I didn’t see much of Wolfville, as I biked straight to the bike trail on the north side of the town which took me all the way to the highway I needed to take. From there I went through a few different towns as I approached the ominous sounding town “The Lookoff.” And then the climb began. It was 30 degrees and this ascent was so steep and just kept going and going. Usually with these steep climbs there are at least some flat bits to temper the incline, but with this, it was turn after turn after turn of just going straight up. I was really happy I didn’t have a loaded up bike at this point.
As I was going up, I was thinking that Rick never mentioned this mountain to me when he told me about Scots Bay. But when I finally got to the top and saw the view, I realized that it was so worth the climb. You could see over all the towns below, as well as into the Minas Basin, which is part of the Bay of Fundy. And there was an ice cream shop at the top! At this point in my trip, I have convinced myself that daily ice cream is part of a healthy and balanced diet...I might need to reassess that when my trip is over, but I definitely got my fill of ice cream at the top after that climb.
After climbing that steep mountain though, I had to go back down the other side to get to the trailhead. Which normally is the best reward after a hard climb, but knowing I had to go up and back down that mountain again to get back to Gaspereau was a little daunting. I finally got to Scots Bay, where the trailhead for Cape Split is, and already the view along the shore was beautiful.
The signage welcoming you to the park said that the hike was about 8 km in each direction and would take 4-5 hours round trip. It was already 1:30, and I still had to bike back to Gaspereau at the end of the day, so I was a little nervous for timing, but figured even if I had to bike back late, this is the whole reason I came to this region in the first place. There were a fair number of people there, I guess because of the long weekend, but a lot of them just came and saw the view at the trailhead and then left, discouraged by the posted length of the hike.
Once I got started, I realized it was a fairly easy walk. It was through the forest, which was nice, but nothing out of this world. I passed a fair number of people, some that were even taking breaks to rest even though it was a mostly flat walk that was under 10 km in each direction, with a shade cover. So this is when I started to realize it wasn’t going to take me 4-5 hours to complete the hike.
I had started on the hike at 1:40, and by 3 I reached the end, which opened out onto this incredible cliff top point on the Bay of Fundy. We were so high up with a few rock formations just separated from where we could walk to, which were covered with birds, in front of a backdrop of the vast Bay of Fundy. It was pretty awesome.
I stayed at the point for a bit, had a snack, and took a bunch of photos, before heading back. When I got back out to the other side, I saw that the round trip had only taken me two and a half hours (excluding the time I spent at the cliffs), so I feel like they should adjust their signs to be relevant to more than just the least fit person on the planet.
Once I was ready to head back, I was trying to psych myself up for the mountain climb, and then when I got going, I realized it was not bad at all. Whereas the other side had been a super steep climb, this side had a mix of climbs and descents to get up, so I had momentum to get me up half the ascents. I was feeling fine by the time I got to the top, but figured I should probably get a 2nd ice cream now that I was up there. The girl working at the ice cream shop also refilled my water for me. And now that I was at the top of the mountain, I realized it would be super easy to get back.
I sailed down the mountain, reaching speeds of 45+ km/hr which felt awesome, and ripped through the community of Canning. Once I got to Wolfville, I came up off the bike path I was on a little earlier so I could actually see a bit of the town. The town itself only has about 3,500 permanent residents, but it doubles in size during the school year with Acadia there. For a small town though, it has a lot going on. There were a bunch of cute little shops and cafes and pubs with patios. I guess because it’s a hub for the surrounding communities, and also there are so many tourists in the summer because of the wineries, they must support the economy quite a bit.
After Wolfville, I was only 5 km from Gaspereau, and the little ridge I had to cross over (less than 100 m climb) seemed effortless after going over the mountain twice today. Once I got back and made dinner, Nevin invited me to join him and some friends to watch fireworks for Canada Day. They came and picked me up and took me to a neighbouring town to meet up with a few more people. Once we were parked, we started heading towards the park where the fireworks would be. Just as we got to the park, a few fireworks went off, so we thought they were warning shots for the start of the show. But then they just kept going, putting off an entire arsenal of fireworks over the course of just a few minutes. It looked great while it was happening, but it was super short...I don’t know if they accidentally ignited them all at once or if that was the town’s intention, but it was a little disappointing how quickly they ended. We just ended up hanging out at one of their friends’ places for a bit before heading back to Gaspereau. Despite the fireworks being a bit of a letdown, I saw some pretty spectacular views today, so I wasn’t too bummed out about it, and I enjoyed hanging out with Nevin and his friends. Cape Split was such a great recommendation—I’m glad I made the detour.
Total distance: 81 km
Total elevation: 988 m
No comments:
Post a Comment