The Trans Canada Trail becomes a water trail for about 60 miles on the St John River, from Oromocto to Grand Bay.
Spirit and I will be paddling together. Cool! We ride again, reminiscent of paddling our first 700 miles together in Florida. Spirit somehow pulled dry bags, paddles and camping gear out of some deep recess within the RV, rented a kayak, and we're off!.
I've been looking forward to this stretch. Any day outdoors is a good day; any day on the water is even better.
The St John is a pretty river, wide, with lots of connected lakes and flood plains. The northern part is rather flat land, with hills increasing to the south. We watch several eagles each day, plus osprey, kingfisher, cormorants and ducks. We see nobody else on the river, save one recreational boat which we pass twice, and innumerable disinterested cows on both banks and many of the islands.
We had hoped to paddle with locals, but our attempts to connect failed. It would have been great to hear stories of the place while paddling down the river, as well as tap local knowledge of the river, but it was not to be this time.
The St John is a tidal river. Flowing into the Bay of Fundy with it's famously extreme tides, the mouth of the St John is a Reversing Waterfall with current up to 25 knots! We won't paddle there! We really don't know how much tidal effect there will be in our stretch, so we watch the time, the tables, and the river to learn and respond.
On Wednesday, we find a gentle tailwind and favorable current, but on Thursday we find a slight headwind and the current fades until slack. We really are not sure what to expect but time it well as the opposing current builds and peaks while we take a late lunch break. On Friday we paddle into a mild opposing current and a stiff headwind all day, delivering quite a workout. Lacking our drysuits, I'm pretty wet and cold so need to take a warning break to lay in the sun. The temperature is dropping, and the stiff breeze in wet clothes is very cold.
The end point is a bit confusing; the TCT map I had downloaded shows the trail coming up to a private residence. Fortunately a member of the St John Outdoor Enthusiasts, Trevor, has scouted it out for me so we know to look for the Brundage River Centre, which we find another mile downstream.
We spend Wednesday night at the Step-Aside B&B in Gagetown. Thursday night finds us camping on an island near Oak Point Provincial Park in the St John River.
Sep 4 - 18 paddling miles to Gagetown
Sep 5 - 27 paddling miles to Long Reach, St John River
Sep 6 - 13.7 paddling miles to Baxter Point, Grand Bay Westfield
<TCT site: water trail total 94.4km, 58.7m>
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