(The New)Goose River Trail–Fundy

The day started off with thunderstorms and rain. Some areas even got hail. We decided to head out a little later than planned in hopes the sun would poke out. The forecast for Fundy looked great, 20° and clouds, perfect for hiking. We arrived around 1pm and headed off. Ryan was so excited that his dad was joining us for the first time!Those who have traveled Goose River trail in the past will remember the brutal uphill climb at the beginning of the trail that goes on forever. That has all changed. Now the trailhead begins with the Coppermine trail and heads left instead of right. The views of the coastline are magnificent and the trail begins with a good combination of uphills and downhills.We crossed 2 beautiful bridges over natural springs and I couldn’t help but stop to take a quick pic, even though Ryan was quick to remind me that we couldn’t stop every 2 minutes!At the third bridge we stopped to have a snack in the edge of a flowing brook. We were excited to see that we had made it about a third of the way to camp, until we noticed the huge switchback straight ahead. This was just 1 of the 12 well placed switchbacks that we would encounter along the path.That’s when the trail got difficult. There seemed to be a lot of uphill hiking in the next 4 km section of trail. We met a couple of guys who were hiking from Martin Head and 3 girls who were taking turns carrying their tent in their arms. Otherwise, it was just us and the trail. Brad, who had reluctantly joined us, wasn’t saying much. He just trudged along behind us waiting for the next distance trail marker. As we reached the last km of trail before our beach front campsite, we filled up our water bottles and proceeded downhill to the beach. Ryan was the first to arrive and he yelled back, ‘Wow, I found the beach!’ It had been 11.85 km and approximately 3 1/2 hours of hiking. We were glad to have arrived.The tide was just starting to come in so my dream of swimming in the coastal lake to clean up was squashed. So we began to set up camp and start supper. After supper we found the perfect tree to hang the bear bag just in time, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall on our tents! We dove for cover and I enjoyed a little nap while we waited for the rain to stop. After the rain we explored a bit and the boys were amazed at the huge coastal lake that had appeared where there was only mud hours before.It was starting to cool off, so Brad and Ryan began to scavenge for wood to make a fire. Unfortunately, firewood is no longer provided at these sites. The men made a great team and had the fire burning well even though the wood was wet.

As darkness set in we settled into bed. I slept as snug as a bug in a rug, but both boys were cold in the night. When I woke up there was coffee brewed and breakfast was ready. None if us were in a big hurry to leave but the time came to pack our things and begin the long hike to the car.

The beginning of the hike back was brutal and all uphill! We made great time overall and stopped for a snack in the same beautiful place. We met a few bikers and hikers along the path. We discussed our top 5. Mine were:

1. Take off my pack

2. Change my shoes

3. Wash my hands

4. Get a cold drink

5. Grab a bite to eat

On the drive home we asked Brad if he enjoyed backpacking with us. His response was a resounding NO! At least he tried it….I won’t be changing his mind anytime soon.