t 118 P r t L a n d montHL maga ine romantic oet samuel taylor coleridge once imagined “a sunny leasure dome ith caves o ice.” eah, e ve got that y Sarah m re tay ool The Ice Caves e tra rdinary maine stac o donneLL suitter inset: wiLderness edge camPground e s neag eans arr ing pla e re alling the ti e hen nati e pe ple this regi n tra eled thr ugh ater a s in their ir h an es and re uentl had t st p t arr their an es thr ugh r ugh and rapid areas a rding t nelle i le reese in m i a a a a may expect to discover Gollum crouched in a dark crevice. But the sweep of a flashlight reveals the cave’s hidden beauty. A wash of ice across the rock glints and shimmers as long stalactites of ice taper from the ceiling. If you don’t suffer from claustrophobia, you can scramble across the icy rocks to explore the smaller caves branching off from the main cave. Do not attempt this alone. ■ of summer cools with snow and ice. Steel rungs hammered into the rock wall lead you down through the narrow chasm and into the darkness. The rungs have an icy bite as you grab them and lower yourself into the caves, the temperature dropping with each step of the descent. Out of the sunlight and away from the sounds of the forest, time stands still. At first glance, you D eep in the wilderness stretching south from the shadow of Mt. Ka- tahdin is a quiet treasure. A mile- long hike from Hurd Pond along rocky trails conducts you to the Debsconeag Ice Caves of Millinocket. During the Ice Age, heavy boulders were jammed together by glaciers , forming a subterranean cave that even in the height