Ready To Pull The Plug

One week ago I was just pulling up to the C'mon Inn Hostel in Moncton, New Brunswick. I had never stayed at a hostel before and I was a little bit nervous on what to expect. But when I pulled away from Saint John, New Brunswick hours earlier, the one thing that was encouraging my first hostel experience was knowing that I would have an actual bed to sleep in. For those of you that don't know, I do tend to sleep in the back seat of my car when I need. It's actually rather comfortable - with the six blanket, make shift mattress I whipped up back there. But a bed was what I was really looking forward to.

On Saturday afternoon I had planned out Sundays route. I was going to get up early and leave Saint John, head to the Fundy Park Trailway then make my way to The Hopewell Rocks, hopefully in enough time to get there for low tide. I knew I was trying to fit a lot into one day but I figured if I could it would give me more time to explore in Moncton and if not, well it's not like I was short on time.

Sunday morning I woke up to a thunder storm and torrential downpour pounding on my windshield. Of course I was a little bit discouraged that this rain was going to affect the outdoor activities I had planned for the day - two of the biggest tourist attractions in New Brunswick. But I said "oh well" (okay maybe there were two different choice words, but nonetheless) I pushed on. Filled up with gas and headed for the Trailway.

As I arrived at the Trailway it was pretty foggy out. For those that don't know there are about 14 different "stops" on the trailway where you can pull your vehicle over, park, and get out and walk the trails or take pictures, etc. I was still discouraged that the weather wasn't cooperating for me but as I pulled up to the first stop. Parked the car. Threw my hood up. Took my waterproof camera to the ledge of the viewing platform. This is what I saw:

I was in absolute awe. As I stood there admiring this eerily, mystical and breathtaking view I thought to myself how I had almost missed this because I almost didn't go to the Trailway because of the weather. I wonder how many other people had chosen not to go to the Trailway that day because it wasn't the perfect day for the view. Isn't it their loss. I made my way around the rest of the trail in about an hour or so and made sure to stop and go for a quick hike down to the salmon river and the suspension bridge.

 


As my time on the trailway came to an end I plugged my GPS back in and was on the road again in no time. It was only 11:00 and it was only supposed to take an hour and a half to get to the rocks (or something like that). NO PROBLEM.

Famous last words.

I cruised from one road to the next. Again, I watched as my GPS counted down kilometre after kilometre as I was, apparently, getting closer to my destination. Then something strange happened. The highway went from being a normal highway to gravel. No construction signs around, weird. But I pressed on. After about twenty minutes of being on a gravel road I pulled over to check my GPS and double check that I had the settings correct - yep, set to "avoid unpaved roads" and because I trust technology so much and it's never wrong the only rational answer to this dirt road was that it was going to end soon. As I looked up in my rear-view mirror from my GPS I noticed there was a car behind me. It was a friendly couple from Quebec (I regret not finding out their names) and they were headed to the rocks as well. "If you want, you can follow us!" They offered. Well, that was a little more reassuring because at this point I was almost in tears thinking that I could actually be lost AND with no cell service.

I proceeded to follow this little black Honda Civic down this dirt road. It said our next turn was in 15 km. Couldn't be that bad, I thought. Before we knew it this gravel road was shrinking in width and before we had time to do otherwise this "road" had turned into a complete off-roading trail. The kind meant for quads and dirt bikes. NOT CARS AND SUVS. In a few kilometres we met another vehicle. A family from New Brunswick. Oddly enough the dad was ex-military and they used to live in Shilo, Manitoba. Ex-military? "No way he's lost," I thought to myself. 

"Follow us!"

The three of us kept on our way. And just in case I may have downplayed the severity of these driving conditions let me paint you a nice little picture:

SUV loaded to the brim with camping gear and bikes leading the way. Honda civic next in the convoy. Hyundai Santa Fe last on the trail - lone ranger (me) driving solo, gripping the steering wheel as if my life depended on it. Inching along this trail at 10 km/hr over broken trees, gigantic boulders, swampy marshes - at times you couldn't tell how deep the puddle was you were entering or if there was a bigger rock to the left or to the right. But on the verge of tears I pressed on. There was no turning back - literally. This "road" was not big enough to turn around and I am no where near good enough to reverse out of that disaster. Push on.

Around 3 pm we exited my own personal hell. It was as if we were popping into reality from Narnia. We all pulled over and were hugging one another, relieved and shocked that we had made it out alive. I'm not over exaggerating. It was scary. As we pulled up to the entrance of the Fundy National Park and rampantly tried to explain to the lady working the gate what we had just been through my question was: what is the fastest way to Moncton and is the road paved? 

The park ranger pointed me on my way and within an hour I was pulling into Moncton. Got a car wash. Examined the car - no scratches or dents, amazingly. The driver side door was rubbing when I opened it but other than that no visual damage. After the long weekend I managed to get the car in for a check up, I wasn't travelling any further before making sure there was no damage underneath my car, and miraculously it was fine. To this day I am in complete shock that the undercarriage of my vehicle wasn't completely torn to shreds. At least the mechanic had no problem making light of the situation, "well, now you can off road all the way back to Winnipeg if you want!" he chuckled. 

I didn't laugh. 

Too soon my friend, too soon.

Aside from being alive, something really cool happened to me a week ago. I stayed at a hostel for the very first time. But that's not the cool part. The cool part is the people I met. Jaimi-Lee from Australia is just about the most fearless person I have ever met. This girl has travelled the world and still has a travel to-do list that amazes me. She's swam with the sharks, hiked to Mt. Everest base camp - to name a few things. Jaimi-lee is fearless. Akira is one of the most welcoming and compassionate people I have met. Akira is from Montreal and she's travelling right now too. We both had a sh!tty Sunday but within minutes of meeting she was suggesting me places to go for a drink, as I clearly needed one, and was actually listening to my story and comforting me. 

Sunday started rainy, surprised me with beauty through the fog, served me up the worst afternoon of my life, but the day ended better than I ever could have imagined, asked, or hoped for. To people that listen - actually listen, who welcome new people with acceptance, and for treating me like a friend they had always known, thank you Moncton, C'mon Inn, Jaimi-Lee, and Akira.