North by Northeast; A Nova Scotia Adventure

Definitely having a good time! We just arrived at Ingonish having travelled through grey misty hollers and heavy down pours. As we found a campsite the rain let off but the wind is fierce. That's going to be my most vivid memory here, the sound of the winds. Nova Scotia or something is wearing me out in a good way so I think I'll nap now. I'm not as young as I once was despite my pride refusing to acknowledge that fact.
 
IMG_4652.JPG
Live from a Tundra hike at Mica Hill, Cape Breton Island...looking for a moose.
 
That damn woman is trying to walk me into the grave. From dusk till dawn we've been exploring two of the nicest trails we've ever set boots upon. If I come up missing look for me up on Mica Hill, loviest bit of tundra I've trodden.

IMG_2556.JPG
IMG_2562.JPG
IMG_2571.JPG


After a short drive we hit the Coast Trail. Completely different vibe and Michelle's favorite of the trip so far.

IMG_4679.JPG

IMG_4674.JPG

IMG_2590.JPG

IMG_2582.JPG

These are all just IPhone images, once I get the shots of the big camera there will be some nice pics than. I wish I could load up the pano shots as they are fantastic.

14 miles today...I'm tired and am going to sleep good tonight.
 
Heading south east towards the Bay of Fundy portion of Nova Scotia. Gonna check out the Five Island and Chignecto areas, supposedly the most dramatic coastlines here. Broke down camp...

temporary.jpg


...and are rolling down 104.
 
It looks chilly out on the water. I'm sure it's great to be off your feet though. The shoreline photo with the wooded cliff and rocky shore is flipping amazing.

-Andy
 
The weathers been better here than at home. Highs from the upper 60s to the mid 70s. Drops down to the mid 50s at night. Thursday was the only rainy day so far. It's also the off season so prices are lower and there's few people in the parks. Today was busier with day trippers but we didn't see anybody on our hikes today.

Yesterday was a bust, though Michelle did get to see her moose standing in a open spot of forest as we drove past. Big cow but we couldn't get a pic. The stretch between Truro and Chignecto was a bust and not worth the drive. We are now at the Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, awesome bit of terrain here. Found me another of them lunker crawdads too...I've been turning over all the stones in these here cricks and ain't found one for myself yet though...

IMG_4852.JPG
 
Spent the last day and a half wandering around the Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park here in New Brunswick. Hiked another 12 miles of trails bringing the total number of boot miles to near 70.

IMG_4856.JPG
temporary.jpg
temporary.jpg
temporary.jpg
temporary.jpg
temporary.jpg
temporary.jpg
IMG_4999.JPG


For lunch we checked this place out...
IMG_4862.JPG


Just felt right ya know (our last name is also Collins for those that don't know). Started shooting the breeze with the owner, became instant best buds and he gifted us with 2 lbs of fresh smoked local salmon and two packages of smoked eel. Ridgerunners got each other's backs no matter what part of the globe they come from. Both were smoked with alder after a brown sugar brine. Both were also friggin delicious. We sat out on a bench over looking a salt water river cove and ate our salmon with smoked Gouda cheese...
IMG_4863.JPG

''Twas a good day!
 
Hey, I found some internet. Let's see what was next? Well we left New Brunswick and made our way to Acadia. Acadia what the hell has happened to you? You're still beautiful but there's way to much human pressure on you these days. Still we managed to find some spots away from the crowds but it was hard. Most of the hiking trails we could not even access as there was no parking available due to the shear number of people here. My advice to you...if you haven't been here before check it out early in the morning and late in the day when the cruise ship crowd are herded back to their mega busses. If you've been here before drive a few more hours north to the Canadian Maritimes.

temporary.jpg


temporary.jpg


temporary.jpg


temporary.jpg
 
So while we were in Acadia we were wanting to hike a couple of trails that we had done years before for remembrance sake. But the new reality of ANP made that all but impossible as there were so many people you could not find an place to park at any trailhead or even close by. The Park Service there had not kept up with the growing numbers of visitors and the facilities are over taxed. To mediate thus we decide to head over to the less visited western portion of the island to escape the crowds, after all, this strategy has worked on previous visits. Soon we found ourselves driving what few dirt roads are in the park...
temporary.jpg

...but once again we came to overfilling parking areas. Eventually we ended up at the end of Beech Hill road and found one open space for the Beech Mountain hiking trail. We've never hiked this one but if we were going to get any hiking done before dark this was it if nothing.

As luck would have Miss Acadia smiled on us and it turned out to be a lovely rugged trail with epic views...
temporary.jpg

temporary.jpg

temporary.jpg

temporary.jpg


Well done Acadia, well done. But we have found another hiking mistress and she is far north of you and your crowds.
 
Last edited:
What I'll remember most from this trip beyond the visuals and the adventures we pursued is the sounds up in the Maritimes...


...yep, that's music for the soul for Michelle and me.
 
Well the adventure is over as we pulled into the Clanhold early this afternoon. All in all it was a great trip, one we will relive and reflect on as the days slip past. I highly recommend that adventurist here make the journey for themselves, the Canadian Maritimes are a compelling destination. I think I left a little bit of my ridgerunners soul on a quartz infused boulder up on Mica Hill.

Though, despite me imposing a ban on gathering every 'pretty" rock on the Atlantic seashore, Michelle managed to sneak a little bit of the Maritimes back with her...

IMG_5107.JPG


...and I haven't hardly even begun to clean out the truck and trailer.
 
Haggis said:
...Though, despite me imposing a ban on gathering every 'pretty" rock on the Atlantic seashore, Michelle managed to sneak a little bit of the Maritimes back with her...and I haven't hardly even begun to clean out the truck and trailer.
Click to expand...

Karma is tough, I seem to recall you adding some ballast rocks to your sister's kayak:)
 
Haggis we must have passed each other on the road as we were there just about the same time you were!
We were planning on kayaking a t Meat Cove but when we got there it was blowing 50! Literally and the blow was going to continue for a couple of days...so we left.

Di you happen to go to Louisbourg? Fantastic history....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom