13 July 2019, Saturday
Today is shuttle day. After breakfast we collect our burritos for tonight’s supper and proceed to the Irving station for muffins and cinnamon buns, Sunday’s breakfast. We recheck our list of “things not to forget.” Then it’s off to the interpretive center to meet Alexei. O and I wait patiently in the shade next to Vincent. Precisely at 1 pm, our scheduled pick up time, a minivan pulls up in front of us and a friendly woman calls out my name. The driver is Diane. Alexei contacted her at the last minute and said he was tied up. . . could she do the shuttle instead. It turns out Diane drives this shuttle route frequently and readily agreed. O and I climb into the van after loading our gear in the back. Over the course of our 2 hour drive the conversation ranges from politics to fracking to the New Brunswick economy to geology and beyond. By the time we arrive at Fundy National Park we feel like old friends. I check in at the campground entrance station and Diane then drives us to our campsite after showing us where the trail begins. She gives us her card and asks us to call when we finish our hike, otherwise she will be worrying about us.
O and I set up camp and discover we need to hang our food as there are no bear lockers here. O asks the park warden (a Canadian ranger) what animals might come through seeking food. The answer is red squirrels, and an occasional fox or moose. Bears stay further inland. We do a “squirrel hang” which is much easier than a bear hang, then devour our burritos, review the trip description and turn in for the night.