Sept 15, 2021 - A Journey Through The Tobeatic, Part 1

Day 1 - Sporting Lake Stream to Oakland Lake - Our journey begins We have been preparing for this trip all year. First with route planning, then scoping out launch locations, getting trip reports and doing some reading about where we are heading and what to expect. Our primary guide (known as "the guide" throughout the rest of this blog) is a book by Andrew Smith called 'Paddling the Tobeatic - Canoe Routes of Southwestern Nova Scotia'. This book is absolutely required reading for anyone entering the Tobeatic for the first time. While this is not my first trip, some of the route will be new to me. The last time was in the spring of 2019. We opted for a late summer trip this time for a couple reasons. A chance to do the trip and see some of the fall colors, and a lot less bugs to worry about, at least, that's the hope.

What is the Tobeatic you ask? The Tobeatic Wilderness Area is the largest protected land area in the Maritimes. It spans 120,000 hectares and reaches into five counties, Digby, Annapolis, Queens, Argyle and Shelburne. It is home to over one hundred lakes and contains the headwaters for many major rivers in Southwestern Nova Scotia. The one we are most interested in this trip is Buckshot Lake, where the Shelburne River originates. The Tobeatic was originally designated as a game sanctuary in 1927 and later as a wildlife management area in 1968. It was then changed to The Tobeatic Wilderness Area in 1998. The Tobeatic has grown in size since its first designation, and continues to grow today as more lands are acquired and protected on its boundaries. This area is home to the last remaining mainland moose population as well as other species at risk, and therefore protecting it is of great importance for future generations. I think anyone who enters The Tobeatic would agree, the biggest reward they could hope for would be seeing a moose.

The Tobeatic has a rich history as traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq and are host to many stories including those about Jim Charles, a Mi'kmaq guide who lived in the area now know as Kejimkujik National Park, who fled into the Tobeatic to escape legal troubles. But perhaps the most well known story is the 1908 book by Albert Bigelow Paine, 'The Tent Dwellers' which tells the tale of two friends from Massachusetts who came to Nova Scotia for a month long fishing adventure which took them through much of what is The Tobeatic today. The Tent Dwellers canoe route is on my bucket list of routes to do, but one at a time.

The biggest reason for this route is to complete the upper half of the Shelburne River. The Shelburne is one of forty Heritage Rivers in Canada, this one was given its status in 1997 in recognition of its recreational value and significates as a traditional canoe route of First Nations. At only 53km long, it is the shortest Heritage River in the country.

We will began our journey at the Sporting Lake Stream access, just south of Fifth Lake. It is more than an hour drive along old access roads, but most of them are in good shape as they are also used to access a large power generation dam on Fifth Lake. There are four of us going on this trip, Myself, Melanie and our adventure friends Robert and Heather. Robert and I have been friends since we were about six years old, and have been going on adventures together since we met. Heather was on the trip on 2019, so she has some idea of what to expect, but this will be Melanie's first time in the Tobeatic, and really, the first time in what I would call the real wilds of Nova Scotia. Since we met, most of our trips have been in Keji, or easier to access crown land trips, so this will be a new experience for sure.

Ana is also coming with us on this trip, but we decided to leave Bear behind. At fifteen years old, and a dog who already hates the canoe, I think it would be just too much for him on a trip like this. We have noticed a steady decline in his activity levels since the spring, and do not want to put him through more stress than we have to. Ana adjusted immediately to the boat and has tons of energy. As long as she doesn't hurt herself running through the woods she will be fine. Roberts dad Jim has agreed to drop us off and see us on our way at Sporting Lake Stream. Our route will take us to Buckshot Lake and halfway down the Shelburne River where we will leave the Tobeatic and enter Keji to my truck which I dropped of last evening and will be waiting for us at the end of our adventure.

On our way to Sporting Lake Stream we meet a couple trucks loaded with five kayaks and a few people standing around on the road about ten minutes from our destination. We stop to chat and find out they are also heading in today, but only going as far as Sporting Lake, which is also our destination tonight, but we won't be coming back this way.

