New Brunswick
Saturday 16 May
Fundy National Park
As is becoming my norm for long weekend trips I left in the morning of my first day, this time the Saturday. That day I planned to spend Fundy National Park again - this time with rather less snow! I probably need to organise the photos better so it's easier to see what's what - hopefully I'll get around to that one day!
I arrived in the early afternoon and first hiked the Dickson Falls. I'd got as far as the overlook in the winter but I didn't go any further. This time I could drive to the parking lot and walk the trail! The trail was a nice short trail through a gorge past some small waterfalls. All rather pretty.
Next I went to the end of the road and hiked the Shiphaven and Coppermine trail. The Shiphaven trail was along the top of the cliffs and included a covered bridge and a picturesque bay. The Coppermine trail visited an old copper mine. The copper mine itself was pretty boring but there were also a couple of beautiful little waterfalls along the trail which more than made up for it.
The last thing I did in the park was return to the Third Vault Falls trail. It was certainly much easier to follow without a lot of snow on the ground! You're also notice that the sign at the start of it now looks a lot taller. Getting the falls involved some scrambling through and around snow but it was definitely worth it, they were really spectacular - probably helped by all the spring run off.
Sunday 17 May
Irving Nature Centre
Sunday dawned a bit wet and horrible so I decided to do a shortish hike and then go and explore Saint John. I decided to hike the Irving Nature Centre near the city. When I arrived the trail said it was closed but it looked fine and as I was about to leave I saw a member of staff who said it was fine, just lacking some safety fencing and the like, so I went for it. It was an OK hike and it was nice to stretch my legs despite the weather but it wasn't anything spectacular.
Saint John
My first stop in exploring Saint John were the reversing falls. These were nothing special - I didn't even take any photos - and I was glad I hadn't made a special trip. Next up as the Martello Tower. It was still closed for the season but was cool to see one so far away from where I'm used to seeing them, near my parents house in Clacton. I then walked around downtown Saint John for a bit, the highlight of which had to be the beaver statue!
Monday 18 May
Fundy Trail
My last day in New Brunsiwck saw me visit the Fundy Trail. This was an enjoyable trail to drive / hike even if I did find it incomprehensible that they'd local and gate an outdoor park at 5pm - surely once you've paid to be in you should be able to stay as late as you want.
The first hike I did combined the Flower Pot Rocks and Sea Captain's Burial Grounds trails. As the names may suggest these involved some interesting rock formations of the coast and a couple of cemetery. Next up was another waterfall - Fuller's Falls. It was nice even if it's location did somewhat limit the views you could get of it.
Next up was an aborted attempt to do the Hearst Lodge Trail - aborted because of needing to be back before the gate shut. Still I really enjoyed the bit of the trail I did manage to do. It was quite technical with some nice views. Once out of the park I stopped in Saint Martins for a look at the covered bridges which was a nice end to the day.
Copyright Daniel Money 2015