30 September 2019, Monday: After a breakfast of home made peach berry pie with yogurt, toast and jam, and good coffee at Wild Caraway, we begin our drive to Kejimkujik National Park (affectionately known as “Keji” to Nova Scotians.) Our route passes close to Halifax so we detour into the city to visit MEC, Canada’s answer to REI, where we purchase tape to complete our repair of Wglwof. Then we drive a short distance to Rock Bottom Brew Pub. Coincidentally the pub is just around the corner from where a crane collapsed on a building during Hurricane Dorian’s recent passage. People gather beyond the fenced off street to watch the proceedings. It’s very tricky work – figuring out how to remove the broken crane from the partially built condos it rests upon. If the crane or the building collapse it could trigger the collapse of surrounding buildings as well.
Our late lunch at the pub is very good, as are our brews, an Irish red and a stout. From Halifax we have about another 2 ½ hours to Keji. We arrive after dark. Tent set up will have to wait until daylight when we can see well enough to add tape to Wglwof’s leaky seam. I think we’ll get to try our repair tomorrow night as it’s supposed to rain then.
1 October 2019, Tuesday: It’s a busy morning. Almost as soon as we begin baking our breakfast raisin bran muffins it begins to rain. O and I quickly arrange a nice tarp hang. Our picnic table barely gets wet. Of course, once the tarp is hung the rain stops. After breakfast we complete the repairs on Wglwof. I hope it works. . . there is a 90% chance of rain tonight.
Soon after completing our tent repair, camp is set up for the next few nights. We head over to the entrance kiosk to officially register for our campsite. The friendly warden is waiting for us. She offers some suggestions for hikes and draws big black X’s on the trails that are still closed from hurricane damage. After the storm passed, she said, the park looked as if a giant had stomped through, tearing down trees and breaking apart bridges. In order to get the park reopened quickly teams of Parks Canada workers were brought in from all over the country to help. The two main supervisors were young women. The warden is proud of the job they did and of the respect they earned from the mostly male teams. One of the women was referred to as “The Chain Saw Whisperer.” She could survey a damaged tree, rev up her chain saw, and quickly drop the tree exactly where she wanted it. The men were impressed!
O and I are informed by both the campground host and the warden that Keji will be closed to all front country camping next season while the (very well-maintained) 50 year old facilities are updated. Backcountry camping and hiking will still be allowed. O and I are considering a back country paddle here next year. We miss canoeing.
After our conversations and a stop at the Visitor Centre to purchase a detailed map, we walk a 7 km return trail along the Mersey River. It’s an easy, but lovely hike through the woods. At times we pass through dark spruce forest. At other times we are in the midst of fall colors from maple and birch trees. Ferns add their golden brown adornment to the forest floor. Everywhere there are downed trees from Dorian’s recent passage.
We return to camp for dinner and then find the path down to Jeremy’s Bay. Clouds are moving in quickly and the air is cool and damp. We are hoping the tent repair is successful!
*At the Visitor Centre we learn that the name, Kejimkujik, is derived from a M’kmaq word meaning little fairies. These beings are similar to little people mentioned in the tales of other cultures.