Paddling NB

Description

Note: Weather conditions can drastically vary the speed and difficulty of your trip. Please plan accordingly.

I had so much fun exploring Hay Brook in June that I just had to get back and check out Monument Brook. I had also talked to someone from the area and they recommended Monument Brook as an amazing place to paddle. It was mid-September so the days were getting short. I met a friend at the gas station at the Meductic exit as soon as we could get there after work. We then drove the 30 minutes to the lake. It gave us a chance to get caught up. The older I get the more difficult it seems to be to get together with friends and family. Life just gets in the way. I now try to plan my adventures with them as much as possible. We got caught up but more importantly we now have a great adventure to talk in the future.

The park was closed this late in the season so we drove past the park to look for a good place to put in. After the road turned away from the lake we decided that our best option was the inlet just past the park. We found a wide place to park on the left, on the far side of the inlet. We were happy to see a short, grassy path to a beach about a third of the way back the inlet. Looks like we weren't the first ones to use this as a put-in.

We started to paddle along the shore of the campground on our right. The peninsula had a rocky shore and large white pine. A beautiful place for a campground. We then crossed over to the far side of the lake. The sun was getting low in the sky and large, dark clouds were rolling through, creating light showers. At the far shore we turned left (right would have taken us over to Hay Brook. We made our way along the shore. As we turned the corner into Monument Brook the breeze died down and the water turned into a mirror.

We paddled around a couple of turns and saw several ducks, and what we thought was a beaver. We joked about the US border patrol watching us in the woods or showing up to ask us what we were doing here this late on a September evening. They didn't show up. The sun was below the horizon and the only light came from the orange left in the sky. It was so peaceful and relaxing that we wanted to keep going, but I didn't want to have to navigate the whole way back in the dark. I had headlamps but the camps on the lake might not even be lit this time of year. We would have to navigate by the GPS on our phone, which was not ideal.

We made our way back across the lake and had enough light to pick out the camps that were close to the put-in. When we got back to the beach it was dark. We had to use the headlamps to load the boats on the car. We only had a couple of hours on the water but the conditions were perfect, which made it worth the drive. Now we were caught up and had a great story to tell.

Directions

For directions to North Lake go to the North Lake Provincial Park page.

Continue past the park for a short distance to where the road comes close to the lake. On the far side of the causeway to the left is a wide spot along the road to park. There is a short path to the beach about one third of the way back the causeway.

You can also access the lake from the beach at the park. To get there turn into the provincial park and at the gatehouse turn right again. This will put you on a gravel road to the beach. The beach is only 400 metres from the gatehouse. Park at the beach. You can access the water anywhere along the beach. Note that there is a gate near the gatehouse. If you are planning to get back after dusk, the gate may be closed. Make sure you ask at the gatehouse if they will be around to let you out.

Other Route on the Lake

• Hay Brook

Trail Last Hiked: September 20, 2023.

Page Last Updated: November 19, 2023.