A Journey Through The Tobeatic, Part 2

Go here for part 1

Day 3 - Stoney Ditch Lake to Sand Beach Lake - Welcome to Cofan Cabin

Once again the over night has brought some rain showers but nothing to worry about. As we wake around 8:30am there is only leftover drips from the pine canopy above. Neither of us are feeling too hungry this morning so it is just coffee and snacks for breakfast. By 10am we are on our way back down the Shelburne River. We only go a few hundred meters before we encounter our first obstacle, a well built beaver damn. If the rest of our trip has been an indication, this will be the first of many we will encounter today.

We make good time to our first portage of the day, an 1100m carry past a boney section of river which will deposit us near the mouth of Pine Lake below. Despite having a pretty good description from our guide, the enterance to the carry is hard to find, and even harder to get into, but once on the trail it seems like it will be good going. Half way across all hopes of an easy portage are gone. Blow downs over the last couple years have made a mess of the portages. A smart traveler would bring a few rolls of flagging tape to mark the trail as it is found. Unfortunately, it seems we are not wise travelers, and only brought a saw to cut some of the blow downs out of the way. At least that was the plan for day one. We abandoned that yesterday as one would need a week to clear all the blow downs on the portages now. We had good intentions, but it was not meant to be this trip. Maybe another expedition with only that task in mind would be in order.

Not only do we lose the portage, but we ended up putting in the river before we were supposed to on three occasions resulting in a frustrating time dragging the canoe, and ultimately pulling out to try and find the portage again. Perhaps, where we put in first would work if the water was much higher, but it seems unlikely as there are so many rocks and trees in the way. Why there was a peice of flagging tape leading to this spot, we have no idea. To say things are not well marked is an understatement.

Eventually we do find our way to Pine Lake after more than two hours. If this is any indication of how the rest of the day is to go, we are in for a long one. The paddle to the other end of Pine Lake is a welcome change of scenery from the thick woods, but it is short lived as we approach our next portage. Some maps call this a 400m portage, others call it two 200m portages. The only thing we know for sure is our guide talks about a small dead water pond halfway through. The enterance to this carry is easy to find, but that is the only thing easy about it. The trail quickly disappears and we end up bushwhacking through the first 200m where we stumble upon the dead water. From here, we aren't sure what to do. There's no apparent path that continues along the shore, and there's no indication of a trail on the other side of this small pond. So we do the only reasonable thing we can think of, just go down river anyway. That results in lift overs and dragging for much of the next half hour until the river opens up again into a dead water flow, but we all agree it was probably still easier than portaging.

After another short paddle and we are supposed to have 250m carry that bypasses a horseshoe shaped bend in the river. We know where the carry should be but are not able to find any indication of it, and end up continuing down river where once again we spend as much of our time out of the canoe as we do in it. Eventually we make it around the horseshoe to the other side of where the carry should have exited, but there is still no sign of a portage landing. It is very possible blowdowns have either fallen over the portage entrances or were the actual trees that had the small white square markers on them that indicates a portage.

Much of the next stretch is pretty easy still water paddling, much like it was on our approach to Stoney Ditch Lake yesterday evening. Our next carry is a 1600m carry across an esker. This carry is supposed to have two entry points, but once again, there is no portage sign to be found or evidence of a path. We can see the end of the esker, but it looks like it would be a 50m slog through the swampy, low bush shore to get to it. Our guide says part of this carry can be bypassed in high water levels, which we seem to have on this trip, so we keep going to the low water carry not far down river.

The sign for this carry is easy to find. This 650m carry is the last one of the day before reaching Sand Beach Lake where Cofan Cabin sits. This carry seems like it may be ok going, as it runs though a stand of old pine tress. Typically pine stands are pretty clear walking with little undergrowth. I am really not sure why we approach all the portages with such enthusiasm and hope, because every single time we have been proven wrong when we think it might be easy, and this time is no different. I'm not sure if we even started where the trail was supposed to be, but without a doubt after two minutes we are not on the trail at all. It isn't until a third of the way across we are finally able to pick up where the trail is, and at that point it is not too bad going. Someone has recently flagged this section of the trail very well with helps tremendously to keep us on track to the end where we put back into the river.

