Thurs Aug 7th - 10km hike Tracey Lake and Bruin Lake

Thurs Aug 7th - 10km hike Tracey Lake and Bruin Lake
 
What a great day today. We decided to do a longer hike despite the 'rain' forecast... learning not to take them too seriously!! So we took off for The Tracey Lake trail which has a side trip to Bruin lake. The trail-head starts at Bennett Lake near the Kayak rentals, so we had hoped to go kayaking after the hike (didn't happen).
The trail was wonderful, winding through the forest and across a small stream (Janice was terrified of balancing on rocks and logs to get over the stream but she did it!!) After about four and a half kilometres, we arrived at Tracey lake and chatted with a father and his 2 sons who were there wilderness camping by the lake. We then headed further up the trail to the end of Tracey lake then up another short trail to Bruin Lake... lots of big frogs/toads?? Back at end of Tracey lake we had a picnic lunch. So peaceful, not a sound, no traffic, no boats, just the lake and the forest. The trail had an abundance of mushrooms of various colours. We were hoping to see moose or deer, but no luck there.. just moose poo and a few squirrels and chipmunks! We only passed one other young couple hiking the trail, so it was lovely to have it all to ourselves. Hiking back we passed the father and sons again and met a few young guys further down the trail who were heading out to wilderness camp at the end of Tracey lake (our picnic spot).. they will have a great time.

 When we returned to Bennett Lake after our 10km total hike, we were not really disappointed to be greeted by heavier rain and so the kayak idea bit the dust and we headed back to camp for a hot shower. We packed some of the trailer ready for leaving in the morning for a two day drive to Ile D'Orleans in the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City.

Wilderness Camp at top of Tracey Lake

Wonder why they are called Red Spruce?

Typical Mushroom site

The dreaded stream crossing

Bennett Lake - lovely

Wed Aug 6th - Caribou Plain Hike

Wed Aug 6th - Caribou Plain Hike

Easy but beautiful !!

Caribou plains.. easy trail

 

Not letting rain get in the way!!

Rain was threatened all day so we stayed at camp, but as the day wore on the rain was not showing itself to be more than a few small showers, so as cabin fever set in we took off to go on a short hike at Caribou plains and the Caribou boardwalk... only 2.6 km total, but at least we got out. After the hike we drove over to Bennett lake where the have kayak rentals, but the showers were getting heavier and the guy said it would be too risky to go out. We decided to maybe try again tomorrow. We headed back to camp in the rain and relaxed for the evening and played a game of scrabble ... a close game and lots of fun!! 

Not sure what it is, but 'twas a big bird

View from road

Tue Aug 5th - hanging out / bbq / campfire

Tue Aug 5th - hanging out / bbq / campfire

Today we had to move the ‘condo’ as someone had reserved our site 103 for the next two nights. We are staying on until Friday so we moved down two sites...all very confusing reservation system. However as we have no sewer at these sites it was time to do a dump anyway. Much finagling and careful maneuvering to get to the dump spot, but all well. Move and set up completed we walked into Alma (including descending the 119 stairs to the road below) Wandered around and decided to grab a bite at the Tides restaurant patio. Fried clams and chowder! Good but not great. Walked back up the steps and read for a bit before BBQ’ing the steak from the farmers market, which together with the purple beans and new garden potatoes was a feast. We joined the campfire with the folks from Sussex, New Brunswick, and had a great time. A few more people from around the site joined in with roasting marshmallows and weenies.  One of the guys (from South Carolina) had built an ingenious canine carrier to tow along behind his Harley… Derek had a close look at it. very impressive!!  The huge Yellow Lab apparently loves being in it.

Monday Aug 4 2014 - Hiking and Lobster

Monday Aug 4 2014 - Hiking and Lobster

Off on the Coppermine trail... easy start!!

Babbling brooks  - Really!

Glorious trails

At the top!!! Bit disappointing 'climax'

View of Fundy bay on way down trail loop

Love the peaceful trails

View from Shiphaven trail

Started with a rather long drive to get gas as the station in town had run out of Diesel. After filling up we headed in the opposite direction toward the Coppermine Trail. By the time we got there it was getting close to noon, so we had most of our picnic lunch before we set out. It was only a 4.4km trail, but it went straight up and then straight down. Some pretty steep sections. The problem we have with Fundy National Park is that the trail map is lacking detail. It shows you where the trails are and other than that you are given the length, and whether it is an easy/moderate/advanced terrain. No descriptions of the trails themselves, and not many ‘loop’ trails to enjoy. The Coppermine trail is one that is mostly a loop and ‘moderate’ It meanders up through forest with only one lookout along the way. We had hoped to see something of the old mine, but there is nothing to see, just a sign at the top of the trail indicating where it was. When we returned to the bottom we took another very short 1km trail (Shiphaven Trail)to see the covered bridge and the location of an old lumber mill (again mostly gone now, other than a small remnant of a old wooden bridge and a concrete platform from a boiler.) A ride down to Herring Cove (an old settlement site) was a little disappointing as all evidence of the settlement was gone and just a field and a small beach remained. We feel that the National Park has done its best to return all this area back to nature, but in doing so have removed much of the human history of the area, other than a few photographs. It is a bit of a shame, but we understand the motive and it is a very well protected ‘natural’ environment. We drove back toward camp and stopped at the pool to check it out… heated by solar panels up to 78-80 degrees. We sat on a bench looking out over Fundy Bay and enjoyed the remnants of our picnic, and watched a few kayakers working hard against the tide and the breeze.

