In September I completed a 320 km Sea-to-C-to-Sea yo-yo from Nepisiguit Bay at Bathurst, New Brunswick, to the summit of Mount Carleton (the high point of the province), then back again.
My route followed the Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail (SNMT) from Daly Point to Mount Carleton Provincial Park, then a road walk in the park to the Pine Point Trailhead, climb/summit Mount Carleton via the Dry Brook and Carleton Loop Trails, then return to Daly Point following the route in reverse. I started at 4 PM on Saturday, September 5, and finished at 4 PM on Tuesday, September 15—ten days to the minute.
tl;dr
The Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail is a gem of a trail along the beautiful Nepisiguit River in Northeastern New Brunswick. While you're in the area, take the time to climb Mount Carleton—it's the highest point in the Maritime Provinces and at 2,690 feet it makes for a beautiful afternoon's hike from the western terminus of the SNMT. The summit loop trail reminded me of being up high on Maine's 4,000 footers. Photos are on the gram here and here.
Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail (SNMT)
The SNMT runs 150 km following the Nepisiguit River from its mouth at the city of Bathurst, New Brunswick, to its source at the Nepisiguit Lakes in Mount Carleton Provincial Park. The trail features beautiful shelters and impressive rope bridges over the larger tributaries of the Nepisiguit River. The eastern 50 km are basically flat and easy walking, with the occasional overgrown section or short steep slope as the trail transitions between the various terrace levels of the river bank. The middle 70 km are reminiscent of a less-travelled version of the Appalachian Trail, with the occasional stretch of challenging technical trail, some overgrown sections, some blowdowns, and many steep ups and downs as the trail traverses side valleys. The western 30 km are again flat and easy walking, mostly on old forest roads.
The trail was officially opened in 2018, a combination of reconditioned older routes and newly constructed connecting trail. It was featured in National Geographic in 2022, which was where I first heard of it. The trail club is active, and actively improving the trail infrastructure—this past summer a major section of blowdowns was cleared and a couple sections were rerouted, and in the few weeks since my hike, an additional shelter has been constructed.
More information is on the official website, including an interactive map, details about access points, parking, shuttle and food drop services, permits (multi-day hikers must register in advance for 25 CAD), and the bear/rodent-proof food drop box at the midpoint of the trail. The Facebook group will have the most up-to-date news.
New Brunswick is an officially bilingual province, so in French it's "Sentier Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq" and in English it's "Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail". Thus the abbreviation SNMT. Pronunciation is "neh-puh-ZIG-wit MEE-g-maw".
It's a lovely trail and a beautiful river.
Navigation
Blazing on the SNMT is sparse. The official blaze is a clear acrylic square with the SNMT 4-color turtle logo. The yellow section is usually reflective. The turtle logo makes a fantastic symbol and logo for the trail, but a terrible blaze. The mixed and irregularly shaped colour blocks mean that it fades into the background of the forest, especially in low light, and usually I was already on top of a blaze before noticing it. The blazes were the confirmation that I'd chosen the correct path rather than the indicators of which path to take.
Flagging tape is much more common, sometimes newly placed, but much of it disintegrating and probably left from the trail reconditioning in 2018. Mostly blue, but also pink, yellow, and orange.
Some sections of the trail were once blazed with too-dark blue paint, using too-squat rectangles (2:3 aspect, which is not great for a blaze). These appear to predate the trail's reconditioning.
On my westbound journey, I used GPS twice to confirm where I was meant to be. On my eastbound journey, I didn't need to use GPS. Once in each direction I did have to bushwhack through a thicket to get myself back to the trail.
At some of the lesser water crossings, the overgrowth and lack of blazing creates a choose-your-own-adventure scenario, where the most obvious use path through the brush is not always the best. These can be dicey to navigate at night by headlamp and you might question your life choices as you find yourself balancing across a slick maze of fallen tree trunks over spongy moist ground... ask me how I know... I only fell off the once before escaping and pushing through heavy brush back to where the trail ought to be.
