NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
TACKLE THE MARITIMES’ LONGEST TRAILA turtle-shaped rock near Nepisiguit Falls, in the
Canadian province of New Brunswick, carries with it a
legend told by the Mi’gmaq people. When water levels
drop, the ‘turtle’ — named Egomoqaseg (‘rock like a
moving ship’) — appears to be climbing up out of the
river, says trail master Jason Grant, whose father-in-law,
Mi’gmaq elder Gilbert Sewell, was a keeper of the story.
“Legend has it that once the turtle is completely out of
the water, it will be the end of the world for the Mi’gmaq
people,” explains Grant.
The falls are one of many stops along a millennia-old
First Nations migration route, which has been developed
into the longest backcountry hiking trail in the Canadian
Maritimes. Running 93 miles along the Nepisiguit River,
the Sentier Nepisiguit Mi’gmaq Trail follows ancient
portage pathways used by the Mi’gmaq.
The route sets off at sea level in Daly Point Nature
Reserve, Bathurst and ends at Bathurst Lake in Mount
Carleton Provincial Park. To promote respect for the
relevance of the trail to the Mi’gmaq people, the route’s
restoration, completed in 2018, included incorporating
Mi’gmaq language and culture, such a turtle logo
inspired by Egomoqaseg.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL (US)ARAPAHOE BASIN, COLORADO
REACH A ROCK Y MOUNTAIN HIGHFor unparalleled views of the Continental Divide, one
must climb hand over foot up North America’s highest via
ferrata. A climbing route comprised of metal rungs and
cables, Arapahoe Basin’s Iron Way begins at the base of
granite Rocky Mountain cliffs and ascends nearly 1,200ft
to a 13,000ft summit. A glance below reveals a weathered
Colorado landscape dotted with rock gardens created by the
cliffs themselves, their fallen chunks varying from pebble-
to car-sized. The thin air is occasionally punctuated by the
shrill peep of a marmot or pika.
Climbers scale the cliffs using the metal rungs while also
gripping the rock or wedging a foot into a crack for leverage.
For safety, they must clip their harnesses from one cable to
the next as they go.
From the cliffs above, a herd of high alpine mountain
goats are often stoic observers, but typically disappear as
travellers reach the summit. This marks the halfway point
of the route. From here, climbers must also descend, which,
for via ferrata first-timers like Michael Lytle, can be the
most harrowing part of the journey.
“You try not to look all the way down. The highway looks
like a piece of thread from up there,” Lytle says. “The fear
factor is real.”
MI NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL (US)
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Jan/Feb 2022 85BEST OF THE WORLD