot enough for Jude. Not good for hiking, if you ask me, but I go anyway, just slower with more breaks.