I Did My Banking on Top of a Mountain

Last year myself and two friends decided to take on the challenge of Cape Chignecto in Advocate Harbour, NS. A very challenging but rewarding hike along cliff sides overlooking the Bay of Fundy. This year my mom decided she wanted to take the challenge and thus, here I am preparing to tackle the Cape for the second year in a row. What better way to prepare for hiking 100+ meter cliffs than to take on the highest peak in the Maritimes: Mount Carleton, NB standing at 820 meters above sea level.

We started our hike at 0730. With two way up to the top, we opted for the shorter 4 kilometer route. This path was fairly easy. A nice steady incline but nothing overly steep. The biggest challenge was navigating the rocky terrain and watching our footing. Around halfway to the peak I realized I had forgotten to pay my rent that was due that very day and we had no service for 50+ kilometers in any direction. Nowhere in the campground had service either. With a sigh we continued, I would just have to send a message to my landlord tomorrow on the way home. I was not going to let this ruin the hike.

About 400 meters from the top, the terrain changed significantly. The mildly rocky terrain now turned to boulders that required taking larger steps to get over and even climbing with hands to help at some points. The difficulty of this was additional for my mom and I, as in order to train for Cape Chignecto we were carrying our large 50L bags with some additional weight. Despite the extra challenge we had a fun time climbing up the steep boulders to the top.

Once we finally reached the top the views were awe inspiring. No sign of civilization anywhere. Millions of trees can be seen from any direction. A common saying I kept coming across said that from the peak on a clear day you can see over 10 million trees. I definitely felt that I could see that many. Granted, I did not count them.

At the top we sat upon some of the rocks to take a snack break and to admire the sublime views. That was when my watch buzzed to signal that a text message just came in through my phone. I had 3 bars of signal. My mom and I had a good laugh with that. In the middle of nowhere with no signal for miles, we had signal at the top of Mount Carleton. So I did what anyone would do in this situation and signed into my bank and sent my rent to my landlord. Of all places, I did my banking on top of a mountain. Even while climbing mountains I will not allow my rent to be late.

After 20 minutes to enjoy the views and we began our descent down the 5.5 kilometer route. We traversed the rocky summit of Carleton. Again with our large bags it was a bit of a challenge but nothing we could not handle. The next 0.8 kilometers proved to be the most challenging but also the most fun. It was mostly large boulders the entire time. Further down the trail we came across a couple. They mentioned they had been recommended to go up the long way and down the shorter route. Which made a lot of sense. Climbing over these large boulders would have been a lot easier going up rather than down. Also a lot better on the knees. Nonetheless we had a great time. On the way down we got to hike alongside a stream which resulted in a calming trek back to the car.

In total, we took 1:30 to get to the top and 2:20 to get down. With a 20 minute break at the top, approximately 3:40 in total. The other popular trail in the park is Sagamook. While shorter than Carleton it is said to be more challenging and have an even better view. We did not have the time to do it this trip but I would love to go back to tackle Sagamook!

x