Water
There is one beaver dam crossing around the 115 km mark where you might get your feet wet. I've heard the dam itself is now significantly overgrown compared to when the trail was opened. On my westbound journey, all the eastbound hikers I met ensured me that one must ford the marsh beneath the dam. It had been dry for a few days and I was actually able to muscle my way across the overgrown dam with dry feet. On my eastbound journey, with the recent rain the water level was higher... I was still able to muscle my way across the dam but couldn't keep my feet dry this time.
Silver Brook around the 140 km mark is the only major Nepisiguit River tributary stream that is unbridged and must be forded. In September this was an easy shin-deep crossing.
I never filtered water directly from the Nepisiguit River, and much of the time the river is not actually accessible. The side streams of the eastern 50 km are tea coloured. The middle 70 km has many beautifully clear small streams and seeps. The side streams of the western 30 km run clear.
Flora and Fauna
I saw 2 bald eagles, a loon, a cormorant, a heron, a pileated woodpecker, and I think a golden eagle and a swallow-tailed kite. Lots of ducks and grouse, 4 snakes, 4 kinds of toads and frogs, a marten, and a bear. In the night I heard an owl, a beaver, and a moose crashing through the forest then splashing into the river.
The variety of fungus on the forest floor was fascinating and astounding. I was lucky with the timing of my hike, with a large storm system pushing away from the area quite literally just as I arrived at Daly Point. Because of the time of year and the extended rain, the mushrooms were so prolific by day 3 of my hike that I started cataloging them. So ephemeral, they had mostly faded by the end of my journey a week later. I counted about 40 different varieties.
Food and Resupply
For this trip I used my usual no-cook food plan. Homemade trail mix (white chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sugared ginger chunks), Fritos, Clean Beans, Honey Stinger waffles, meat sticks, and protein bars.
New for this trip I tried pepperoni sticks from the Great Canadian Meat Company as well as Built Puff and Built Sour Puff protein bars. These options are not quite as weight-efficient as others I've tried (e.g. Schneider's Hot Rods and Pepperettes) but I found that I enjoyed them more, so definitely worth the extra ounce or two per day. Especially the Built Sour Puff Bars, which are amazingly delicious towards the end of a long day.
There is a bear/rodent-proof resupply box at the midpoint of the trail, and the shuttle service in Bathurst also offers a food drop service and will deliver a resupply to the box for you. I didn't use the drop box at all... I didn't know when I'd be arriving in Bathurst on the 5th and didn't want the hassle of food drop logistics—I just wanted to show up and start hiking, and I wanted the challenge of being self sufficient for the long journey. I left Daly Point with my belly still full of fried clams and scallops from lunch at Chez Leo, a BLT from Papa Joe & Evy's for dinner that first night, and 12 days of hiking food.
People
I met two eastbound hikers at Daly Point as they finished and I started, six more on my westbound journey, and two who were just starting as I reached the western terminus of the SNMT. I met three westbound hikers on my return journey, including one I met on my final day who was on the first day of a planned 300 km SNMT yo-yo. I met many weekend day hikers on the more accessible eastern sections of the trail, as well as a family out for an overnight at one of the campsites.
There were just 3 days when I saw nobody else on the trail. As remote as the SNMT gets, you are never very far from humanity. Every day on the trail I heard the noise of a truck or ATV on a forest road.
Mount Carleton Provincial Park
The SNMT doesn't have views of the Nepisiguit Lakes or of Mount Carleton. Those come on the park road just after the SNMT western terminus, as you cross a bridge over the outlet from Bathurst Lake to Camp Lake.
Right at the western terminus of the SNMT there is a cabin village. When I arrived it looked deserted, so I resolved to try the door on a cabin when I returned that evening after climbing Mount Carleton, thinking that maybe I could duck inside and have a sheltered place to sleep for the night.
