Another Great Cape Breton Hiking Adventure Before the Summer Heat
But First, the Long Drive on that Familiar (and Bumpy) Road - The Fleur de Lis Trail
I know that road in rural Cape Breton like the back of my hand. Probably not as well as my father knows it as he's been driving it weekly for the past 60-some years, but I know it quite well. On this particular day, driving along the Fleur de Lis Trail from the exit from the Sydney Bypass (or 125 as it's often referred to), through Marion Bridge, Gabarus, Forchu, Framboise St, Esprit, L'Archeveque and Grand River felt like deja vu because I had just done the exact same drive less than a week earlier.
A Long, Difficult Trek to the Coast
I hoped we would be able to drive in at least a kilometer or two before the road got bad. I knew the road was about 7 kilometers in so that would make the trek 14 kilometers total and I wasn't sure if we would have the time. Alas, we had no choice. My car wasn't going any further on that road!
We coated ourselves in sunscreen and bug spray and grabbed our gear and a few beers to have on the beach when we arrived and headed off on that old wood road into the unknown.
The walking was good for a while and then I saw it in the distance; a huge puddle. Actually, it was more like a lake right in the middle of the road. I just knew by the size of it and how it went clear across the entire road that we have to do some bushwhacking to get around this one. We carefully made our way through the bushes ad swarms of flies and emerged with wet feet, bug bites and branches stuck in our hair. I hoped this would be the only such obstacle we would face. Boy, was I wrong.
Long story short, there ended up being 18 more large puddles like this, some even worse. After several hours of navigating around them, we emerged at the coast soaking wet, full of mud and covered in bug bites.
Was it worth it?
Despite being tired and battered, I instantly knew we made the right decision to do this hike when I laid eyes on the beautiful scene before me. I forgot how beautiful this rugged, remote coast was and just wanted to see what was beyond every bend! But first, we needed to rest. I pulled two Alexander Keith's out of my backpack and we sat barefoot in the soft sand and enjoyed some cold beer.
When we felt sufficiently rested, we started hiking to the left side of the beach. One bald eagle. Two bald eagles. Three...four...five...six bald eagles! Seems that we happened onto a bald eagle colony. There were old ones and young ones, perhaps generations of a family not used to seeing people in their peaceful, remote hideaway.
The wind was strong enough that I could feel a cool mist coming off the ocean as I trekked around bend after bend, curious to know what was behind each one. We found a little beach at a point where it didn't look like a good idea to go any further and ate our lunch. Because it took so long to hike to Caplin Cove and we still had a long hike back, we had to cut our visit short to be out before dark. I took one last look at that incredible vista knowing that it could be another ten years before I lay eyes on it again.
The Long Walk Back to Civilization
If getting around the large puddles wasn't hard enough, the mosquitoes were out in full force as w started the journey back to the car. I always said it seems like the hike back is always quicker than the hike there. Fortunately, this seemed to be the case on this hike! Or perhaps we just learned how to better navigate those puddles.
In what seemed like no time, we were back in one piece despite being sunburned, bitten and exhausted. I dropped my friend off at her car and, following tradition, took the long way home with a detour through St. Peters where I grabbed a Timmie's coffee for the road. Now, onto swimming season. Hiking will take a backseat until late September but I'm looking forward to two months of sand, sun and vitamin sea!
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