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Just passing through - Visiting Cape Breton next week!


RaceAddict

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Good morning all,

 

I'm posting here to introduce myself and seek a few suggestions. My wife and I will be in Cape Breton next week... mostly for hiking with our dog... but I'm hoping someone could point me in the direction of some interesting trails that we could visit that might take us someplace that not usually otherwise seen. I took a look at the Trail Rating Guide on your site and I'm basically aiming for something around a 2... old roads no longer used or maintained, etc. The wife is not a fan of crawling along over rocks for hours at 4 or 5 km/h. (She tried it with me once... that was not a popular day.) :blink:

 

We'll be based in the Pleasant Bay area for the week... mostly hiking the trails in the Eastern and Northern sections of the CB Highlands Park. I've spent some time browsing the area on Google Earth and found some roads that might fit the bill, but if you know of a spot you could direct me to it would be excellent. :biggthumpup:

 

I understand the need to not publicize trails all over the internet... and I'm not asking for the GPS coords of the best, true trails. I'm from Quebec, and am a paid member of the Toyota Off Road Quebec (TORQ) club, which is itself part of the Federation des Clubs 4x4 du Quebec (provincial non-profit that finds & maintains trails all over Quebec), so I completely understand that to maintain access to these places you can't just have anyone and everyone going in there and making a mess, but if anyone could point me towards somewhere that we could visit for an afternoon it would be much appreciated. And of ever you're in the Montreal I'd be happy to return the favor. :)

 

(For the record, I drive a 4RUNNER Trail Edition with 32" Falken A/T3W tires.)

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Thanks for checking in and welcome!

 

Most of the club is from mainland NS so trail knowledge in Cape Breton may be limited.

 

A spot worth checking out for sure would be Mary Ann Falls near Ingonish. It's accessible by most cars however it is a gravel back road. I've been there and it's a nice drive and a nice view of the falls when you get there. It's a short walk from the end of the road but it's obvious where you're headed and well marked. Very popular swimming hole during the warmer months.

 

 

Location of Mary Ann Falls

Screenshot_20170925-202323.thumb.png.703f7574b3493c2c5ef778cadf8eb75d.png

 

 

Trail Start and Coordinates

 

Screenshot_20170925-202338.thumb.png.6e761b581c447a6ad937f801931782ad.png

 

 

It can be found on Google and maps for more information

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15 hours ago, Jawritch said:

Thanks for checking in and welcome!

 

Most of the club is from mainland NS so trail knowledge in Cape Breton may be limited.

 

A spot worth checking out for sure would be Mary Ann Falls near Ingonish. It's accessible by most cars however it is a gravel back road. I've been there and it's a nice drive and a nice view of the falls when you get there. It's a short walk from the end of the road but it's obvious where you're headed and well marked. Very popular swimming hole during the warmer months.

 

That looks familiar. We stayed just south of Ingonish when we were there last year and hiked quite a few of the trails on that side of the park.

 

One spot I found on Google Earth is 6014 Road and Money Point Road. Apparently 6014 Rd leads to the Kauzmann Trail which from what I've read online is pretty spectacular (and due to it's remoteness, usually tourist-free). Also, Money Point Road looks like it goes all the way down to the coast at that tip of the Cape. Whether or not it's passable in a truck or just on foot... we'll see next week.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/UJfErCs54aJ2

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Wow, that would be neat to be able to drive right to Money Point!  Quite the hill!

Something in the back of my mind says that road is gated.  And if not, be careful on that hill leading to the seashore, and LEAVE A TRIP PLAN with someone, there isn't likely

cell coverage and it's likely a helluva walk out!

 

I look forward to hearing what you find!

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I've hiked both , the Kauzmann Trail and Money Point . Some of the best hikes we have been on . The Kauzmann Trail ends on a goat path high above the ocean and only a few feet wide with drop offs on both sides . Was quite unnerving for Mrs ronin as she is afraid of heights . As for the Money Point trail , it has been about 8 years and at that time the road in was very bad shape , washed out and very steep , to the point of being hard to stand up on let alone driving up or down . I would try it with a very well built rig and about 6 or so more well built rigs and a full day . Let us know .

