Category: Getting ready for a Hike

My Solo Cape Chignecto Adventure: Booking Tips & Trail Insights

I did it!

I finally booked my 3-day Cape Chignecto backpacking journey. For anyone new to the blog I am currently in the midst of planning my first solo backpacking trip and I am doing the coastal loop trail of Cape Chignecto provincial park in Nova Scotia.

On April 1st, reservations for Parks NS opened up, but I had to wait until the 2nd for Chignecto reservations to open. The process could not have been simpler, very close to the system Parks Canada uses. It is recommended by the parks service that you make a profile BEFORE the system opens as it helps to streamline booking, and it definably made a difference to how quickly I was able to get in and find my sites.

The one thing that threw me for a bit of a loop was that the reservation opening time was listed In Eastern time zone, but the system clock was in Atlantic time zone. This made no sense to me, since the park is in the Atlantic time zone, we should express opening hours, reservation times etc. in Atlantic time. For example, I wouldn’t email someone in Manitoba and expect them to calculate a meeting time based on Atlantic time, I would make the adjustment myself, and I believe that Parks NS should expect the same from out of province visitors.

THE SPOTS

On my itinerary, I expect the 52km loop to take 3 days and two nights. In perfect weather, and not having been there before, I think most hikers could agree that is a reasonable pace with enough time to stop for some photos, which for me is part of the fun. Since I am going in the fall, and that is hurricane season here in the Maritimes, I decided to book another campsite, close to the visitor center for my last night, just in case of a storm blowing up or some other unforeseen issue. As I get closer to the date of travel, ill be able to judge the weather with more accuracy and can make the decision to keep it or not. With Parks NS, I am able to get a refund on the site as long as I cancel within three days of booking, so it seemed like a no brainer even with the abundance of caution.

EATONVILLE

My first stop will be Eatonville campground. I made the decision to take the rout counter clockwise so that I can get through the wooded, not very scenic and mostly uphill section of the loop on the first day and make the last days easier to keep a strong pace which buys more time for photos at the coast. This area is also a massive day-use area, so I should have no trouble refilling water and finding my spot for the night, as well as finding a sink to do dishes, which will not be an option in the later sections.

LITTLE BALD ROCK

My second stop is in Little Bald rock. If my plans hold, it will be my last night in the park. I choose this because after leaving Eatonville, ill be traveling south along the coast, and be stopping for photos and to enjoy the views. I would also like to take more time to look around as I’m going to pass a few paddle-in campgrounds, for perhaps a future canoe/ kayak trip that I could take my wife and dog on with. The terrain headed south is supposed to be a little flatter and mostly downhill, so keeping a good pace when I’m not busy enjoying the lookouts should be easier.

MILL BROOK

Last but not least, I’ve booked a last night in Mill Brook, this is my JICC spot (just in case of crisis). What if I sprain an ankle and can’t hike very far? What of the wind or rain blows up and I can’t finish the last day? I am not expecting anything to go wrong but also want to be prepared if, for whatever reason, I need to spend another night in the park. As I’ve said earlier, once we get a little closer to departure date, ill be able to judge that much better than I can on a sunny day in April.

Parks NS’s system made booking easy and quick, I was ten minutes total once I was let into the system and now I can start to get excited about my trip!

Solo Backpacking Prep: Cape Chignecto Guide

Come prep with me to hike Cape Chignecto, a series

I think that as the fall starts to wind down, the temperatures drop and winter starts to set in, backpackers start to think about what trails to take on next year. I am no different, but I live in Nova Scotia, so while it gets cold, I won’t be dealing with snow until January so I still have some more outside time to enjoy. This winter will be different because ill be planning my first solo backpacking trip and I’ve chosen the Cape Chignecto Coastal Loop in West Advocate, NS.

I choose this hike from reading various blogs and articles after googling “beginner backpacking hikes in Nova Scotia”. And the main reason I settled on Cape Chignecto is because the consensus on trail reviews was that the trail is well marked, and is a loop, so the chances of getting lost are lower, obviously not zero, but there should be limited navigation work all things being equal. That said, I hate being unprepared, and since I’ve never been here before, I’ve made this the first of a series on how I’m personally preparing for this adventure.

The first thing that I did was figure out the total distance and the total time it might take. Finding the distance was easy as it’s listed on Alltrails and the cape Chignecto website (+/-52km if anyone is wondering). At this point, you might be thinking, all you do is divide the total distance by days you have available, and then you can manipulate those numbers until you have a reasonable pace. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work so well in the real world, to do this hike in say 3 days is 17.5km per day, but remember, you are also carrying three days’ worth of supplies, so 17km might be too much in one day.

What I did instead was to start to look for itineraries from other people, that would give me insight on campgrounds also. This is a provincial park and its illegal to camp without a permit and outside of designated zones. So, reading about other people’s trips is helping me to plan my days and route.

So, I’ve now determined that ill need 4 days to be safe, but am going to plan to hike it in three days. Taking time off work in the warm moths can get tricky for me in my profession, so that might be all the time I get.

So, you may remember I said this trip would be solo, but I wouldn’t want to dis-include my wife or dog since they enjoy the outdoors but aren’t interested in a trip like this necessarily. With that in in, I’ve been trying to find dog friendly hotels or inns in West Advocate for my wife and dog to stay in while I do this hike. That way, they can also be near in case something goes wrong, but also to greet me when I get back because the best part of my day is seeing them. The two of them can have a little mini holiday while I thru hike a shortish trail, win win.

The next thing to do was figure out my daily distances and where to stop. Given my somewhat constrained timings, my first day would have to be fairly short. While I’m in planning mode, all my checklists tend to run simultaneously through my mind. So even just the thought of having a short day one brings a little relief to mind since I know that my pack will be the fullest at this point with food, fuel and gear, and that I’ll already be tired and cramped from driving to the trail, since its about a three-hour drive, not to mention ill be getting a late start since ill have to check my wife and dog into their accommodation.

I’ve elected to take the trail clockwise, and that means the coastal side first. But also, my first campground could be either 7.5km or 13.5km from the start, for me and my fitness level, I’m open to either of these options right now. Ostensibly I’m leaning to having the 13.5km option on the first day. There are a couple reasons for this, one, it will shorten day two so I won’t have to get up at dawn and pack up and start going again, and two, I’ll have more tie for taking pictures since ill be going through the scenic coastal portion of the trail. I personally hate feeling like I don’t have tine to look around at trees and birds and whatever else is out there, because that the whole point of being in nature.

Well, that’s as far as I’ve gotten for now, lots more to come with day planning and campsite planning and gear, I’ve only just gotten started so keep getting ready with me!