Bubble-Nubble-Carry Trail

Bubble-Nubble-Carry Trail

Today we woke up to our first sunny day of our vacation.  We decided to try the trail over North Bubble, up to Conner’s Nubble, and back again to the beginning.  We parked in the Bubble Rock parking area.  A word of advice: if you are planning to hike over the Bubbles, get an early start because that lot is always full.  We waited a while to get a spot but just as we were giving up, a car pulled out of its spot and we grabbed it.  

Bo the puppy and our four little trail monkeys were just raring to go today.   The biggest challenge on the first part of the hike was keeping too-friendly Bo from jumping on strangers (something we’re still training him not to do).  The first section of the North Bubble trail coincides with the very popular trail up to South Bubble and Bubble Rock.  This part of the trail runs through a nice shady wooded area, and climbs over mid-sized rocks and is made easier by wooden steps.  The footing is excellent and the trail is very pleasant (albeit crowded).  The going got much quieter as we continued on the North Bubble trail after the South Bubble trail split off.   Shortly after the split, the trail abruptly changes character to become a climb over large rocks and exposed, sunny ledges. We climbed to a ledge with nice views of Pemetic and Cadillac Mountains, and decided to stop there for lunch.  

   

View North Bubble and Connor's Nubble in a larger map

After a brief section of climbing fairly steep ledges, the trail becomes somewhat flatter and easier to climb.  We continued on to the summit and sat for a while looking at the lovely view of Jordan Pond and the shore and islands in front of us, Penobscot to our right, and Pemetic and Cadillac to our left.  There was a small group picnicking on a ledge below the summit, and a very nice couple came and went, but the summit was definitely not crowded.  The views are spectacular and worth every step of the climb up the trail!

Walking up the first open area ascending North Bubble.  Usually a nice place to eat a snack or lunch.

After some time appreciating the view, we continued over North Bubble, a new part of the trail for us.  The trail winds through blueberry bushes and descends into a nice open forest for a while before opening up to the ledges and cliffs that make up the “spine” of North Bubble.  We got some spectacular views of Eagle Lake and Conner’s Nubble, but were concerned at how hot Bo and the monkeys were getting on the exposed ridge on our sunny day.  We realized at this point that we did NOT have enough water at all to do our hike as an out-and-back.  We needed a shady way back to the car after Conner’s Nubble (Conner’s Nubble was not optional as it is Sean’s favorite hike on the entire island).  

Annika and Sean admiring the view from Eagle Lake from the cliff-edge along the top of North Bubble

The North Bubble trail becomes more wooded near its intersection with the Eagle Lake carriage road.  We continued across to the Conner’s Nubble hike.  We’d been to Conner’s Nubble from the other side, but never from “the back”, which is more cliffy.  The hike is short and woodsy and sweet, with a very awkward scramble over the cliff right at the end.  

I dub thee "Conquered Nubble"

This was the rough part coming up Connor's Bubble.

Daddy Trail Monkey had to take several trips to help the littlest trail monkeys and the trail dog up over the cliff, but the two oldest were able to do it completely on their own.  Sean was really thrilled to be on his favorite mountain!  The views are amazing, considering that the Nubble is relatively tiny.  We took several pictures and then did the awkward scramble DOWN the cliff.  Bo thought that this whole “getting down off the top of the cliff” idea was highly overrated and refused to come down.  Lee had to carry him down a small part.

We descended the Nubble and reached the carriage road quickly and turned left to walk to the Carry Trail, about 0.5 mile from the intersection with the North Bubble trail.  The carriage road was shaded and pleasant, as it skirted the rock-strewn bottom of North Bubble.  We turned right at the Carry Trail and took another 0.5-mile walk to the parking lot.  The Carry Trail goes through some very pleasant woods but they are very boggy.  There are boardwalks and stepping stones over most of the muddy areas, but it’s still pretty muddy.  Andrew didn’t like the boggy mud at all, even with Bo helping him over the rough parts.  The Carry Trail meets the Bubbles trail near the parking lot.

A peaceful walk back along the carriage road to the Carry Trail

Overall, it was a really enjoyable walk in the park.  :-)