AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2010 - 53

pitch prop turns a leisurely 1,900 rpm. At this height, the air on the lee side of the mountain becomes smooth, and it’s easy to see beyond Cadillac Mountain and appreciate the circular shape of the majestic island. Stately white-painted homes dot the shoreline at water’s edge, and the town of Bar Harbor slides by underneath. The last of the cruise ships plying the Maine coast is about to depart for the season. Alongside, a menagerie of vessels ranging from tiny, low-sided lobster boats to exotic, tall-masted schooners fills the harbor. Most of the hotels are clearing out for the season, and only a skeleton staff is left. In two weeks, most of them will be closed, the seasonal workers long gone, and the recently bustling tourist town will slip into winter hibernation. Nature’s beauty takes hold on the extreme eastern edge of the island with a breathtaking view of “The Precipice,” a towering, tree-covered area of sheer rock cliffs. Allen points out a hiking trail that snakes along the ridge. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” he says with typical understatement. A lighthouse marks a tiny, rocky island in the Petit Manan wildlife refuge off the coast in the turbulent waters where Frenchman Bay meets the Gulf of Maine. The lonely looking outpost is a breeding ground for puffins, and the rare and cartoonish seabirds make it their favored home. Allen keeps a respectful distance and warns that federal fish and game officials are quick to fine pilots who fly too close. (The wildlife sanctuary is marked on the Halifax Sectional, but it’s small and easy to miss.) The tony town of Seal Harbor, summer home of Martha Stewart, appears at the southern end of the Mount Desert Island, and very near to the distinctive Bear Island Light-

house. We circle offshore, then climb to 3,500 feet. Two pristine bodies of fresh water, Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond, are clearly visible on the west side of Cadillac Mountain, shimmering in the golden evening light. Somes Sound, a narrow north-south canyon in the middle of the island, is the only fjord on the East Coast, its steep rock walls carved out by glaciers. The outgoing tide pulls what looks like a river of rushing seawater from the sound and out into the gulf. Long shadows cover a few kayakers still paddling on the water, but our airplanes are still bathed in sunlight as we fly north along the western side of the narrow sound. Soon, we begin a long descent across the north end of the island and head back to the airport as the sun dips below the horizon. Twinkling lights are all that can be seen of Somesville, the historic first settlement here. Lower altitude and increasing speed make the relatively narrow Eastern Bay pass by in a blur, and moments later we’re entering the left downwind traffic pattern for Runway 22 at BHB. Runway 22 is preferred for VFR takeoffs and landings when winds are five knots or less, and that’s the case tonight

The Maine coast (far left) impresses in all seasons. Roadside lobster pounds (below left) and their prized offerings (bottom) can be found within walking distance of the Bar Harbor Airport. The author (below).

AOPA PILOT • 53 • NOVEMBER 2010

AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2010