Hike Acadia’s 26 peaks, earn gold medal, aid charity

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Have you ever hiked the 26 peaks of Acadia (see listing below)? Or maybe you’ve been thinking about it, and it’s on your Acadia National Park hiking bucket list?

Now there’s a way to earn a gold medal for bagging the peaks, or even for virtually “climbing” them, by signing up for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race, which runs through Dec. 8, 2018. Register now.

virtual race

The 3″ gold medal features a raised profile of the Bubbles and Katahdin, which you can earn by signing up for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race. (Photo courtesy of Ashworth Awards)

The virtual race helps raise funds for Friends of Acadia, Millinocket Memorial Library and Our Katahdin. We’re proud to co-sponsor the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race with Mount Desert Island Marathon and Millinocket Marathon & Half as the virtual edition of the Sea to Summit Series. Racers signed up for the real-life MDI or Millinocket races get special virtual race pricing.

Between now and Dec. 8, racers are virtually heading over the 26 peaks of Acadia, along the real-life MDI and Millinocket Marathon & Half routes, passing by the offices of the 3 charities benefiting from this virtual race, skirting by at least 6 sites associated with Stephen King, and finishing on Katahdin, the highest point in the great state of Maine.

Log your walking, running or hiking miles anywhere in the world, and see your race avatar move along the virtual race map, getting a Google Street View, if available, for the place you land for the day.

Earn a gold medal with a raised profile of the Bubbles and Katahdin, featuring a red satin ribbon that says “Acadia to Katahdin Finisher.” At least 5% of gross proceeds go to benefit the Acadia and Millinocket-area charities. Last year’s Cadillac to Katahdin race raised $800 for the three charities combined.

Everyone is a winner, even if you can’t complete the 338-mile course by Dec. 8.

That’s because everyone who signs up will be helping to benefit charity, will earn the special Acadia to Katahdin Medallion, and will be entered into giveaways of Acadia, Millinocket and Stephen King-themed gifts.

Register now, and you can backdate your miles to July 20.

virtual race with medal

Sign up now for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race, to help raise funds for charity, and earn some bling! While the real-life tree on Sargent Drive on MDI lost some of its limbs this year, it lives on virtually. Read more about the race. (Image courtesy of racery.com)

List of Acadia National Park mountains

Here’s a list of the 26 peaks in Acadia National Park. The list includes the old names for 11 of the mountain peaks and the height of each of the mountains. This list is hard to find. It used to be prominent on the park Web site, but we found it most recently at the Cadillac Summit Gift Shop.

Two of the peaks listed below do not have maintained trails on them, and there are two popular mountains that were not included, for whatever reason, in the park’s original list.

So for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race route, we have added Kebo Mountain and Conners Nubble, but left out McFarland and Youngs Mountains.

Hope to see you on the trails of Acadia in real life – or in virtual reality!

Cadillac Mountain double rainbow

A rare double rainbow (look closely) forms below dark clouds beyond Cadillac Mountain.

1) Cadillac (Green) – 1,530 feet.
2) Sargent – 1,373 feet.
3) Dorr (Flying Squadron) – 1,270 feet.
4) Pemetic – 1,248 feet.
5) Penobscot (Jordan) – 1,194 feet.
6) Bernard (of Western) – 1,071 feet.
7) Champlain (Newport) – 1,058 feet.
8) Gilmore – 1,036 feet.
9) Bald – 974 feet.
10) Mansell (of Western) – 949 feet.
11) Cedar Swamp – 942 feet.
12) Parkman (Little Brown) – 941 feet.
13) North Bubble – 872 feet.
14) Norumbega (Brown) – 852 feet.
15) Beech – 839 feet.
16) South Bubble – 766 feet.
17) Huguenot Head (Picket) – 731 feet.
18) McFarland – 724 feet, no official trail.
19) The Triad – 698 feet.
20) Acadia (Robinson) – 681 feet.
21) Youngs – 680 feet, no official trail.
22) St. Sauveur (Dog) – 679 feet.
23) Day – 580 feet.
24) Gorham – 525 feet.
25) The Beehive – 520 feet.
26) Flying – 284 feet.
Source: National Park Service.
virtual race with medals

The 26 peaks of Acadia are embedded in the virtual map for the 2018 Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race. If you land on one of the peaks, you may very well get a Google photo of the view. Virtual race runs through Dec. 8, and you can backdate miles to July 20. Earn a medal, help raise funds for charity, sign up now! (Image courtesy of racery.com)

 

Dolores Kong & Dan Ring

About Dolores Kong & Dan Ring

Dolores Kong and Dan Ring are co-authors of the Falcon guides Hiking Acadia National Park and Best Easy Day Hikes Acadia National Park, and also blog at acadiaonmymind.com. They’ve backpacked the 270-plus miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, and are members of the Northeast 111 Club, having hiked all major peaks of the Northeast. Dolores is a former staff reporter at The Boston Globe. Dan is a journalist and former Statehouse bureau chief in Boston for the old Ottaway News Service and for The Republican, the daily newspaper for Springfield, Mass. They are married and live in New England.