Walking Nova Scotia – Cape to Cape Post #5

Robert Bradt

Between May 18 and July 5 of 2023, I walked from The Hawk on Cape Sable Island, the southern tip of Nova Scotia, to its northern tip at Cape North on Cape Breton Island, a 1000+ km trek. This is the story of part of that journey.  See these posts to read about the whole journey:

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Where am I now?

Cape Breton Island! 

I scrambled across the causeway 

to reach Port Hastings this afternoon, and then took a taxi to Port Hawkesbury where there’s more choice for places to stay and shops.

To get here since I last posted from Port Bickerton on Sunday, June 18, I’ve walked through Country Harbour, Isaac’s Harbour, Goldboro, Drum Head, Larry’s River, Guysborough, Boylston, Monastery, Linwood, Havre Boucher, and Aulds Cove.

The weather was rainy and cold at the start of this stretch, but by the time I got here summer was well and truly in force – blue skies,  blazing sunshine, and sweltering temps.  

And, by the way, the little corner of the province tucked along the Northumberland Strait by Cape Jack is gorgeous – green rolling fields with a background of blue seas and the mountains of Cape Breton.  My morning walk today was wonderful, meandering the backroads to Havre Boucher.  

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the lovely rolling hills around Guysborough and Milford Haven.  

Or the rugged countryside between Goldsboro and Seal Cove.  

Or the Acadian charm of Larry’s River.  

This past week has taken me though parts of the province which were not only new to me, they also surprised me with their history and the strength of their communities.  This was the best part of my trip so far, and that’s saying something on a journey that’s been full of great experiences.

Here are some stats about the walk so far:

  • Total kilometres walked – 765
  • Total # of days spent walking – 33
  • Total # of steps walked – 1,037,000+
  • Total # of hours spent walking – about 194
  • Total # of flights of stairs climbed according to FitBit –  3062

Looking ahead, I have just under 260 km still to go, give or take a few.  I have 11 more walking days planned – still unsure whether I need to add one.  

Sleeps and Eats

This stretch has not only surprised me with the scenery and history, the stays and meals have been full of unexpected charms.

In Drum Head, I stopped at the Market store and met Martin, the owner.  We had corresponded previously and I’d asked him about places where I might camp.  When I arrived, wet after a misty/foggy/chilly day, I wasn’t really looking forward to setting up my still wet tent but gamely approached him for advice.  After looking at the map, and not seeing anything that appealed, he offered to let me sleep around the back of a house he owned that was being renovated.

We walked over to see what would work, and he mentioned that the plumbing was partly done so there was cold water plus a working toilet.  We went into the house to check that, and I looked around to see that the floors were down and the windows in, while outside fog swirled and sopping wet grasses sagged mournfully – “can I camp out in here?”, I asked.  Sure he said, so that’s what I did; spread out my sleeping gear under a dry roof and kipped down quite comfortably.

And, since he owned a general store full of foods, I picked out a frozen pizza which he baked for me for dinner, then in the morning he made me a breakfast burrito and a cheese wrap for my lunch.  Simple but tasty and very much appreciated.

The next night in Larry’s River was even more interesting.  I stayed at a lovely B&B called Murphy‘s Inn, which was very comfortable and would have been a great evening all by itself.  But on top of that, Bob, the owner, had become interested in my journey when I explained what I was doing, and he arranged with a local author, historian, and raconteur named Jude Avery to have me invited to a lobster dinner party that Jude arranges on occasion.

What an evening!  Huge, perfectly cooked lobsters were the featured course, along with salads, wines, cakes, and cookies – I was properly stuffed at the end.  

And even better than the food was the conversation, on subjects ranging from my journey, to the youthful antics of some of the dinner guests, to the history of the Acadian deportations in the 1750’s.  I had a wonderful time, and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone who made me feel so welcome, especially Jude, the host.

After that, my stay in Guysborough seems a bit anticlimactic, but of course it wasn’t because Ann joined me for a couple of nights.  We stayed at the Desbarres Manor Inn, a bit of luxury compared to my camping nights.  Since I had planned for a rest day while she was there, we drove over to Antigonish for an afternoon of browsing the shops and enjoying a lingering lunch before returning to the Inn for a drink on the deck.

Leaving Guysborough, I walked to Linwood and camped for the night at the Linwood Harbour Campground, which was quite pleasant, though the bugs forced me into my tent before 8 pm.  We won’t talk about my Mac ‘n cheese meal.

Stories

Reaching Cape Breton Island is a major milestone for me.  But getting here over the causeway was more of a challenge than I thought.  I wasn’t sure if I could even walk across, because when I looked in detail at satellite pictures I couldn’t see a pedestrian pathway.  

And as I got closer to the on-ramp, the shoulder of the road faded to near nothingness.  I looked for signs saying No Pedestrian Access or some such thing but didn’t see anything.  I passed a truck weigh station with a security vehicle parked outside but no one shouted out to stop me.  

So I kept going, and found myself picking my way over a shattered jumble of rocks, which I assume are pushed up when winter ice jams against the structure, along with stray garbage and vehicle parts and other flotsam, tangled with straggly tall grasses and weeds.

It’s about 1.2 km across and it took me the best part of 20 minutes to do it.  And while perhaps I shouldn’t have walked it, I would have felt that I had cheated had I been forced to hitch a ride for this short but crucial piece.

*****

Trail Angels, part 2

  • Martin, owner of the Drum Head Market, who made me dinner, breakfast, and lunch, plus tea and coffee; let me camp in his under-renovation property; and kept me entertained with stories and conversation about the local area, wind and solar power generation, software development, and military history, amongst other things. 
  • Gary, owner of Gary’s Groceries in Havre Boucher, who let me sit in the shade on the deck of his house to cool off on a blazing morning.
  • The owner of the campground in Linwood who watched me squelch sweatily into the office to register, took a look at my soaked hat, shirt, and hair, and silently reached into the fridge to get a cold bottle of water, pushing it across the counter and letting me gulp down half before he asked me who I was
  • The woman in Port Hawkesbury (whom I swear was Mary Walsh or her twin sister), who called out from her pickup “I hope you’ve had a wonderful day” with a big smile, to end my day on a high note.

Where next?

This last leg of my journey will end when I reach the Cape North Lighthouse.  To get there, the immediate next step is to follow the Ceilidh Trail from Port Hastings to Inverness, staying in the Judique area, Port Hood, and Mabou along the way.

This is the heart of Gaelic Cape Breton, and a highlight for me will be visiting the Red Shoe pub in Mabou, where there’s always live music to enjoy.  

And between here and there, I have two days of rain in the forecast.  Time to get the wet gear out again.

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