Weeds, wildflowers, and wind on the Skyline Trail
Mea culpa!
Writing about my family's trip to Atlantic Canada this past August is long overdue. (You may be wondering what this has to do with gardening in Toronto but bear with me, the connection will be evident, tenuous as it is.)
We flew into Halifax, Nova Scotia, rented a mini-van and visited New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island as well (no time for Newfoundland unfortunately). It was the first time the kids have been out to this part of eastern Canada and I think they had a good time. Well, Linda and I enjoyed the stunning natural scenery and great food and our teenagers appreciated a strong Wi-Fi signal anywhere.
Linda and I have been "out east" over 20 years ago (!) for our honeymoon so many memories came flooding back. We found Cape Breton Island especially beautiful again and during our second time visiting, we spent an afternoon hiking the Skyline Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The Park is located in the northern part of Cape Breton Island with an elevation of around 1000 feet or 300 m. The hiking trail is considered "easy" to walk on as the terrain is quite flat and much of the path is covered with boards like this to make things, well, easy and to protect many of the delicate native plants.
But let's back up a little, literally. Getting to the Trail's entrance meant, after parking, walking a good 10 minutes along a gravel service road. I took these pictures of plants I've never seen before, thinking they were native wildflowers to Nova Scotia. Some were but others were just pretty weeds common to Nova Scotia and Ontario as well, weeds you'd pass by the sides of roads without looking at them once.
Perhaps you'll recognize some of them:
Walking the Trail proper meant, of course, experiencing different plant communities (i.e., fewer invasive weeds) allowed to prosper with minimal human intervention since we're in a national park after all. During the hike, I went through different environments or "micro-climates" we gardeners occasionally read about. Having some knowledge of botany, soil sciences, and ecology (I have just a little of each) made the hike educational but sometimes, a walk in the woods should be simply about enjoying the moment.
Occasionally, I would emerge from sheltered forest floors into windswept bracken-filled meadows. You can likely make out the direction of the prevailing wind and how short the trees are. Many were stunted and clipped from the short growing season and moose predation.
"Where are the humans?" you might be wondering. Oh, there were more than a few on the Trail, given summer is tourist season but not too many to prevent me from taking pictures of an empty part of the path like below.
Such a sight really draws you forward. What's around that bend?
After hiking for perhaps an hour and a half, I became a little unsettled. Linda and the kids were way ahead of me and maybe due to an empty stomach, I was disoriented, thinking I was lost. Now, looking back, this made no sense but the path does split and I was convinced I was on the wrong part of the trail! Tired, hungry and not wanting to spend the night alone with the bears and moose, I headed back to the Trail's entrance and waited for my rescuers.
Eventually, we re-united but not after being chastised for "not keeping up and taking silly pictures" and plenty of eye-rolling from the kids.
But I did manage to make it to a Lookout (platform to safely take pictures) and have this vista with the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the background to share:
Magical....
Linda and I have been "out east" over 20 years ago (!) for our honeymoon so many memories came flooding back. We found Cape Breton Island especially beautiful again and during our second time visiting, we spent an afternoon hiking the Skyline Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The Park is located in the northern part of Cape Breton Island with an elevation of around 1000 feet or 300 m. The hiking trail is considered "easy" to walk on as the terrain is quite flat and much of the path is covered with boards like this to make things, well, easy and to protect many of the delicate native plants.
 |
| Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park Nova Scotia boarded path |
But let's back up a little, literally. Getting to the Trail's entrance meant, after parking, walking a good 10 minutes along a gravel service road. I took these pictures of plants I've never seen before, thinking they were native wildflowers to Nova Scotia. Some were but others were just pretty weeds common to Nova Scotia and Ontario as well, weeds you'd pass by the sides of roads without looking at them once.
Perhaps you'll recognize some of them:
 |
| Canada hawkweed (Hieracium canadense) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Canadian burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Spiraea alba var. latifolia (White meadowsweet) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Spotted knapweed (Centaurea biebersteinii) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Tansy ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| White meadowsweet (Spiraea alba var. latifolia) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| White wood aster (Eurybia divaricata) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Whorled wood aster (Oclemena acuminata) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
 |
| Wild roses at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
Walking the Trail proper meant, of course, experiencing different plant communities (i.e., fewer invasive weeds) allowed to prosper with minimal human intervention since we're in a national park after all. During the hike, I went through different environments or "micro-climates" we gardeners occasionally read about. Having some knowledge of botany, soil sciences, and ecology (I have just a little of each) made the hike educational but sometimes, a walk in the woods should be simply about enjoying the moment.
 |
| Birch forest and ferns at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Fern filled forest floor at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Birch forest at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia borealis) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Eurybia divaricata (White wood aster) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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| Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park fern filled forest floor |
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| Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park ferns |
Occasionally, I would emerge from sheltered forest floors into windswept bracken-filled meadows. You can likely make out the direction of the prevailing wind and how short the trees are. Many were stunted and clipped from the short growing season and moose predation.
 |
| Windswept field at the Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
"Where are the humans?" you might be wondering. Oh, there were more than a few on the Trail, given summer is tourist season but not too many to prevent me from taking pictures of an empty part of the path like below.
Such a sight really draws you forward. What's around that bend?
 |
After hiking for perhaps an hour and a half, I became a little unsettled. Linda and the kids were way ahead of me and maybe due to an empty stomach, I was disoriented, thinking I was lost. Now, looking back, this made no sense but the path does split and I was convinced I was on the wrong part of the trail! Tired, hungry and not wanting to spend the night alone with the bears and moose, I headed back to the Trail's entrance and waited for my rescuers.
Eventually, we re-united but not after being chastised for "not keeping up and taking silly pictures" and plenty of eye-rolling from the kids.
But I did manage to make it to a Lookout (platform to safely take pictures) and have this vista with the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the background to share:
Magical....
 |
| Windswept Lookout at Skyline Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park |
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