Acadia--Beehive

[darstog]

This has probably been done before, and faster. But it's a lot of fun!
Beehive trail. Start at the Beehive trail/map/interpretive sign about 30 yards up from Park Loop Rd. 
Run from this sign to the top of Beehive, tap the summit marker, run back down Beehive trail. You have to stay on the marked trail (there are a couple of places where you can FS ~5.6 off-trail that would cut via ferrata course).
17'29.9"

[Tony Dalisio]

I lowered the FKT Saturday (10/31/15) to 9:37. The Garmin Connect data for such is located at the link below.

connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/944812180

This is a short and all anaerobic effort up the Beehive, but a lot of fun! Thanks to "darstog" for laying down the initial track!

[Tom St.Germain]

Here is the FKTs for the Beehive
www.strava.com/segments/10807298?filter=overall

[Peter Bakwin]

I want to summarize the FKTs and give more info about this route. This is a short (0.6km) ascent up The Beehive in Acadia National Park, Maine, via the Beehive Trail. Round trip times return the same way. Joe Braun describes the route as follows: "The Beehive is the majestic peak that overlooks Sand Beach from the northwest. The hike up the Beehive Trail (aka. the Beehive Cliffs Trail) is a thrilling Acadia classic, but it is not recommended for anybody with a fear of heights. This ingenious route heads right up the steep south face of the peak and includes granite steps, iron rungs to climb up, and several handrails for exposed rock scrambling sections. Those who control their fear of heights are rewarded with incredible views of Sand Beach, Great Head, and the surrounding area."

The Strava segments linked by Tom St. Germain above are for the ascent only. The top 3 men's and women's times are given as follows (note that these are just the top times recorded on Strava):

Patrick Powers	6m40s		Sue L.	17m05s
Tom St. Germain	6m54s		Amanda Strayer	24m19s
Trevor Burke	8m13s		Kristin Mercier	28m12s

Tony Dalisio reports above a round trip time of 9m37s, and the linked Garmin Connect track seems to show an ascent time of 5m12s, much faster than any of the times listed above.


Photo by Joe Braun

[tom04609]

Ok, so I ran the round trip today and here is my strava data for it shows a 9:22  versus a 9:37 with a greater gain (356 to 314), a lower starting point 181 today versus 205 on the previous one, the same highest elevation (presumably at the turnaround) and a faster pace.:
www.strava.com/segments/10995520?filter=overall
I started at 181 f.a.s.l. and turned around at 538 for a gain of 356 against a gain of 314 for the previous FKT. My average pace was 16:34/mile versus 16:58/mile for the previous FKT.

Also for the record, the times going just up the Beehive would put the previous FKT in fourth, the corresponding Strava segment follows:
www.strava.com/segments/10807523?filter=overall
The one referenced in previous post was from the loop road to the top, whereas this one is from the Bowl Trail intersection to the top of the Beehive.
Tom St.Germain
Bar Harbor

[philmaynard]

The times for the Garmin data and Strava segments given above (~9min round trips) are from the trail junction a minute or so up the trail. This is a bit shorter than the original post, which suggested an FKT from the sign very near the trailhead and back. I created a new Strava Segment reflecting this, since it seems to be what the FKT holders have been doing anyway: www.strava.com/segments/15388635. One Patrick Powers seems to hold the FKT with a pretty insane time, which is 12:19 per the Strava segment. I went 12:46 from the sign and back, but 12:57 on the Strava segment, so it must be a little conservative.