From this point on the Shelburne we are only have one more 50m carry which our guide reports can be run in high waters. As we have done so many lift overs in the river already today, we figure another 50m worth would not be so bad if we had to, and so we skip the carry and continue down river. I am not sure how high the waters would have to be to runs this section, but I am guessing at least two feet more than the already high levels we have now. There is nothing we encounter that can be run. It feels like we travel at least 200m before we see the sign for the other end pf the 50m portage, but even after that, we have several spots that is not navigable, and we have to pull over rocks and runs until finally, we make it to Jim Charles Meadow near the entrance of Sand Beach Lake. Like yesterday evening, we are treated to some of the most beautiful weather and scenery one could hope for. The water is like glass and the low sun is casting beautiful light across the boggy shrubs.

By now it's close to 5pm. We ended up making better time that we expected at the beginning of the day. From here it is just a paddle across Sand Beach Lake to Cofan Cabin. But first we decide to make a little detour to the southwest shore of the lake in search of Jim Charles Rock. We have been to one of the two rocks known as Jim Charles Rock, the other known as Jim Charles Calling or Hunting Rock, but there is supposed to be another on Sand Beach lake near the enterance to Cofan Stream. We paddle down in hopes of finding it on our way to the cabin and spot a giant erratic the shore of the lake before Cofan Stream. We are not sure if this is it or not, but there is nothing else in the area of any significance, so we assume our mission is complete. We didn't get out to look around as we were eager to get to Cofan Cabin and relax for the evening. Perhaps another time.

At 6:30pm we finally arrive at Cofan Cabin. It was a very hard day of paddling today, and almost as hard, if not worse than yesterday regarding the portages. The good news is we have done this stretch from Cofan to our exit on Merrimakedge Beach before and so we know what to expect. We also know it will not be nearly as difficult as what we have done for the past three days.

Cofan Cabin has been an important part of the Tobeatic since the 1920's. It was used as a research post and later as a patrol cabin for the Department of Natural Resources until around 1980. It continued to be used as a stop for travelers of the Tobeatic as it suffered from disrepair and neglect over the years. Later in the 80's, significant repairs made by Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forest and the Bowater Mersey Paper Company gave the cabin vital years of life. Fast forward twenty years or so and, the cabin was in need of major restoration or it would be torn down due to safety concerns. In 2015, the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Nova Scotia Environment—Protected Areas and Ecosystems Branch in cooperation with private industry and citizens partnered to do a much needed restoration of Cofan. As part of the restoration, the cabin was raised off the ground, new logs installed, and other structural members replaced as needed, A new steel roof and wood stove completed the project with a much needed thunder-box installed behind the cabin to keep the area sanitary. Today, users of the cabin keep it spotless and do minor repairs as they are needed. There were several other ranger cabins in the Tobeatic built around the same time as Cofan, but they have all been swallowed up by the wilderness. Some remain with partial walls and caved in roofs, others have been eaten away completely, with only rusty remnants of steel bunks left twisted in the hardhacks. It is sad that these cabins could not also have been saved, however it is a fine balance, as the purpose of the Tobeatic is to keep it wild and in its natural state as much as possible.

As we read passages from the log book and relax in the comfort of Cofan, we make our supper and sip on a few well deserved drinks. There have been twenty-one entry's in the log book since our last visit in 2019. Reading about the trips people have taken is always one of the best part about visiting a backwoods cabin. At 10pm we turn in for the night, but not before one last look outside at the moon over the low fog now covering the boggy surroundings. The weather is calling for showers over night again and a chance of showers for the next two days as well. That is what they were calling for today, and we got mostly sun all day, so hopefully the prediction is just as good for the next two days.

Day 4 - Sand Beach Lake to Granite Falls - Back in Familiar Territory

Morning at Cofan Cabin is calm and damp. I don't think it rained through the night but the river and surrounding bogs were covered in fog leaving everything wet and dripping outside. A granola breakfast and a few notes in the log book are quickly handled as we pack up.

