A Fall Trip Around the Cabot Trail

When the Celtic Colours Festival schedule was released, I immediately looked at it to seeif there were any community events I could attend on my days off.  Specifically, I was searching for guided hikes.  Two stuck out but I ultimately chose the Aspy Bay Trail because it was longer and in an area of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park that I hadn't done a lot of hiking in. 

The hike started at 10:00 AM and since it was an almost three-hour drive, I left before 7 that morning.  I didn't take into account traffic delays with the Newfoundland ferry traffic at that hour of the day and construction work.  I knew by the time I reached Ingonish that I would be late and there was no point in rushing because I was never going to make it in time.  I was ok with that since the wind came up and it started to rain. Four hours in the highlands trudging over rough terrain didn't sound all that appealing in the rain. 

I took my time going over the Cabot Trail admiring the beautiful fall colours. I have to say that this year is the best I've seen the fall colours in a long time and when the sun peaked out every now and again, it made those sprawling vistas even more beautiful!

It was 11:00 when I passed the trailhead to Aspy Bay.  Before I reached it, I took a little detour and stopped at Cabot's Landing Beach in Cape North.  I was only out of the car five minutes when the weather took a turn for the worse so I turned back to the Cabot Trail and kept going over the mountains.

The Lone Sheiling is one of my favourite stops along The Trail so I stopped there and got at least a little hike in since I missed the one I came for.  It rained there too but at least I had that thick canopy to shelter me.  I contemplated hiking the Skyline Trail as I hadn't done it yet this year but it was way too windy to enjoy it. 

I intended to eat my lunch in Cheticamp but hunger struck about a half hour from the village.  I stopped at La Grand Falaise and faced my car toward the ocean so I had a view while I ate in the warmth of the car. 

At Cheticamp Island I attempted to walk the beach but, once again, the weather took a turn for the worse.  This time it was high wind, heavy rain and hail!  

I left the island and drove straight through Margaree, Lake O'Law and Middle River where the fall colours were even more spectacular!  Even with the poor weather conditions, it was an amazing day and I got to do a trip around the trail while the leaves were still on the trees and turning those vibrant colours.  This time next week, they won't be nearly as nice. 

I Found Another Beach on Cape Breton that I didn't know Existed!

I thought I had already found all the beaches on Cape Breton Island but today, my sister proved me wrong. A day trip to Ingonish was supposed to be a day spent on the local beaches but turned into a rainy day spent in the car driving around aimlessly until we got bored of that and decided to drive deeper into the Cape Breton Highlands National Park towards Cheticamp. On the way, my sister mentioned that someone had taken her to a beach in Cape North Near the Hideaway Campground and Oyster Market. I remembered seeing the sign for this place many times on my drives through the area but had never ventured down the gravel road to the campground and market. I had no idea there was a beach there until today and jumped at the chance to see it! We drove down the road for about ten minutes until we came to a parking area and walked to the rest of the way to the ocean. Sure enough, there was a long, sandy beach at the end of the foot path! It was not much different from the other beaches I have seen in the area but there was one peculiar that made it stand out from the rest; tall cliffs with lots white lines of gypsum running through them! We stuck around there are walked the beach and took pictured for a while since the rain had stopped and than made our way onto Cheticamp to search for a fin whale that was said to have washed up on a beach there. We didn't find it but we grabbed some coffees to go and headed back over the mountains towards Ingonish and spent the rest of the evening eating fries in the dry car in the parking lot at Ingonish Beach. http://www.campingcapebreton.com/ http://www.campingcapebreton.com/oyster-market.html