Pollett’s Cove
On the stormy Remembrance Day weekend, two avid hikers and friends of TAO set off for Pollett’s Cove. It sounded like a fantastic trip where they set their rhythm to the adventure. “We ate when we were hungry, slept when we were tired, and hiked some more,” said Dan.
My friend Liz Cook and I spent three days hiking and camping at Pollett’s Cove on the north eastern shore of Cape Breton Island. We knew the weather was supposed to turn bad before we pulled up to Inverness Beach and were happy to have the bulk of the driving done beforehand.
The wind picked up on Inverness Beach where we stopped to catch a few hours sleep in the back of Liz’s mini-van. We woke up the next morning to the wind rocking the van and rain rapping on the windows. We continued on to Red River and the trailhead to Pollett’s Cove. A few hours later, we arrived at the trailhead and began our hike. There is one major water crossing at Otter Brook and heavy rain had swollen the brook so much that we couldn’t cross in the normal spot. We found an alternative further upstream. On our first night at Pollett’s Cove the flapping tent fly and tarp was our constant soundtrack. When I emerged from the tent the next morning I was greeted by cold temperatures and hail. We also observed some pretty big surf on Saturday. Our camp was farther up the valley to offer protection from the wind, so I didn’t actually notice the surf until I went to get water. When I saw the surf, I couldn’t wait to get to the beach.
The wind constantly pelted us with sea foam and the hail stung our faces as we trekked along the beach. We hiked further up into the valley searching for a safe crossing upriver, but the terrain grew steeper and the river deeper. Unfortunately the river was too swollen to cross. We hoped to climb one of the hills on the northern side of the valley but decided to save it for next time when the river crossing was more formidable. After our wander up the river we returned to camp to dry off and warm up, at which point we quickly feel asleep. We woke up to darkness and significantly less wind a few hours later.
The storm passed and the sky cleared, leaving a full moon, which bathed the valley, beach and surf in light. Because it was such a beautiful and serene night, we ate supper on the beach. When I stuck my head out of the tent the next morning, I met a big blue patch of sky. We had beautiful weather and sunshine in our last few hours at Pollett’s Cove. These conditions gave us great ocean views and amazing photo opportunities.
Submitted by Daniel O’Brien