It's 10am when we get on the waters and begin our paddle. I decided to bring a different canoe this time. Normally I paddle an Old Town Charles River sixteen foot. It is a great canoe, super stable and nearly indestructible, but all that comes at a price with a weight of over ninety pounds. I took that canoe with me on our last Tobeatic trip not realizing just how heavy it was, and I am not willing to do that again. For this trip we are using a new to us sixteen foot Pelican Explorer DX. It is not a sexy as the Old Town, nor is it as sturdy or stable, but at around seventy pounds I am willing to make the sacrifice. It isn't until we are on the water with Ana however that we realize just how much less stable it is. We decided to let her sit behind the front seat, but that is not going to work. She constantly shifts her weight from one side of the boat to the other, threatening to capsize us before we even make it out of sight from our launch.

It is an overcast day with a gentle wind but the temperatures are ideal. We will be paddling up stream most of the day until we hit Sporting Lake. It is an easy paddle through mostly dead water with only a few rapids we will have to carry around, the first of which is a small water chute not long after launching. This is more of a warm up to the real carries as is it only 20m. It takes longer to unpack and pack the boats than carry our gear. It is also a great time to resituate Ana in the canoe so she doesn't have as much freedom to run around. I decide to put her in front of me with my pack on one side of the boat and her on the other to balance the weight. This turns out to work very well.

Soon after getting back on the water we encounter our first beaver damn. I suspect we will see many of these along the way. I wore my wading pants for this exact reason. It makes jumping out of the boat and pulling over these obstacles easy without the worry of getting wet. I used the same technique on our 2019 trip, only I wore neoprene chest waders. It worked like a charm for staying dry, but they were way too hot and heavy for the portages. The pants I have now are super lightweight and breathable. Combined with my lightweight wading boots they are perfect combination for this kind of trip.

It is almost noon before we hit our first real portage, a 400m carry that should be a good warm up for the trip. When we packed for this trip, we did it with the intentions of doing all the portages in a single carry. I have our Eureka seventy-five liter canoe pack with forty-seven pounds of gear and will be carrying the canoe, while Melanie has the Eureka one hundred fifteen liter canoe pack with sixty-five pounds of gear and will carry the paddles and life jackets. We are packed heavier than we would like to be, but a good portion of that weight is drinks and electronics for charging batteries and filming our trip. We also opted to bring the tent as the forecast is calling for rain pretty much the entire trip. It will give us a place to sort gear and eat if it is raining and also gives Ana a place to sleep out of the elements. When we hammock camp she tends not to sleep under the hammocks where it is dry. Must be a dog thing.

This first portage seems to be in pretty good shape. It is well cleared of trees and brush and relatively dry except for a couple muddy patches. Someone had put a few old logs in the mud to step on and save some wet feet. The logs in the mud look like great stepping stones so I use them to my advantage. With my second step my foot slides out from under me and I go down hard, My feet go one way and my torso and the canoe go the other. As I put my hand down to break my fall I sink up to my elbow in mud. With the canoe half on top of me, and my pack firmly holding me on the ground it is all I can to do reclaim my arm from the mud pit and pull myself up.

Besides a bruised ego, I managed to come out unscathed, with only a the thick layer of swamp juice clinging to my arm as proof of my mishap. At least my pants are still dry! The rest of the carry goes off without a hitch. One just needs to be more aware of foot placement from now on.

We encounter a few more beaver damns and small runs that need to be carried over, but only require dragging the canoe through them. At 1pm we arrive at our next portage, a 1000m carry into Sporting Lake. Before heading across we take time for a snack and take in the surroundings.

I decide to do this portage as a double carry. Walk across with my pack first and then go back for the canoe. This is the first time we have been in the Tobeatic since Hurricane Dorian hit in fall of 2019 and there are reports of many trees down across the portages. With that bit of knowledge I decided to try and clear any bad ones as we go. I brought a Silky Katana Boy to do the heavy work. With a twenty inch blade and very deep, aggressive teeth, it can compete with a chainsaw for speed. Our first subject is not far up the trail where a twelve inch hardwood is laying about six inches over the ground across the path. This can be stepped over without much effort but I use it as the first test run. The saw does make quick work of the wood but not without a workout.

A little further along and we come to a larger tree that has fallen but is laying completely on the ground. There is no easy way to cut this one and it is a little big for my saw so it is staying. The next one we come across is a bad one. It is about sixteen inches across and is sitting three feet off the ground. To high to easily crawl over and to low to go under. This is exactly the kind of tree I wanted to get rid of. It doesn't take to long to hack though the softwood and drop it on one end. It is easy to maneuver over now. From here on out I think this will be our metric, if it cannot be stepped over, we will cut it out if we can.