There are two routes to climb Mount Carleton from the Pine Point Trailhead: the Dry Brook Trail is shorter, steeper, and more challenging; the Big Brook Trail is longer but easier. I chose the more-challenging and more-direct route. The Dry Brook Trail ascends a steep waterfall ravine section with a couple scrambly bits and multiple brook crossings on slick-as-ice unstable log bridges. Of course, as I ascended this section, the sky opened up with a heavy rain shower... because mountains. It had been hot in the sun at the Pine Point Trailhead and I'd expected a clearing afternoon, but when I reached the Summit Loop Trail up high, it was wet and windy, in and out of the clouds, and see-your-breath cold.
When I returned from climbing Mount Carleton, there were a few cars around the cabin village and I started talking with a woman sitting on the porch of one of the cabins. It turns out these cabins can be rented from the park for the night. The largest building down by the lake is a common kitchen with electricity and potable water, and the largest building away from the lake is washrooms with flush toilets and hot showers. I talked with the other guests at the village, asking if they'd mind if I crashed on the floor of the common dining area for the night. They didn't mind, and fed me their leftover chicken chili, cheese, and hard boiled eggs. There is a power strip in the closet off the kitchen where I was able to charge my devices, and even a Starlink antenna providing internet access. That night I had hot food, a hot shower, and a warm and dry place to sleep, living like a king at this unexpected hiker oasis.
I was there on a Friday night, when the cabins were only about 20% occupied. The following night, the cabins were supposed to be fully booked, and it might not have worked out so well. I have no idea if the kitchen and washroom buildings are ever locked or winterized—YMMV. The cabin village is about a half hour drive down a dirt road away from almost everything else in the park, so the only reason anyone comes there is for the cabins or for the SNMT western terminus.
Gear
I've written about my basic Wet But Warm clothing system, which I used again on this trip. I also I brought along some new pieces to evaluate in a multi-day setting.
In size XL-Tall mine weigh 171 g (6 oz). These are a full 63 g (2.3 oz) lighter than the OR Astro Pants I've been using, and I quite liked them. The Pertex Equilibrium fabric seems more durable than the Astro fabric, and is thinner so it dries faster. I think it is maybe slightly less breathable than the Astro fabric, but even on a couple warm afternoons (low 20's C, low 70's F) I felt quite comfortable. If you are near the top of the size range for waist, definitely go with the larger size because the elastic in the waist is tight. I have a 35 inch waist and 32 inch inseam and the XL-Tall size fits well. The "recommended" size for me was L-Tall, but I found the waist on that size to be quite tight.
- Separate wind shell and alpha layers
This is the default recommendation on this sub... I tried it, but I reverted back to my usual Yamatomichi Light Alpha Vest/Jacket. On the trails of Northeast North America where I hike, I have to assume that I'll be pushing through overgrowth and navigating around blowdowns, so alpha on its own would be quickly shredded. I find that I much prefer the simplicity of pulling on alpha plus wind shell in a single piece.
It did protect better against mosquitos, but I found that it did not wick or breath well enough and I felt stiflingly humid underneath my shirt. Since the collar was more open than my usual OR Echo quarter-zip, when navigating around blowdowns or through overgrown sections, I got bits of vegetation falling between my shirt and my finetrack Elemental Layer. This made for a very itchy experience and multiple times I had to remove both layers and shake them out. I much prefer the simplicity of a collar I can zip up in one tug and that I can leave fully zipped while still maintaining breathability. Which is all to say that my OR Echo quarter-zip is still my favourite shirt. For breathable bug protection, I'm planning to pick up a couple more and send them off to the Insect Shield Clothing Treatment Service.
Alpha foot bags, really. They were cozy in camp, yes, but as socks they suck. I was not impressed. I am reverting to my wool quarter socks that are just as cozy but 32 g (1.1 oz) heavier—and can actually function as socks if needed and provide meaningful warmth in that capacity.
Layered these over Secret Freedom Plus Knee Length Nylons (I've used knee-high nylons as a sock liner for years). I dealt with just only some of my usual blisters from increased daily mileage. Nice fit, only 34 g (1.2 oz) per pair, solid durability, and fewer blisters—these are my new favourite socks! I will send some of these off for Insect Shield treatment, too.