So tonight I open the pages of my adventure journal for the first time since the trip, to recount my version of Two4adventures East Coast Adventure. My intentions are to outline my experiences and share stories of the trip. In this post I will detail the first leg of the journey which spanned from Peterborough, Ontario to Mount Carleton P.P. in the Appalachian Range section of New Brunswick.
10:50pm on August 8th, 2014 is the last I will have seen my house for two weeks as we pull out of our driveway and clock 1212km in 15hrs to reach our first destination Mount Carleton Provincial Park. Upon arriving at 3pm with the time change, it was a quick unpack of the gear and straight to the lake (Big Nictau) for some canoeing and Stand Up Paddleboarding.
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Johnny-Two4adventure Stand Up Paddleboarding on Big Nictau Lake
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Once we returned to the campsite we set up and organized camp. The temperature had started to drop and the forecast had called for a night of around 7 degrees celsius. A campfire was next on the agenda, where we sat and rested making plans to hike to the summit of Mt. Carleton in the a.m.
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| Notice the "Old Man`s Beard" to the left of the fire. Great tinder and was used to start the fire. |
On the morning of Sunday August 10th, our second day into the trip, we woke to cool temperatures where we could actually see our breath. This took us by surprise for early August. We had breakfast and packed our gear for the day trip and arrived at the Mount Carleton trailhead at 11:15am. With my 3yr old Son in the child carrier and family eagerly following we made our way to the summit via the Eastern trail. We arrived at the summit around 12:45pm.
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| My little guy was amazed at the view. Notice the old fire observation tower in the background marking the summit of Mt. Carleton. |
After spending approximately an hour at the summit, having lunch, taking pictures and taking to fellow hiker`s we started to make our way down the trail following the same route we ascended. We returned back to our vehicle at 3:00pm feeling very accomplished in our day as these were the adventures we dreamt of when planning the trip. The evening brought on some swimming and relaxation by the water.
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| Sun is getting ready to set on Big Nictau Lake |
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| A little R&R on a random picnic table in the lake |
On Monday August 11th, we set out to do a easier hike to include my 75yr old Grandmother who was experiencing an out of Province trip for her very first time. The destination for this day would be William Falls trail with a family picnic to follow.
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| Gazing at the beauty of the Falls |
From Williams Falls we drove through the park and found a quiet spot on Little Nictau Lake where we listened to the sounds of a Loon while eating food cooked on our portable BBQ. This spot offered great views of the surrounding mountains and solitude from the rest of the park.
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| Picnic area and view |
After our lunch I decided that I was going to return to the camp to drop off the group and head out on a solo hike to the top of Mt. Sagamook. the hardest accent of any of the mountains located in the park. Giving my itinerary to my family, my daughter decided she would like to join me on the hike. The two of us left the trailhead at 1:50pm making our way to the summit via the Western route.
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| My daughter Brooke making her way up a section of the hike. |
We reached the summit of Mt. Sagamook at 3:05pm and rested at the summit for a little while taking in the beauty and talking about Brooke`s upcoming school year. A great father daughter experience in the great outdoors and we took a summit selfie :)
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| Summit selfie |
Brooke and I descended via Eastern route completing the loop and returning to the vehicle at 4:55pm. When we returned to camp we shared our stories around the campfire and began preparations for making an early departure the following day and begin our second leg of the trip. In the three full days that we spent at Mt Carleton P.P. I had already exceed my expectations for the trip and it had only begun.
Follow along as we continue to Prince Edward Island for some clam digging and then off to Nova Scotia where Wayne (the other half of Two4adventure) and I meet up for a microadventure of our own. These posts and more are coming soon.
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| Mount Carleton Provincial Park Map |
Until next time, adventure awaits!
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