It is 10am when we set out on the water. It is a beautiful morning to continue our paddle down the Shelburne. It's overcast and calling for a chance of showers today, but we have faith the Tobeatic Gods will keep the rain away. From Cofan the river is once again a large still water which narrows in a few areas requiring running some slow runs or navigating around downed trees. The odd spot requires jumping out of the canoe and dragging over rocks, but nothing compared to what we navigated yesterday.

This section of the Shelburne eventually dumps onto Beverly Lake where the paddle across is absolutely gorgeous this morning. Calm flat water and amazing cloud formations reflect off the water while the sun provides just the right light breaking through.

The other end of Beverly Lake is our first portage of the day, a 400m that will take us farther down the Shelburne. The portage is very well marked and easy to follow. This section of the Tobeatic from Cofan Cabin to Granite Falls is perhaps the most used in the whole wilderness area. Fifth Lake to Sporting Lake would probably be the next most used area.

The portage conditions reflect the higher usage, but they are still very wild. It only takes about twenty minutes to get to the other end where we continue down river. Our next carry is only short paddle to a 250m portage. Once again, it's well marked and easy to follow, a very nice change from the past two days.

We continue down river through Granite Lake where on the opposite end we have a 100m carry around a run. Last time we did this trip I opted to run this set of rapids with an empty canoe, but the canoe I had last time was a much sturdier canoe designed for running rapids. I left that one behind this time in favour of this one that is twenty pounds lighter. The weight difference has been a lifesaver on the portages. I am not too confident in its ability to take a hard bounce off a rock or not to buckle if it got sideways. With how easy the carries are I am not too worried about saving the small amount of time running the rapid could save. Robert and Heather did opt to go down the run and came close to flooding the canoe, but made it to the bottom without any serious consequences.

The next carry is a 100m which we end up running without realizing it as we don't see any portage signs for it. A small stick hovering over the river about two feet from the surface seems to be the only obstacle we need to worry about. It looks pretty weak and we can no doubt push it out of the way or break it off as we pass under it. Turns out that little stick decided to stand its ground and takes out Melanie as we approach, knocking her off her slippery seat and to the middle of the canoe. This quickly becomes a limbo mission. Melanie has already made it under so it is my turn now. As I assume the position, I feel my seat buckle under me. Part of the plastic mounts for the sides of the canoe seat let go but I make it under the stick. Now have to be very careful on the seat to keep the rest of it from coming apart.

Lucky for me, it is only a short paddle to our next portage and our campsite for the day. The 800m carry starts at the beginning of Granite Falls. We almost miss the sign for this one as well, but are able to turn back before we get too close to the start of the run. This last carry is an easy walk and soon leads us to camp.

This campsite is one of the most well used in the Tobeatic. It is the closest site to get to from Keji and is also the location of a plaque designating the Shelburne River as a heritage river.

The sun did make a brief appearance today, but by the time we have camp set up it has clouded over and is threatening rain. The mosquito population at this campsite is a little higher than we have encountered at the others but they are tolerable. With camp set up and camp chores complete by 3pm, we are able to sit and enjoy camp for the first time on this trip. Lots of clothes lines hung over the fire to dry out our wet or damp clothes should make the packs just a bit lighter in the morning for our last day of paddling and portaging.

By now, we realize we brought more gear than we really needed. We were expecting temperatures to be in the low double digits overnight all week, but so far, I haven't even needed my sleeping bag. One thing that is not overkill though is my repair kit. It contains a few zip ties, some gorilla tape, waterproofing sealant and a few other goodies. I have only ever had to make use of it to patch some burn holes in the tarp, but today, we are going to see if it is actually useful and pays off. I grab my gorilla tape and go to work on my canoe seat. I just need to tape it enough to hold it in place so the rest of the mount doesn't let go. It takes almost all the tape I have, but I think it will do the trick. We will find out tomorrow.

Some other gear that has not been used is extra clothes, most of my extra power banks for recharging electronics, and a lot of extra food. Food always seems to be a hard thing to judge. There have only been a couple trips when I got the amount just right. By just right, I mean by the end of the trip there should only be one extra meal, and maybe a couple extra snacks. Right now looking into my food bag, I still have enough meals for four days, and I haven't even put a dent into my snack bag. I could easily stay out here for another week and have no problem with hunger. To alleviate some of that extra food, I decide I will have two meals tonight, freeze dried lasagna and homemade dehydrated spaghetti. Melanie has homemade dehydrated chili mac.

