Ingonish, NS - Freshwater and Salty Water

This 6-day stay in Cape Breton is coming to a close.  On Monday, June 11, 2018, we took our last outings in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Our first hike was a short one to the Freshwater Look-Off (what's a "look-off"?), where we encountered one of those elusive quarries:  the Canadian National Park Red Chairs!

While the hike was short, it was all vertical, and the steps uphill seemed endless, as we left the trailhead across from the National Park Visitor Center:

However, the reward was worth it, as you can see in Kathy's eyes, as we looked out over Freshwater Lake:

This was a short prelude to our longer hike, which we took in the afternoon after lunch at the Keltic Lodge, south of Ingonish.  Our second hike was out Middle Head, which is shown on the map illustration below.  Our hike took us 2km out to a rocky point, with lots of dramatic views along the way:

Here was our view of Keltic Lodge as we approached our parking lot for the trail:

David found the trailhead, which wasn't hard, considering it had such a large sign:

The hike is, essentially, a transit up and down over three hills on a peninsula of land known as Middle Head.  Between the hills are low areas with open views both north and south.  The view below is north toward Ingonish:

We could look the other way, too -- south toward Cape Smokey Provincial Park:

However, Middle Head itself was no slouch:

As we neared the point, David found a boulder to perch on while Cape Smokey loomed in the distance:

Kathy was the first to reach the point of Middle Head, and it was so windy, she thought she would take flight:

 This is a view off the point of Middle Head, toward Ingonish Island:

Our hike out the Head was on the south side.  We hiked back the north side, which gave us very rugged views --

-- and views of the trail (formerly a carriage road) that looked as if the trail had been manicured:

When we got back to our trailhead, we discovered these red chairs at Keltic Lodge.  They gave us an open view north toward Ingonish.  Now, we're not certifying that these were official Canada National Park Red Chairs, but we think they can be claimed so, because they were sitting next to national park historic signs and information markers.  In Canada, public-private partnerships can produce some curious juxtapositions:

Our hikes done, we drove the 121 km back to Cheticamp Island along the Cabot Trail, enjoying yet another chance to see such favorites as the Aspy Rift, the Grande Falaise (Grand Cliff), and the 350-year old sugar maple forest.  Along the way, we hunted down another lighthouse -- this one in Neils Harbour:

The drive home was bittersweet.  We really enjoy Cape Breton Highlands, and so we'll be sad to leave.  Our consolation is that we're about to take the ferry to Newfoundland, and we've been told that the shoreline and landscape there is even more dramatic than Cape Breton.

We'll be sure to take you along with us.