We come across a few smaller ones along the rest of the trail before reaching the other end of the carry at Sporting Lake. Robert opted to do this one in a single carry with lots of breaks. I am wishing now that's what I had done. Now I have to walk back and get the canoe. On the plus side it will be a clearer path now. It only takes ten minutes to walk across with no gear. I don't waste any time tossing the canoe on my shoulders and heading back. As I am leaving voices can be heard not far in the distance. I suspect our friends have caught up to us.

I had made a new yoke for this canoe just before we left. The one that was on the canoe was pretty small and weathered and I didn't have confidence that it would hold up for this trip, so I made a new one with a more contoured area to sit on my shoulders. I also have a yoke pad for it which should add a little more comfort. Unfortunately I may have been wrong on all accounts. The canoe is constantly wanting to slide backwards off my shoulders making carrying it a chore. It is also killing my neck muscles for some reason. I can only walk a few hundred meters before I have to put the it down and let the tension go away. It was easier on the first portage with the pack despite the extra weight. At least with the pack on it helps hold everything in place and it also takes some of the weight of the canoe and transfers it to my hips. I think we will be doing single carries from here on out.

The group behind us catches up just after I arrive with the canoe to Sporting Lake. We want to make sure we were not both planning to stay at the same campsite tonight so we inquire where they were going. They planned to stay at the first spot on the lake which is just at the end of this portage. We were going to head to a site on the other end anyway, so it works out well. As we talk a bit we find out they have done the same trip we are doing before. In a couple weeks they plan to go to Buckshot Lake where they will take a seldom used portage to West Bingay Lake, then North Bingay Lake and eventually back on the route we will be on further down the river. From what I have been told, the carries into the Bingay Lakes are very hard to get through. I would be very interested in hearing how they make out.

By the time we get on the water to cross Sporting Lake the wind has picked up significantly. White caps dot the lake and long rolling waves have us maneuvering the boat carefully as not to get sideways in them. We pick our line and go straight across to the large island in the middle. It should give us shelter from the strong head winds the closer we get to it. We also wanted to stop on this island and visit it while we are here. The island is a protected nature reserve within the boundaries of the Tobeatic. It is home to some of the last remaining old growth hemlock and pines in Nova Scotia. Walking through it quickly shows how man has changed the landscape over the years. Just about every tree stands over sixty feet tall and is several feet across the butt of the trunk. The ground cover is sparse, not like the jungle thickets of twisted spruce and alder which we are so used to seeing in the forests today. Nova scotia would have been a sight to see before man arrived and began clearcutting these old forests. As nice as it would be camping is not allowed on the island, so we push off to where we plan to stay, just on the south shore of the lake from here.

This campsite is a fairly large and open campsite, but well sheltered from the wind. We have made it here in good time today. It is only 3:15pm, and are now debating if we should press on. We know the next lake has a campsite on it as well, but is it a good one? The only thing that stands between us and it is a 1400m portage which none of us are eager to do today. After a short discussion we decide to push on. Best to do as much as we can while we have the time and decent weather. It is still not raining so we will take advantage of the dry skies while we can. I am sure we will all appreciate it tomorrow morning when we wake up knowing we don't have to do that portage first thing.

The trail is only a short paddle to the end of Sporting Lake. As we depart on this carry it is quickly evident it's not nearly as well used as the last two we were on. We have to push though brush and hardhacks, keeping a sharp eye on the ground to try and stay on the path. There are a few times where the trail seems to disappear despite our best efforts at staying on it. We have to stop every 300m or so and take a break. Just walking through this is hard enough, but pushing a canoe through makes it that much more challenging. We figured it would take an hour and a half to get to the other end at Oakland Lake. After several breaks, and one tree to saw though, we make it the lake at 5pm.

The wind seems to be even stronger now, but it is only a short paddle down the shore to our next campsite. It turns out the site is not as nice as the one we left behind, but it is not too bad either. Still lots of room to set our tent and a tarp, and for Robert and Heather to hang their hammocks.

By 8pm camp is set up and supper made. We all opted for steak for the first night. This will be our only fresh meal, as everything else from here on out is dehydrated or freeze dried. By 9pm, we are ready for bed and turn in for the evening.

The wind picks up though the night and is quite strong for a while but eventually dies down as the rain showers begin.

Day 2 - Oakland Lake to Stoney Ditch Lake - Portage Portage...

The morning brings calmer skies with on and off showers. The wet leaves are more threatening now than the clouds above as they release the water they have accumulated over night, plip plopping off our tents and tarps below.