The mosquitos have called in reinforcements since arriving at camp, but by 8pm they settle down a bit. Sitting close to the fire helps keep them away, but it is also so hot that all you can do is sit and sweat.

We decide to turn in for the night at 9pm. We know we have to cover a lot if distance tomorrow, but we also know exactly what to expect as we have done all the routes in Keji several times. It will be the longest distance we have to travel in one day but it will also be the easiest. I suspect a solid eight hours should easily get us back to Merrimakedge Beach where my truck is sitting and waiting for us.

Day 5 - Granite Falls to Merrimakedge Beach - And The Wind, She Will Blow

Only a few drops of rain over night but the temperature has dropped a lot in the past eight hours. I would say it is hovering around 12c. The sunrise shining up the Shelburne River right into our tent is a beautiful sight to see looking out first thing.

We have a long day of paddling, but easy portaging today so we don't waste much time. We start he day with a freeze dried breakfast to share between us and get packed up.

So far this trip we have been very lucky with weather. Before we left it was calling for rain every day and wind towards the end of the trip. We have only had a few showers over night and it has cleared most afternoons. This morning is the first morning waking up to sunshine, but it seems to have also brought with it another change, the wind. It is already blowing pretty good on this sheltered area of the Shelburne, and we know from experience the big lakes in Keji can be difficult at best on a normal day. Hopefully the wind dies down a bit by the time we get to those big lakes.

We depart Granite Falls at 9:30am. It is a short paddle down the Shelburne still water to our turn-off into the Pebbleloggitch still waters which will lead us into Keji and to our first portage across Pebbleloggitch Lake where Masons Cabin sits. We have stayed at Masons Cabin once already this year and it would have have been a good place to stop last night instead of Granite Falls, but it is hard to make reservations in the park for a Tobeatic trip because you never know if you may get held up and behind on the itinerary.

The portage is only a short walk up a small hill, across a service road, past Masons Cabin and down to Peskawa Lake. Now that we are on the windward shores of the open lake we get a sense of just how much it is blowing, and it is pretty good. We will have to paddle into a head wind out of this cove and make a right around a point, where we will fight the cross winds to our next portage to Beaverskin Lake.

It is not as bad as it looked from shore, but still quite choppy none the less. We paddle almost three quarters of the way across the lake before making our turn so as to not be completely sideways in the waves. It's only a fifteen minute paddle, but it's non-stop. Just a warm up for what is to come. The Beaverskin portage is only 250m. After walking through the brush and bramble of the Tobeatic portages, these may as well be paved. 250m two days ago could have taken us thirty minutes or more, where as this was done in less than five.

The portage ends in a sheltered cove of Beaverskin Lake, giving us calm waters to enter this lake. Like the lakes in the southern area of the park, and Clearwater Lake which we paddled a couple days ago, Beaverskin Lake has crystal clear waters, and in this sheltered cove, the calm waters and sunshine allow you see to several feet unobstructed to the bottom below. These crystal clear lakes never get old. I love paddling them and wish I could do it more. There is something so cool about being able to see the bottom ten feet below you as if you could reach into the water and touch it.

Out of the cove and around the point, our next portage to Peskowesk Lake is only minutes away. This 250m carry is also quickly navigated, and we are greeted on the Peskowesk shore with a real picture of how the rest of our day will go. Normally the wind blows down Peskowesk from the West, along the length of the lake. Today it is blowing strong across the lake from the Northeast, and right onto the shores we are standing. After consulting our maps we decide to head West around a point, after which we should be sheltered by Big Island in the middle of the lake for most of the way.

We are not far along before it becomes apparent we will not be turning around the point, but instead we have no choice but to continue into the headwind and go directly to the opposite shore. The winds and waves are just too strong to risk putting the boat sideways to them. Even trying to ferry the boat sideways is a struggle. This is not a bad plan B as we will be able to follow the opposite sheltered shore all the way down the lake, it just means a little more paddling. We continue down the North shore of Peskowesk until we come to island site 32 where we turn onto the cove that holds our next portage to Mountain Lake. This 750m carry is a little hilly and rocky but still only takes fifteen minutes to complete.

