The Panorama at Sunrise

At the Cabot Trail, I turned left and drove 600 m (⅜ mi) to the wide shoulder that I think of as the Sunrise Look-Off: there is no official signage, but the Parks Canada Cape Breton Highlands National Park Topographic Map does show it as a look-off. It offers spectacular views along the Aspy Fault of the Cape Breton Highlands stretching to the top of the Island and, on a clear day, to St Paul Island in the Cabot Strait beyond, as well as of Aspy Bay, North Harbour, and the North Aspy River. Alas, utility wires obstruct the views and are almost impossible to avoid (I’ve cropped them out of these photos); a few years ago, it was possible to get below them by descending the bank a bit, but the brush has become taller, so this stratagem no longer works so well. A ladder would help a lot!

Photo #1 looks at the southwestern slopes of Theodore Fricker Mountain (ex Tenerife Mountain) from the Sunrise Look-Off. The rock cliffs on the middle portion of the mountain are not as visible in this photo as they usually are, given the sun and clouds of this day. But it is possible to make out significant amounts of colour in the areas colonized by deciduous trees: certainly much earlier than the peak of colours, but still much more colour than just two days ago.

Photo #2 looks further to the northeast at the slopes of Theodore Fricker Mountain, which spans the entire photo. The brightest spots of colour are at the left; further to the northeast, the colours diminish.

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Photo #3 looks further northeast to the northern end of Theodore Fricker Mountain; at the right of the photo is the mountain locally known as The Peak (which the Parks Canada topographic map now labels “Tenerife”). Very few fall colours are in evidence at the right of this photo.

Photo #4 looks down the Aspy Fault to the cloud-capped Cape North Massif; Willkie Sugar Loaf is the triangular mountain at the centre, whose profile is reminiscent of a Mesoamerican pyramid. Superimposed on Willkie Sugar Loaf is the lower Sams Mountain, the only other prominence with a name in this photo; it rises directly west of the Cabot Landing Provincial Park and is a good marker for locating it. The dark line across the lower portion of the photo is the course of the North Aspy River, whose mouth is North Harbour, seen at the far right. Although the distances are greater here, little fall colour is visible, which my trip this day through the area confirmed, though I did find the Bay St Lawrence Road punctuated with bright red or red-orange trees at irregular intervals.

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Photo #5 looks to the east of northeast at the mouth of the North Aspy River, known as North Harbour, and its islands on the near side of North Harbour Beach, whose white sands can be seen at the right of the photo. The ghostly shape to the right of the Cape North Massif is St Paul Island in the Cabot Strait; it’s not very crisp because of the haze in the air. The brush in the foreground will in a few years block this beautiful view, but in recompense, it is showing some fall colours, with a few bright reds scattered amongst its leaves. Considerable colours are showing at the far right.

Photo #6 looks further east at the side of the unnamed mountain atop which Cape North Village is situated. The tower right of centre provides the cell phone coverage for the top of the Island; unfortunately, it does not reach behind the Cape North Massif, so it works only along the Aspy Bay coastal areas. This hillside is awash with colour; the distance mutes some of them. Already, large swathes of trees at the right and upper centre right are bereft of leaves.

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Photo #7 continues the panorama, looking at the mountain atop which Cape North Village is situated. The road seen at the upper centre right is the Cabot Trail as it approaches the village; the Bay St Lawrence Road is below the cell phone tower and is not visible here. Again, numerous bare trees are seen all over this section of the landscape, which otherwise exhibits fairly good fall colours.

Photo #8 concludes the panorama visible from the Sunrise Look-Off, with Aspy Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, occupying the centre of the photo under the clouds. The height of the mountains here hides the Dingwall and South Harbour areas, which lie below and on the far side of the ridges spanning this photo. Although some fall colours are visible, the greens predominate, so it is early days yet.