We decided to try pancakes for breakfast over the isobutane stove this morning. I have only ever tried this once before and it was a failure. I blamed it mostly on the fact the stove I had at the time could not be turned down low enough without having a massive hot spot in the middle. I have bought another little stove since then and am very impressed with the simmer control. Despite my best efforts, our pancakes are a spectacular failure. Maybe it is the consistency, or maybe the pan, but I cant even get these to cook without having them burnt outside and gooey inside. This is something I am going to have to practice at home before attempting in the field again. We brought instant oatmeal as some extra breakfasts and that's what we will be having today. At least you can't really mess these up. Just pour hot water right in the little package it comes in and let it rehydrate a minute or so. The best thing about having oatmeal this way is there are no dishes to clean up.

We don't rush too much packing up since we gained some ground yesterday and figure we have lots of time to lollygag if we want. Knowing we don't have to do that 1300m portage first thing is a very uplifting way to continue our trek this morning. It is 11:20am when our paddles enter the water to propel us to our next portage just down Oakland Lake a little ways.

There is a light rain falling now but it is not worth putting a rain jacket on because we know we are going to get soaked walking through the portages. Our first portage today is a 600m crossing depositing us on the shores of East Cranberry Lake. The carry starts in a bog, and the rest of it is not much more glamorous. Lots of downed trees make following the portage tricky but we manage to make it across without losing the trail too many times.

The wind has died down to almost nothing today and it makes paddling across the lakes a pleasure. The rain stopped on our crossing into East Cranberry, but we are all soaked from the portage none the less.

It is 1:15pm when we reach the other end of lake where a 1000m carry to Clearwater Lake awaits us. We didn't bring our guide book with us, but I did take photos of the relevant pages to consult during our trip. A quick look at the information available and our guide tells us this is a "difficult" carry over a height of land. Now I have only been in the Tobeatic once before, and I have already done some carries I would consider 'difficult', but I don't believe the guide took the time to actually use that particular descriptive about any of the other ones I have done. To say we are not jumping with enthusiasm is an understatement.

The terrain is totally overgrown which makes it almost impossible to see any resemblance of a trail. The only way to tell you are still on the right path is your feet are not getting tangled despite the hardhacks closing in all around you while progressing forward. Even after three people have gone ahead, you would still have no idea there was a path at all. We lose the trail at least six times before we hit the half way mark.

The dense thickets make pushing your body and the canoe through the carry even more demanding, using up a lot of energy, both mentally and physically. Several rest stops are needed. Ironically enough, every time we do lose the trail we are able to use the time finding it again to rest a bit, so there is one positive.

Past the half way mark, we don't lose the trail as often, but the walking does not get any better. It is a grueling two hours before we make it to the shore of Clearwater Lake.

The lake is aptly named as the water is crystal clear, especially compared to everything else we have been paddling in so far which has a dark brown tea color from the tannins of the surrounding softwood forests and bogs running into the waters. At 180m above sea level, this lake is at the peak of the topography in the area, and therefore is relatively unaffected by runoff and doesn't have any other bodies of water feeding it. This lake should contain some of the purist waters found on the trip. It offers a great opportunity to refill our water bottles as we drank everything we had with us on the last carry. But just because the water may be pure is no reason to be lazy and not filter it. I have gone through quite a few filters in the past several years until I have found something I like. I started out using a Sawyer Mini. It is one of the smallest filters you can buy, about the size of two C batteries end to end. It will last virtually a lifetime with a filter life of one million gallons. The problem is the flow rate is not great and it requires constant back washing to keep that flow going. What you save in its small size is lost due to the fact that you have to carry a syringe even larger than the filter to backwash it out in the field, which on a multiday trip, you will need to backwash it. After using the mini for about a year, I bought a Sawyer Squeeze. It is basically the same design as the mini but about 50% bigger around and about the same length. The Squeeze has a much better flow rate but also requires backwashing and carrying the syringe. There is one benefit to these two filters over others though, they will screw right on top of a Smart Water or Powerade bottle, meaning all you need to do is fill the bottle, screw on the filter, and start drinking. No need for a dirty and clean water container. I used the Sawyer Squeeze for about another year before I bought the filter I use now, a Katadyn BeFree. This is a larger filter but has a superior flow rate and can be cleaned without the need of extra equipment. It has a silicone bag for dirty water which the filter screws into. Squeeze the bag into your clean water bottle and you are good to go. You can drink right from the filter attached to the dirty water bag, but where it is a floppy bag, it does not pack well into a bottle holder and is vulnerable to getting poked or jabbed outside your pack. This filter is only rated for one-thousand liters, but that is still a lot unless you are using it every day. This will be my go-to filter for the foreseeable future.

