In the beginning, I did my best to keep things quiet. It was a few weeks before I talked to anyone other than my partner about the Really Big, Stupid Idea. I worked quietly during this time, pulling together information online about people and groups who have visited each of the high points, tracking down the most up to date information on routes and hunting for an out-of-print book on the topic – “Not Won in a Day – Climbing Canada’s High Points” by Jack Bennett. Bennett’s book provides solid information and route descriptions. However, since the book was published in 1999, it also unintentionally highlights how much areas and route access have changed in the near quarter century since it was written.
From all the accounts I collected, I was able to put together a spreadsheet that helped me sort out when the best time is to attempt each high point (based on the successful attempts of others); what level of skill, equipment and investment I’d need to reach each high point, and approximately what order they should be attempted in to allow for me to learn the required skills and train appropriately.
Phase 1 began in the Summer of 2022 with my partner and I venturing to Eastern Canada.
We landed in Fredericton on August 6th. After a small supply run and some sight seeing in town, we drove out to Mt. Carleton Provincial Park where we set up camp. On August 7th, we scaled Mt. Carleton, the highest point in New Brunswick by way of the ridge route. It took approximately 4 hours, round trip, including lunch at the top. I’ll include a full writeup another day.
August 8th, we drove through Moncton and Bathurst, then took the bridge across to PEI. En route to our campsite at Prince Edward Island National Park, we located the PEI high point after driving a maze of red clay roads in the rain. We stayed the night in the Cavendish campground. Again, full writeup to come.
August 9th saw us stop in Charlottetown, then take the ferry across to Nova Scotia, landing near Pictu and driving to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Ignosh Beach where we set up camp.
On the 10th of August, after some consideration of weather past and present, we went for a hike to scout out what I felt was the best route to access the “trail” to the highest point in Nova Scotia – White Hill.
August 11th, I attempted to reach White Hill myself on the best route I could access given the circumstances. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach my goal and will need to return again in future. A full writeup, including lessons learned will come in future.
August 12th and 13th, were spent at The Ovens campground near Lunenburg. We visited Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg and the Blue Nose II, the Halifax waterfront, Truro and anything in between that felt like a good place to stop.
August 14th we flew home. I was exhausted and a little disappointed, but ultimately quite satisfied with the trip.