Cape Breton: A Tale of Two Trails

Being about a week and a bit into the trip, Julie and I were certainly due up for some alone time and our Cape Breton experiences served to encourage this separation. The first night was great, although it was so cold that we could see our breath. I’m not sure how cold it has to be in order to see your own breath. Obviously above freezing, but that didn’t stop Julie and me from sleeping with our sweaters on that night.

We’d decided to splurge and stay at a campsite since we weren’t able to make it all the way to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. So the next morning, we made use of the camp facilities, taking turns to have a shower (only a day after our bath in the river!), and cooking ourselves a fantastic breakfast complete with pancakes, oranges, spam (yes father, I like spam! Jan Reid would be so proud of me! Hahahah), and tea. We were both in a pleasant enough mood, but then something happened (about which I am not able to speak, so don’t ask). Needless to say, we were both fuming afterwards—inwardly of course…outwardly we were short and passive-aggressive with each other, that is, if we spoke at all. We pretty much drove in silence the whole way to the park.

At our first campsite...

Once at the park, we started to test out the idea of separation with Julie going into the information building to figure out things, and me going to the bathroom. When she came back, I could tell she wasn’t in a great mood still. Neither was I, so it was okay. We grumbled with each other while we figured out our plans. We decided we would stay for the night and walk one or two trails before we’d settle in for supper. Once that was decided, I went with the parks person to fill up our water jug while Julie called her mother to wish her a happy birthday. Once back in the van, we drove to the campsite, and then further discussed things.

Initially, we’d both planned on doing the Skyline trail because, by the description on the map, it sounded really picturesque, with on opportunity to see moose, seals, and even whales. But when we got to the campsite, Julie took a look at the map and said, “I think you’re underestimating the distance between here and the Skyline, trail Nicole.” Having already set my mind to hiking the Skyline, I was a bit perturbed that Julie didn’t want to go anymore. The stubborn ass in me crept out at that moment, and I told Julie (nicely) that she didn’t have to come with me, but that I still wanted to do the trail. Since we’d already discussed potentially having some time off from each other earlier, we decided walking two different trails would probably be good for us. So we agreed to meet back up at 7:30pm and off I went.

Well, of course, Julie was right. The Skyline trail was WAAAAAY farther from our campsite than it looked on the map. And not only that, but it was at the top of a freaking mountain! This realization only fueled my ascent though, and I marched right up that mountain, all 455 meters of it, without even taking a break. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t too difficult a hike, but I suppose it helps when adrenaline and angry thoughts are acting as energy. Don’t get me wrong, not all these thoughts were about anything, or anyone, in particular…but you know how it is sometimes. Once you’re in a mood, it can be hard to direct your thoughts to pleasanter things. I did try though. I thought of the walk as burning off my negativity, and I couldn’t help but be amazed at the beauty around me. Cape Breton is certainly something to see for all those in love with nature.

View from the road to get to the Skyline

I also made some friends on the way up the mountain too: a small group of bikers. They chatted with me as they slowly (and I mean slowly…I was almost walking as fast as they were biking) pedaled up. I discovered that they were biking from Sydney (NS), all the way around Cape Breton, and back to Sydney. None were biking for anything but pleasure, but they were obviously fit. I only saw one of them walk his bike a little ways up the hill while he caught his breath.

The walk up didn’t seem very long, though when I looked at my cell phone, I was shocked to discover that it had taken me about an hour and fifteen minutes, but finally, there it was, the sign for the Skyline. And, as Julie had also told me, I still had another half an hour or so to go to get to the actual start of the trail. I’d only made it up the main road to where you could get out of your car to hike the Skyline. I walked this “pre-trail” bit in about 15. At this point, I was feeling worn out. I’d packed myself an apple because I knew I would need the sugar, so I ate that and drank lots of water. I never stopped walking though.