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30 minutes ago, ronin said:

 As for the Money Point trail , it has been about 8 years and at that time the road in was very bad shape , washed out and very steep , to the point of being hard to stand up on let alone driving up or down . I would try it with a very well built rig and about 6 or so more well built rigs and a full day . Let us know .

Oh my oh my oh my.  If I ever get back to regular wheelin' maybe a (long) weekend trip is in order!  I have access to diesel tow rigs and a trailer, better than driving my beast the whole way.

 

Hmmmm!  What a dream!  I'd  even take a spare winch!

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23 hours ago, sar4x4 said:

Wow, that would be neat to be able to drive right to Money Point!  Quite the hill!

Something in the back of my mind says that road is gated.  And if not, be careful on that hill leading to the seashore, and LEAVE A TRIP PLAN with someone, there isn't likely

cell coverage and it's likely a helluva walk out!

 

I look forward to hearing what you find!

 

Given what's been described further down this thread it's not likely I'll be taking the truck down Money Point Trail. :sign_lol:

 

I often end up wheeling alone, so I feel I'm pretty good at judging things extra prudently... I'm probably only using the truck at 7/10ths, but I've never gotten myself into anything that I couldn't get myself out of. If Money Point Trail looks as sketchy as Ronin suggests, it'll definitely be a walk, and not a drive down.

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I got interested in wheelin' when I took a ~ '74 Scout from work up the side of the mountain off Middle River West Road in April late snow melt, around 1979....  cutting out Wagmatcook IR boundary lines.  Before that I was into Street Rods.  I was then hooked on 4WD!

 

So this would be back to my Cape Breton wheelin' birthplace!

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  • 2 weeks later...

For the record:

 

Drove up 6014 Road, hiked the Kauzman Trail. Unfortunately it was pretty windy up on the ridge, so it didn't seem all that prudent to walk all the way down to the end of it... only got about hallfway while Mrs. RaceAddict stayed near the forest edge.

 

After we got back to the truck I took a quick trip down to the end of the "road" part of 6014 Road to see what the trail looked like. Basically, at the second entry to the towers (there are two) the road because a trail... suitable for ATVs and side-by-sides. A close examination on Google Earth reveals that it seems to go all the way down to the site of what used to be a lighthouse. The pictures HERE show the state of the trail. Would be a helluva' weekend trip. :biggthumpup:

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WOW!  It takes a visitor sometimes to help us find local sites! lol

 

I/we've wheeled many trails like that, and even narrower, many times.  With a rig you don't mind scratches and even broken fender flares and mirrors.  Although I think I'd fit fine through there.  Being a road originally, it is likely wide and it doesn't seem to have sharp 'ATV' only turns, which is the hardest with my FS truck. Some folks say I can fit where a JK can fit, taking some time and finesse!

 

What a dream we now have, a big overnight weekend to CB....

 

Maybe it will be part of our annual M.U.D. series... there are some pics on this forum.

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On 10/10/2017 at 9:23 AM, sar4x4 said:

With a rig you don't mind scratches and even broken fender flares and mirrors.  Although I think I'd fit fine through there.  Being a road originally, it is likely wide and it doesn't seem to have sharp 'ATV' only turns, which is the hardest with my FS truck.

 

That seems like it would be a pretty accurate assessment. What is now a trail was originally the road used to access the lighthouse (now relocated to the museum in Ottawa). According to another hiking site (HERE) the road was passable for a 30 ton crane which was used to dismantle said lighthouse in 1980 (according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_North_Lighthouse)

 

Four decades of growth since then would be a lot of branches pushing in, but given the ATV use, possibly (probably?) not significant growth that would make the trail too narrow to get a rig down.

 

If you guys ever do decide to explore it to the end please remember this thread and share some pics. Would love to see them. :biggrin:

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