Scenes from Marsh Brook

From the Margaree Airport, I turned left onto the East Big Intervale Road and drove 1.4 km (0.9 mi) to the Cranton Crossing Road, onto which I turned. I stopped at the bridge over the Northeast Margaree River, where I was surprised to find little colour along its banks whereas magnificent bright oranges and reds were plentiful in yards and along the road, fiery in the mid-morning sun! In Margaree Centre, I turned right onto the West Big Intervale Road and drove northeast 2 km (1⅕ mi) to its junction the Marsh Brook Road. I crossed over Hogsback Hill and down into the Marsh Brook valley, where the views on this page were taken.

Photo #1 looks down the Aspy Fault towards Portree, at the western foot of Sugarloaf Mountain, seen here at the right of the photo. The Highlands on the left of the photo are without names on the topographical map. At the far left of the photo, an ugly grey cloud can be seen; unlike the white clouds over the rest of the scene, this one boded ill for the rest of the day and somewhat interfered with the views here. However, it’s the flock of white clouds that are responsible here for the shadows on the Highlands and in the valley.

Photo #2, which with the next four photos forms a connected panorama, looks in closer detail at the Highland at the far left of photo #1, bringing out the detail of the trees on its side. Many can be seen to have not yet started to change, while numerous others have changed; this accounts for the mottling I saw from the Margaree Airport. Particularly on the lower slopes, the colours seem more vivid; a large number of the trees at the upper left have no leaves. Marsh Brook (the stream) runs across the width of this photo, but is not otherwise visible here; it enters the Northeast Margaree River on the north side of Hogsback Hill.

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Photo #3 looks to the right of photo #2 at the Highlands above the Aspy Fault, which runs along their base. According to this Wikipedia article, “[e]vidence shows movement in this fault dating back to the Ordovician period when it was probably created when two continental plates collided and pushed the seafloor upwards, also creating the Appalachian Mountains. Erosion and the presence of this fault have created much of the scenery known today as the Cape Breton Highlands.” The mottled slopes of these Highlands tell the same story as photo #2: a mix of changed and unchanged trees, with some leafless trees near the tops of the slopes. The lovely red-orange tree in the centre of the photo, set off by the mostly evergreen trees in the Marsh Brook valley, was radiant! I found it difficult to take my eyes off it.

Photo #4 looks a bit further to the right of photo #3, where the western slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain are now in view, making a counterpoint to those on the west side of the Northeast Margaree River, which flows at the bottom of the V. Portree sits below the nearer descending slope on Sugarloaf Mountain and Big Intervale sits between its two descending slopes. Another lovely red-orange tree sits at the far right of this photo, basking in the sun like its neighbour.

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Photo #5 looks at Sugarloaf Mountain across a stand of mostly red-orange maples behind the evergreens in the foreground. In other years when I have stopped here, two horses have been grazing in the meadow or eating apples fallen from an apple tree by the road; I missed seeing them this year.

Photo #6 completes the panorama begun with photo #2, looking at Sugarloaf Mountain on the left and Frasers Mountain on the right. The mottling continues across the landscape, though with more green showing on Frasers Mountain than on Sugarloaf Mountain. This is one beautiful set of views in any season!

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Photo #7 looks to the west and northwest from beside Marsh Brook Road. The ugly grey cloud is now not quite directly overhead, but has not yet obscured much of the terrain. The lower part of the Highland is quite colourful, though lots of greens are present; the trees on the upper part show significant loss of leaves. Marsh Brook Road curves around the buildings seen here and crosses Marsh Brook, which runs between the two sets of buildings, and turns again, continuing around the base of the Highland, where it soon reaches Timmons Road. It’s been a few years since I was last at that Y, but my memory is that Marsh Brook Road ceased being driveable at that point, though it continues on over the Highlands to East Margaree where it comes out on the north side of l’Église St-Michel. I have tried to drive the road from the East Margaree end, but it quickly becomes undriveable. It’s on my list to try to hike some day.

Photo #8 is a close-up of the dark red and red-orange maples beside the buildings seen in photo #7. These trees are only recently changed (the one in the upper centre has changed only in its crown, with the rest still green). Beautiful, nonetheless.

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Photo #9 is a close-up of a small portion of the Highland seen in photo #7. The predominant colours are orange and yellow intermixed with numerous unchanged green trees; it is likely a couple of days too early for the brilliant reds I have seen in past years to show up here. The number of bare trees along the summit is very noticeable.

Photo #10 is a lovely red maple I captured on the return trip while ascending Hogsback Hill, not far from where the other photos on this page were taken. How lovely it is in the bright sun!