Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019
100 BACKPACKER.COM

PHOTO BY (LEFT) JERRY MONKMAN / CAVAN IMAGES;JESSE ALBANESE. TEXT BY CASEY LYONS (OLYMPIC)

The sun settles into

the mainland.

Duck Harbor,

Isle au Haut

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK,

MAINE

Acadia has its annual Night Sky

Festival (September 25 -29), but

if you want to ditch the party and

plunge into the abyss yourself,

you have to visit the lesser-visited

sibling island in Maine’s only

national park. Hop the mailboat

from the dock in Stonington en

route to Isle au Haut, disembark

at the Duck Harbor dock, and

set up in one of the five primi-

tive sites in the adjacent camp-

ground. It’s a 2-mile hike south on

the Western Head Trail to watch

the sunset over mainland Maine

from the southernmost tip of the

island. Stay put as the stars blink

on, and don’t forget to look north—

in the fall, if you get lucky, you

might be able to see the aurora

borealis from here.

Tra i l h e a d 37 Seabreeze Ave.,

Stonington, ME Shuttle $40/

round-trip; islehautferryservice

.com Season May to October

Permit Required ($20/night);

recreation.gov. Contact nps .gov/

acad

Timing is Everything

Plan your summer hiking calendar around these celestial events.

JULY 2

New moon

Darkest skies =

brightest stars.

JULY 9

Saturn at

opposition

The Earth will be

perfectly lined up

between Saturn and

the sun, making the

sixth planet visible

all night long. Look

for a yellowish-

white point of light

in the constellation

Sagittarius (see page

98 for help finding

it). Viewing tip:

Unlike stars, planets

don’t twinkle.

JULY 16

Full moon

As the moon climbs

through the sky,

Saturn will be

climbing with it, just

to its left.

JULY 28

Delta Aquariids

meteor shower

Comets provide the

fuel for this shower,

which peaks with 10

to 20 meteors per

hour. Aim your sights

toward the Aquarius

constellation, and

be thankful the new

moon is coming.

JULY 31

New moon

As promised.

AUGUST 1

Mercury rising

Up early? Look for

bright-white Mercury

above the eastern

horizon.

AUGUST 12

Perseid

meteor shower

The universe’s most

stunning annual

show peaks with

about 50 meteors

per hour in typical

years, emanating

from the Perseus

constellation. Tip:

This year’s peak

coincides with a full

moon; view it earlier

in the month.

AUGUST 15

Full moon

The month’s full

moon rises right

after sunset.

AUGUST 30

New moon

The last of summer.

UNLOCK THE NIGHT

BACKPACKER Basecamp

members get beta for three

more starry-night destinations.

For these extras and more

exclusive benefits, join up at

backpacker.com/basecamp.

ON THE

SHOR ES OF

NIGHT