Two for the books!

Part way up!

And higher up...

That Friday afternoon we had so much fun hiking we woke up at 8 the next day and decided to do it all over again! However, this time we were going to tackle the Bee Hive! If you have ever been to Acadia, you probably know the hike I'm talking about. While the Gorge Path of yesterday is one of the least hiked, the Bee Hive is probably one of the most, but only for adventure seekers. I am so thankful that the day we had originally planned on doing it without Chris, a pretty fit hiker overheard us at the trail map choosing our hike for the day and let me know I might want to hold off as he had just come down and thought managing two children on it would be pretty tricky. If you want to see what I'm talking about, watch this little YouTube...I'll wait :)

First tricky part

Another fun little tricky part

Going UP!

And UP!

And UP!

And UP!

This hike is not as physically tiring as mentally tiring. If you want to experience an adrenaline rush, bring a 5 and 7 year old up the Bee hive and you will have just the ticket. This hike had equal amounts of commentary on the beauty and me asking Oliver to just wait, hold on a second, can we sit for a second thankyouverymuch. Austin stopped at one point and said, "Can I just sit and find my stomach?" Yes!

Checking the ledge

Watching my heart cross the ledge

Let's take a moment...

...and find our stomachs...

...and breathe!

Looking back, I'm sure we (and by we I mean I as all the boys declared it to be the BEST hike ever!) would still choose to do it again. If you take it slow and steady, the only danger would be if you actually flung yourself over the side as for every steep part there is an anchored metal handle in the side of the mountain. I loved seeing their faces as we would come around yet another curve for more ladders up or a ridge we had to pass. I love that we got to do this on a Saturday, a travel day. Travel days are usually dedicated to packing, driving, and unpacking. This Saturday we woke up, saw that it wasn't raining, and just decided to do it. I love that Chris was there, for the BEST hike ever!

Summit!

We did it! (and the sun was upon us!)

We summited with huge smiles. The pride and excitement we all had at the top was pretty cool and then we happily walked towards the gradual hike that took us back down on The Bowl path!

Headed back