As we crossed the suspension bridge marking the start of the Fundy trail, we realized that we were embarking on a great adventure. Little did we know that we would fall off cliffs, climb great mountains, and write this report. Jeff Mahoney, Greg, Kathleen and David Cameron completed the whole trip, while Doug, Brian Mahoney and Sandy Smith joined us for the easier half.
Friday, the first day of the trip, was not very successful. We started at the Big Salmon River as the tide was coming in, which made the hiking slow. We had to bushwhack for the first two hours and found that we had only hiked one kilometre. After lunch, we decided to beach walk. Jeff found a rocky embankment which he said was safe. It was steep and became steeper as it progressed. Greg was holding on to a branch. It broke and he fell down about ten metres. At around 9:30 p.m., we set up camp on Seely Beach after hiking only six kilometres from Big Salmon.
Saturday was the most demanding day. We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and were hiking by 8:00 a.m. The four of us bushwhacked for most of the morning following a compass bearing through dense woods and marshes. We crossed two "Cradle Brooks" and finally made it to the real one. We knew it was the real one, when we had to descend over 200 metres to the brook, then climb to the same elevation on the other side! At Little Salmon River, we looked desperately for the Fundy footpath. Finally, David found the trail on the wrong side of the stream according to the new Fundy footpath map. We followed the trail which took us up one of our many steep, long climbs. After hiking seven kilometres on the footpath (in the rain) we decided to have an early night. We camped at Wolf Brook, nine kilometres from Martin's Head where we were supposed to meet the rest of the group in the evening.
We didn't want to keep Doug, Brian, and Sandy waiting too long so Jeff called reveille at 5:30 a.m. so that we could start hiking at 7:00 a.m. We arrived at their campsite a few hours later. They were exploring the nearby beach but had left us some cold, left-over omelette. We had some of the breakfast, but David finished it before the rest of us had a chance to eat much (what an animal!). Following lunch, the seven of us walked along the beach until we were caught by the tide and were forced to take the footpath again. We stopped at Azor's Beach for supper and a little fishing. Jeff caught extremely small fish and enjoyed fish-on-a-stick. After a small navigational error (even orienteers make mistakes, occasionally), we entered Fundy National Park and found our campsite at Goose River.
On our last day, we hiked to Point Wolfe where our car was waiting for us. We then travelled to Alma where we ate too many sticky buns and Mr. Freezes.
In all, we hiked forty-five (45) kilometres over rough terrain including dense forests (that would have been marked a very dark green on an "O" map), huge cliffs, and enormous valleys. It was extremely tough but an enjoyable trip. We hope to hike it again soon.
Postscript by David Cameron: Many thanks to the Smiths and Mahoneys for providing the inspiration for the trip. Great trip! Great scenery.