This was the first outing of the season for me and 2 fourteen year old young men (my son and his best friend). We camped at the Blackwood’s Campground, located in Acadia. The weekend was a shakedown weekend to ensure that all gear was still functional, still fit, and was in good operational condition for the season. Campsite was configured as though we were at a campsite on the A.T. We used all of our backpacking gear: tent, cooking stove, cooking pots, etc. 

The South Ridge Trail offered beautiful views of the southern shores of the Park and Otter Cove. The trail was free of ice and snow; some ice and snow was spotted in the heavily wooded areas but not on the trails. In low lying areas mud was a problem and we had to carefully navigate around those areas. Beautiful weekend and excellent hike. Highly recommend it.