Cape Dauphin, Nova Scotia

To finish off our last day in NS, we saved what could be described as both the best and the worst of our hikes during our trip.

But first we had to get there.

Like most of the side roads in Cape Breton Island, the road to Kluskap Cave trailhead was narrow, windy, and loose gravel.  At least it wasn't full of potholes like some others.  And there were some interesting sights along the way.

The most unique thing was that, for quite a stretch, the road was immediately bordered by water; a large estuary that forms the Great Bras d'Or Lakes.  We wound along the road with nothing between us except a very small line of rocks.  It was quite pretty.  Hawk stopped at one point so I could snap a few pics.  Although I think this was the stop where he expected me to just lean out of the window, but I jumped out of the car to get the photo angles I wanted.  Which probably annoyed him slightly, but it's not like it was heavy traffic.  And really, this is me, so he shouldn't have been surprised.

Along this same stretch, we also passed a dirt slide on the steep, non-water side of the road, which had a sign labeling it a "UFO Landing Site."  I googled later to see if I could find any info on this, but of course all I came up with was articles on Shag Harbor, which is basically Canada's version of the Roswell incident.  Nothing on this random landmark.  So I don't know if there were actual claims of a paranormal event, or if someone was just being funny.  Either way, we found it entertaining, and certainly not something you see every day! 

Finally, while lupines are obviously not the least bit unique up here, this was the ONLY spot in the two provinces we drove through where we found red & yellow lupines joining the usual purples, pinks, and whites.  I suspect they were cultivated from a garden wildflower mix, but I truly don't know.  They were striking in any case, and Hawk stopped once more so we could get pictures.  This time he took the camera, though, knowing it'd be quicker. 

Finally we arrive at the end of the dirt road where the trailhead was said to be.  The parking situation felt very questionable.  There was a "no parking" sign at the end of the road, beyond which appeared to be driveways and a shed with a small pull off spot next to it where the trailhead indeed sat.  Hawk rationalized that the no parking sign was on the road, not there, and people obviously use this place, so we should be fine.  But it still didn't feel comfortable.

We tucked in as close to the trailhead as possible and hoped it was ok. From there, we started hiking towards Kluskap Cave.  The trail itself was quite unpleasant in most places.  Not difficult, but very mucky and wet, and just generally not in good condition.  However it was at least easy to follow, and there were a couple - very few - somewhat pretty spots.  If the conditions were better it'd probably be an enjoyable hiking trail in itself.

The trailhead. No signage or markings, but obvious enough.

One of the few nice looking spots.

How the trail conditions usually were. This and actual streams.

A hint that we're getting closer to the cave.

As we hiked on, we repeated to each other that the payoff better be worth it.  Because so far it definitely was not.  Finally, we spotted a couple very unofficial looking "trail markers" indicating the cave, aka fairy hole, was ahead.  After about a mile of hiking, at last we hit the beginning of the end, where a long rope takes you down a steep bank into a gorge. We slipped off our packs and set them off to the side so we could climb and explore unhindered.  This was where it finally got fun!  It wasn't exceedingly intense, but definitely not for inexperienced hikers or the faint of heart.  

At the bottom we encountered a trickier rope setup to help cross the river, but it worked fine enough.  There we split off slightly to figure out where we were to find the elusive cave.  Navigation was less clear here, although there’s really only one direction towards the ocean, where we were supposed to end.  So of course I temporarily wandered the opposite way, just because it looked interesting, and I saw some small cascading waterfalls that I needed to photograph. 

I caught up with Hawk a few minutes later, and we stared down the gorge wondering if we were actually going to find anything.  The entire way was scrambling over rocks, trying not to get wet or injured, and it often appeared to just end in front of us.  But there was nothing to do but either push on or turn back.  And so we carefully continued as far as we safely could, knowing there was nothing rewarding behind us.

After picking our way over the winding river, we eventually crested a hill and beheld the shoreline.  Wow!  Payoff at last!  From there you hike down a gravelly slide with the assistance of another rope, and work your way out to the “beach” nestled between two cliff walls.  This is the kind of thing I came to Nova Scotia to see!

We spent some time exploring the area, partially trying to spot the cave, but mainly just enjoying the awesome scenery.  There was even a lovely, good sized waterfall right there, presumably coming from the river and flowing out to the ocean.  Very cool.  

The cave appeared to be out a bit further to the right, and there were more thin ropes running rather high along the side of the cliff, but it did not appear safe to navigate.  Hawk guessed the best time to go is at extreme low tide, so you can walk all the way around to the cavern.  Unfortunately, tide was only half out when we went.  We were a little sad that we weren't able to see the famed cave, but the amazing view we got was enough payoff to make the poor trail worth the effort. 

After enough time soaking in our unique surroundings, we made our way back, picking over river rocks, up the rope, and grabbing our packs on our return to the car.  We actually met up with a group of people, somewhat older than us, who had come out to see the cave, and after discovering our packs and seeing the rope we climbed down, they'd decided not to proceed.  After we described the rest of the hike, they were grateful for their decision.  As I said, that part is definitely for people with experience, or at least youthful bravery.

One of the most disappointing parts of the trail was not just the muck, but the litter we encountered, as well as a lot of graffiti.  Hey, I thought Canada was supposed to be cleaner? ;-)  Hawk was a good steward and carried out a few pieces of trash, leaving the trail a little better than we found it.  And nobody seemed to complain about where we parked, so that was good.  It still felt kind of intrusive.  But we were glad we saw the whole thing through.  That final view was a perfect way to end our vacation.

Oh, but I almost forgot, before any of this, we stumbled upon one more awesome sight.  On the drive in, Hawk saw this pop up on his GPS:

He slowed the car as we glanced left, and right there, just off the side of the road, down a few rock "steps," was indeed a big, beautiful waterfall!  Hawk stopped so I could hop out and grab a photo.  Score! 

"Arm of Gold Falls"

Hike 31. 6/30 Kluskap Cave Trail (NS), 2 mi, 1:20 hrs, 374 ft.