Sunday, August 24, 2008

Chignecto's Three Sisters


Around the corner from the 'Dory Rips' is a wall of cliffs which spread out to Cape Chignecto before heading northward into Chignecto Bay, one of the smaller bays which form the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy. The bay has some great paddling which mixes spectacular scenary with the incredible tidal range for which the Fundy area is world famous.

I paddled from Apple River Bay about an hour before the tide rose to its highest point. Heading southward I passed through a small doable tide rip at the mouth of the bay and then worked my way along the coast toward the rock spires seen in the video above. I arrived just as the tide was beginning to turn and paddled in and around the amazing red and black formations all the while realizing it would be an 'up hill' paddle back to the put-in once the tide turned. The longer I spent at the Sisters, the stronger the opposing current would get.

I filmed as much as I could and headed back to Apple River. Fog began drifting in from further out on the Bay and I kept taking new compass readings hoping I didn't lose sight of the several headlands I needed to pass. Fortunately all went well and I got back to my put-in with little drama.

I considered returning from a closer put-in down the road to visit the Sisters at low tide when the area I just paddled could be walked. I decided in the end to save the area for another visit. It just wants to be savoured, not rushed through!

4 comments:

Silbs said...

Great clip. I gather those "stacks" are from erosion of the original shoreline?

Michael said...

Silbs - the shore is considered an "actively eroding" area so I imagine the tides have been eating away at it for some time. The stacks seem to be made in whole or part of volcanic rock harder than the surrounding rock. It's very spectacular to say the least. Put it on your list!

clairesgarden said...

thanks for the outing!! I'll just sit here on my pc while you do the hard work!!

Michael said...

Claire - it's my little way of giving your back a break from all your gardening. LOL And I'm glad to know you still have at least one boat left to go out paddling when you want to!