Mountain Lake is not very wide but does get some pretty big waves when the wind is blowing the right way, and today is one of those days. Our last portage is straight ahead of us, Northeast into the wind. The biggest waves are at this end of the lake where the wind is blowing, so on the plus side, the farther across we get, the more sheltered we will be, and the less waves. At least that's the theory.

Slowly and carefully we make our way across, some waves rolling close to the gunnels, but not over. With each lake we pass the waves are rolling higher and the winds seem to be getting stronger. Just before we reach the portage on the other side, a couple departs the shore heading the way we just came. These are the first people we have seen since leaving Sporting Lake five days ago. I guess we are not the only ones crazy enough to be in the big winds today.

Our final portage, the Big Hardwood Carry, is 2300m but is an easy walk and has five canoe rests along the trail, and I take advantage of all but the first. It takes about an hour to make the trek across. Melanie had gone ahead and met a group people getting ready to head out on Keji Lake. Four people in three canoes, one tandem and two solo. They were heading to site 19. The site is not very far away, but by now the winds have steadily gotten stronger, and being solo in a canoe in strong winds on Keji Lake is not my idea of fun. We watch as they depart the cove, and don't see any sign of them after. I'm sure they made it to their site ok.

As we prepare to launch on Keji Lake we consult our GPS to determine the best route given the wind direction. It is hard to tell what direction the waves will be coming from as we are in a cove, so our first order of business is to canoe out of Minards Bay to Norway Island. That will give us a direct view of our destination on the other side of the lake and what conditions are actually like out in the wide open. Even though the cove is mostly sheltered from the winds, the waves are still pretty strong, but not too difficult to navigate. We stop the canoes just on the tip of the Northern point of Norway Island, where we are well sheltered, and walk a few feet around the point where we see for the first time what we are really dealing with. To say it is blowing is an understatement. Now that I finally have cell service again I check the wind forecast, and it says 20km with gusts of 40km, and they are not supposed to let up much all day. To me, it looks more like 35km with gusts to 50km, but maybe I am just overestimating.

We can't tell how big the waves are in the middle of the lake but we see lots of white caps and they are crashing on the shore at our feet with attitude. Even though the quickest way to our destination is a straight line across the lake, it would require almost two hours of non stop hard paddling. We decide it is not the safest route to take. Our plan now will be to head up the West shore where we will have shelter from some small islands and then cut across the middle of the lake using the main islands as shelter. We will still be out in some big waves along the way, but it will not be for long periods of time as we can rest as we reach each island.

The chain of islands that goes across Keji lake is really the only practical way of crossing in strong winds, and it's wise to make good use of them. We hop from island to island without too much trouble. As we leave our second to last island hop to Richie Island, I hear a large snap from the canoe behind me. As I look back, Robert is holding the handle of his paddle while the blade floats away. The paddle couldn't take any more of the hard action and broke in two. This is why you always carry a spare paddle! Lucky for him it broke while we were still sheltered from the wind and not out in the big waves. He is quickly able to get his spare paddle and we continue on our way.

We have had a few waves come over the bow so far on our crossing, but this last stretch holds the biggest waves we have seen yet, with some swells well over two feet. It takes a lot of muscle and concentration, but we are able to make it to shelter behind the last island. Now we have our destination in sight, Merrymakedge Beach.

Slow and steady and about three quarters of the way there we are finally sheltered enough by the Northeast shore of the lake that we can paddle the remaining distance calmly. We made it. It took about two and a half hours to do the paddle across, what would take less than one and a half in good weather. At 5pm we hit shore and so comes the conclusion of our trip.

Seventeen lakes, 56km of paddling, twenty-one carries and 13km of portaging. There were a lot of ups and downs on this one, from getting lost on portages and having to heave the canoes over deadfall, to gorgeous paddles down the Shelburne still waters in the evenings, it all just goes to show that you have to take the bad to get the good. But now as I look back on it, none of it was bad. In fact I think some of my best memories are trudging through the hardhacks trying to find that next piece of flagging tape. Having to work hard for those pay-off moments is what really makes them special. The pay-off moments are what Backcountry Evolution is all about.