Whales & Mountains

by John
(Halifax, Nova Scotia)

On October 8th, 2016 I woke up while camping in the Creignish area.

I could hear and see about 2 dozen Pilot whales off shore in a feeding frenzy. I had heard that about many were beside the Canso causeway the previous morning.I missed them by an hour but while hiking Ghost Beach there were probably a thousand Gannets and hundreds of Cormmorants still feeding near the causeway.

On October 9th I was about 3/4 way up the "Steep Mountain" when I noticed white "waves" in one area out in the water. Though quite some distance away I could see that the water was being disturbed by roughly 20 pilot whales. I had never before seen whales while climbing a mountain.

I have never seen such diverse landscapes or trails as I saw on October 9th while hiking the Mabou Trails. That night I camped near Sight Point as camping is not allowed in the Cape Mabou Trail area.

I was looking forward to completing the trails the next day but woke up to Hurricane Matthew the next morning.

I'll be back hiking the Cape Mabou Trails next October.