The paddle across Clearwater Lake is very calm and enjoyable, especially after spending two hours hauling canoes through the woods. It is still overcast, but has not threatened to rain since this morning. It is a little after 4pm when we find the 800m portage to Buckshot Lake, our goal for today. Looking at the terrain at the beginning of this portage it doesn't look like it will be too bad, and the guide does not have the word difficult anywhere in sight. Two minutes in and I have sunk in a moss covered mud pit up to my knee and lost the trail. It becomes apparent very quickly this portage is not going to be any better than the others when we encounter more hardhacks and downed trees.

Although it remains a difficult push, we are able to stay on trail for most of the remainder of the carry. As we approach Buckshot Lake, out of nowhere the clouds break away and the sun begins to shine for the first time on the trip. The Tobeatic Gods must be pleased with our progress as they present us with one more gift just before reaching the waters edge, a large pile of moose poop right on the portage.

This may not excite a lot of people but this is a stark reminder of the special place we are travelling through, the only area left in Nova Scotia that is home to the mainland moose. Seeing a moose would be the pinnacle of any trip through the Tobeatic, but just seeing signs of them is enough to bring joy to this traveler.

Now that we have reached Buckshot Lake, we are officially on the waters of the Shelburne River. The other side of the lake, where the River runs out, is where we planned to stay tonight, but the campsite does not look that great and we have a feeling tomorrow may be the longest day of the trip, so being only 5pm we decide to push on to the next campsite. Our guide says it is an excellent site nestled in a stand of young pines. It is two short portages and one small lake away. With three hours of daylight left we will should have plenty of time.

The first 200m portage is almost impossible to follow. We defiantly didn't go the way we were supposed to but manage to make it through with a combination of ins and outs on the river and cutting a few trees blocking the way before making it to the still water of the upper Shelburne.

It is such a beautiful evening to be paddling here. The river is unlike anything we have traveled so far. The shores are covered in low brush, perhaps a combination of cranberries, huckleberries and other low bog bush. This low vegetation spans about 50m on either side of the water before reaching the tree line. The hardwoods along the boggy shores are giving up their fight for summer sun, and beginning to change color to a crimson red and orange.

With not a breath of wind this evening and the golden hue of the low sun lighting the surroundings I look around and take it all in. I remember this is what it's all about. It took much effort and determination to get here, but the beauty found in this spot at this moment cannot be replicated anywhere else, and the four of us are the only ones that have the opportunity to experience it. There is no doubt now, the Tobeatic Gods have indeed blessed us this evening.

Not long down the river we spot a black spec just off the shore of the river, in the low brush. It is a large black bear, perhaps grazing on berries. We are able to get fairly close before he spots us and runs back tree line and is swallowed up by the forest. It's not a mainland moose, but what a way to finish off a day on our first mile of the Shelburne.

Our last is a 300m jaunt into Stoney Ditch Lake. Like the others today, the carry is not easy to follow. There are a lot of downed trees and it makes it rough going pulling the canoes up and over all the deadfall. Thankfully it is a shorter portage and we make it though in about twenty minutes. Our campsite is just on the other end of Stoney Ditch Lake. Like Clearwater Lake, this is aptly named as well, as the lake is littered with rocks, as if a child threw his Legos all over the floor, leaving jagged bits sticking up to carefully navigate through.

It is 7pm when we reach our destination for the night. The campsite is not "excellent" as was described by our guide, but it is better than the option on Buckshot Lake we passed up, and will do just fine.

We quickly set up camp and get a fire going before dark. We all have dehydrated meals for supper this evening which are quick and easy, exactly what you want after a long eight hour day of fighting portages.

The stars and moon are shining very brightly tonight. Being so far away from civilization we are in the ultimate dark sky reserve, and it is well worth taking a few moments to stargaze and enjoy the view. Hopefully that is a sign of what the morning will bring. At 10pm, we are ready to turn in for the night. I have a feeling we will all sleep very well.

Around midnight I hear a slap on the water next to the campsite. We must have upset a local beaver as it signals others of danger. I suspect we will find another beaver damn in the morning just down stream. Go here for part 2