End of trail - covered bridge and mill remains

 

 
Back at camp we changed and tripped down into Alma (which is just outside the National Park) to go to the Alma Lobster shop…. And each had a very large and delicious Lobster… best yet! The meat was bursting out… served on a picnic table on a large metal tray lined with newspaper, served with homemade coleslaw and a fresh bun.  Back at camp we sat by our fire outside and enjoyed a nice hot cup of tea! Great day! 

Early evening Alma

Floating again!!

Alma harbour with water

The Lobster fiend

Mouth Watering!!!!

Alma Lobster Shop... basic and delicious!!

View from Alma Lobster Shop

Hard to imagine 12 hours earlier!

Sun Aug 3 2014 Alma Farmers Market /Golf / Lazy day

Sun Aug 3 2014 Alma Farmers Market /Golf / Lazy day

Alma... downtown!!!

Fishing boats - low tide Alma

Fishing boats Alma - low tide

A hang-out day today. We got up and headed straight into Alma for the farmers market where we treated ourselves to some home-baked goodies, bread, veggies and meats. We stopped in town to take some photos of the fishing dock area at low tide… the fishing boats are literally sitting in the mud. Back at camp for noon we cooked up a rare bacon and egg breakfast with homemade marmalade, homemade bread and cornbread… a guilty lip-smacking treat and a far cry from our bran buds and sliced banana. Late afternoon Derek decided to try out the local nine hole golf course while Janice stayed at camp to catch up on the blog, read, laundry, and do some weight training.  Derek enjoyed is golf game. The course was rather hilly and challenging, but worth the trip. We set to BBQ’ing the smoked pork chops we bought from the farmer at the market… oh my… they were like butter, not overly smoked… just plain delicious. The evening spent by our ‘campfire’ reading and chatting.

Across the bridge from the dock area Alma

Photo taken from boat ramp - Alma

Hanging out waiting for the tide to come in

Quite fascinating  to see them float later.

Largest tide variation in the world here!

Sat Aug 2 - Hopewell Rocks and campfire

Sat Aug 2 – Hopewell Rocks and campfire

Trail down to the rocks

View from Trail - Big cove (L'Anse) Low tide

Derek and  Big Cove

After a lazy morning, we headed out to Hopewell Rocks, some 45 km from the park. Hopewell is famous for its flower pot rock structures and for being able to walk on the ocean floor when the tide is low. This area in the Bay of Fundy has the worlds largest tides (so we are told). The average difference between low and high tide averages some 35 feet up to 48 feet. It is quite an experience. We walked down to the ocean floor (about 15-20 minutes down hill) and wandered around the flowerpots and took some photos of the mud flats and rocks. The area was once inhabited by French colonists (Acadians) (Wikki them) and they cleverly manipulated the tidal areas using a dyke system to produce lush salt marshes and farmland. After they were unceremoniously ‘removed’ by the English in the mid 18^th century during the ‘Great Expulsion’ the area slowly returned to the mud flats and salt marshes and are important part of the worlds ecosystem.

The famous flowerpot shot

Walking on the Ocean floor

After walking on the ocean floor we went back up the trail and took another trail to Diamond rock and on to Madamoiselles Beach for more great views. We then sat around the interpretive centre and had a snack and coffee and waited a couple of hours for the tide to come in. We did not wait for the full high tide, but we were suitably impressed by the fact that where we had been standing only a short while ago was now at the bottom of the ocean. We walked back down the trail to take some pictures of the area with water. It is quite astonishing to see the amount of water that can appear so quickly. Apparently enough water flows into this natural wonder every tide period to fill the Grand Canyon…. Some 100 billions tonnes of water!!

After taking more photos we headed back to camp stopping at a covered bridge on the way for a photo-op. BBQ steak tonight for a treat. Then we joined a bunch of folk at the communal campfire and enjoyed the evening sharing stories with some great people from New Brunswick and Quebec. 

Traditional selfie at Hopewell Rocks

King of the castle... ocean floor!!

In a few hours.. the water will reach above me

Hopewell rocks tide coming in slowly

Mud flats/Salt marshes - from Hopewell

Tide still coming in! We stood under the arch.

Almost high tide

Almost high tide at Big Cove