The Last Long Weekend of Summer 2016
Long weekends are a good time to get out and explore. This past weekend, I managed to get out biking, hiking, and kayaking (a different activity each day!) in places I hadn't been before.
I went biking on Saturday along a section of trail from Keswick Landing to Burtt's Corner, along the Keswick River.
The trail is used by snowmobiles in the winter. Apparently there is a connecting trail that goes to Durham (see this map from the NB Federation of Snowmobile Clubs).
On Sunday, I went hiking with a friend. We climbed to a lookout tower on Montagne des Therrien (possibly also known as Mont Pointu) in Riviere-Verte. There were a few different trails, but we did a loop that ended up being around 2 km.
The view was well worth it, and will likely be even better in a few weeks as the leaves change colours.
The mouth of the Meduxnekeag River is a spot I've been wanting to go kayaking; I got there on Monday and it did not disappoint. There are many shallow places and tiny islands starting about 500 metres from where it flows into the Saint John River. So it has aspects of a wetland—including plenty of birds. I saw an eagle, an osprey, a heron, some red-winged blackbirds (I think), and plenty of ducks (I'd guess at least two varieties, but I'm not sure) and Canada geese.
Here are some geese in flight:
There are public docks in Woodstock NB by the information centre/craft market and behind the NBCC campus that are convenient for exploring this section of river.
I'm not sure how much longer the weather will be suitable for these kinds of activities—hopefully at least a couple more months—but I have no shortage of ideas for next year and beyond:
- The northeast of the province: Lameque, Kouchibouguac
- The southwest of the province: Passamaquoddy Bay, Grand Manan, Musquash estuary
- Various branches off the Saint John River: Long's Creek, Belleisle, and around Darling's Island
- In Maine and Quebec: Baxter State Park, Saguenay-St. Laurent, Temiscouata
Likely hiking or kayaking at at least some of these places would provide some good blogging material.