I was disappointed, but relieved at the same time, to find the trail pretty busy with people. The parks people at the information booth, as well as multiple signs throughout the park and trail, warned of the presence of coyotes, which could have only meant that they were more aggressive than your average Wile E. Coyote (Super Genius). So it was a relief to have so many people around, but at the same time, I really just wanted to have time alone to think. When I got to the trail, I didn’t see any boardwalk. I hiked for a little bit, and finally found it: a raised walkway that lead out to an area on the side of the mountain where the ocean and the mountains of Cape Breton stretch out onto the horizon forever. The sight was absolutely breath-taking. I walked down the path until I was on a perch that was right on the edge. Looking down was pretty much a sheer drop. I can’t even describe how beautiful it was. The ocean glittered as the sun danced along its surface, the mountains sloped up gracefully, covered in a dress of deep green, and the clouds dappled the blue sky like cotton balls accidentally strewn across the floor.

View from the boardwalk

I asked someone to take a picture of me. She was with a guy who was obviously terrified of heights. He kept having to sit down to pretend he wasn’t up so high. I felt bad for him. “You don’t like heights huh?” He couldn’t even bring himself to talk, just shook his head. His girlfriend/fiancé/wife/whatever just smiled and said, “Nope, he really hates heights.” He started muttering that he couldn’t go any further down the platforms. She looked a little annoyed by his fear. I smiled at him and said, “Well you should be really proud of yourself for making it this far!” He looked up briefly and smiled at me. It felt good to help cheer someone up.

Checking my cell phone, I realized that I had to turn back in order to make it to the campsite by our proposed deadline, so I said goodbye and headed back down the way I’d come. The way back always seems to be harder than the way to someplace, and this time was no exception. My legs, having gotten a moment’s rest while on the platform, decided they were going to start hurting. My ankles protested, and then I made the mistake of shifting my toes in my shoes. That’s when I realized I’d formed blisters on every one of my little toes. Now that I had discovered these blisters, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. When I’d finally made it to the road again, I was secretly wishing that someone would offer me a ride down.

I had no such luck procuring a lift, but when I was about 10 minutes from the campsite, what did I see but a big blue van pulling out of the drive. I felt a mix of emotions at that instant. A little part of me was annoyed. I wasn’t late, and here was Julie, coming after me like a worried mom. But the majority of my thoughts were filled with “wow, how nice of her, it’s so thoughtful that she would come and pick me up.” So in the end, it managed to help my mood, although I have to admit, I still wasn’t completely cured of my grumpiness. When we got back to the camp, Julie offered to cook dinner so that I could explore the beach a little bit. I took her up on her offer and walked down to the beach. My feet were stinging at that point. I figured a dip in the ocean would do them some good, so I perched on a bit of a sand bank, just out of reach of the water, and I pressed my feet into the freezing cold water. It felt really good.

The beautiful beach

I sat there and relaxed as I watched the sun moving slowly towards the horizon. The beach was made of little and big stones, no sand, so each time the waves pulled back from the beach, the little stones would shift, making a bit of a soft crackling sound as the water receded. It was very soothing to listen to. I was joined in my relaxing by several sand shrimp too. They were slightly creepy looking, but it was interesting to watch them leap towards my legs over and over again.

Eventually I stood up and walked along the beach, exploring the rocks. I thought to myself that this beach would be a horror to behold by any parent with a stone-collecting child like I used to be.

More at ease after being at the beach, I made my way up to camp for supper. We had spaghetti again, always an excellent meal, and while we ate, Julie told me about how amazing her day ended up being. I envied her ability to just find joy and pleasure in anything, since my walk hadn’t exactly completely relieved me of my unrest. I thought to myself, this is a skill I really need to learn. But it was nice to know that she had enjoyed herself and was no longer really upset about the morning’s events. For me, it took a good long sleep. But when I awoke in the morning, I was in an extremely chipper mood. I didn’t have sore muscles, my blisters seemed to have disappeared (although I’m sure they were still there), and I felt fully refreshed. On top of all that, I was extremely proud of myself for having walked up a mountain and back down again. So despite my awful mood the day before, I’m really glad for it too. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep bragging to Julie that I climbed a mountain!

-Nicole