Five Mount Desert Elementary School students spent the summer climbing all 26 peaks on the island earning some bragging rights with their parents, friends, and grandparents in tow.
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The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society.
MOUNT DESERT—The sweatshirt, Hadley Mahaney is quick to point out, was her idea—a reward for climbing all 26 peaks on Mount Desert Island.
“I thought it would be cool to climb them all,” Mahaney said. “I thought Cadillac would be cool to climb. We also do school hikes and I did two extra hikes and then I thought I could do it.”
She was right. She could. She brought Ellie Ball, her best friend since kindergarten, along for more than half of those peaks.
Climbing all 26 peaks on the island was exactly what Mahaney and four of her fellow students at Mount Desert Elementary School did this summer.
“The sweatshirt was a little bribe,” Mahaney said.
“It’s like a flex to the rest of the island,” Josh Dalton laughed.
The email announcing the idea made it sound so tempting, Bode Duggan explained. Who could resist a sweatshirt?
The kids, who ranged from fifth grade to eighth, bagged a peak with an adult then usually sent proof via photos to their physical education teacher, Justin Norwood.
Norwood did the challenge, too. It was only fair. His family is a hiking family and it gets him places he might not see. He also wrote that tempting email.
Norwood’s physical education curriculum includes taking students outside to various areas in Acadia National Park each spring. The idea for a hiking club and for the 26-peak challenge sprang from there, Mahaney is proud to explain.
“I wasn’t expecting five kids to finish,” Norwood said. “I mean, it’s a lot. It’s a lot of commitment to do it, time, obviously, and parents to do it, too.”
Josh Dalton climbed the mountains with his grandmother Anne.
“My grandma is a really, really big hiker,” he said. She really hoped he’d do it.
That made it even more special.
One of the best parts, he said, was swimming after a monster hike. He and Anne trekked up Bald, Parkman, and Gilmore. Then they headed to Sargent and jumped in that swimming hole on their way to Penobscot and then did Cedar Swamp.
“Next year, I think we’re doing Katahadin together,” Josh explained.
Sometimes the kids would cross paths randomly on the trails.
The worst part? For Josh Dalton it was starting the ladder trail heading up Champlain on a hot day with 97% humidity, he said.
Other kids hiked that day too.
The challenge did a lot of things. It built confidence. It got kids out onto the mountains and enjoying the island’s ecosystems, and it got a lot of their relatives, out there too. It helped them stay in shape for sports, Josh Dalton was quick to point out. But it also showed them that they could take something big, something like hiking 26 peaks (plus some extra for some of the kids) and get it done. They took a challenge, chipped away at it piece by piece, and succeeded.
Amaya Giberson smashed out six peaks in one day. That was challenging, she said.
Duggan had a really hot day when he headed up Mansell. He still made it up.
For Kensley Heniser it was cool to go to all the different areas and towns where the peaks are situated. The big mountains could be intimidating though.
“I really wanted to explore,” she explained, “and see the different views.”
“You said your mom forced you,” Mahaney teased.
“And that. And that,” Heniser laughed. Her mom went with her, too.
She got to see those views.
Duggan said he half did it for the sense of accomplishment, half for bragging rights.
“It was okay. I also kind of just wanted to do it so I could brag to my dad because he hasn’t done them all,” Amaya Giberson said. “And he’s lived here for his whole life.”
She bragged afterwards, she said. She deserved to. They all did.
“Are we doing it next year?” Heniser asked.
“I’m up for the challenge again for sure,” Norwood said to several cheers. He hopes other schools in the area might do it, too.
They probably will, especially if there’s a sweatshirt.
Unless otherwise cited, all photos: Shaun Farrar/Carrie Jones/BHS
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