Over the last decade, and more specifically in the last few years, a multi-day hiking route in the Northern Cape Breton Highlands has been gaining a lot of popularity. The 40-50km route between Red River and Meat Cove, most referred to as the Seawall Trail, is slowly creeping into the top of the list for those hikers looking for more of a challenge in Atlantic Canada. It’s really no surprise either. This ‘route’ and I say that because although the name includes the word ‘trail’, there is only about 13 km of the actual trail the rest being pure backcountry bushwhack. Therein lies one of the many challenges any hiker will face when attempting this hike but also the beauty of it as well. Although you can find numerous GPS routes online here and there, almost all these routes vary, hitting some similar waypoints, but generally, almost all of them are not the complete route of the proposed seawall route. Added to this is the fact that all are generally uploaded from individuals who’ve only completed the hike once or twice and may have not hit the best lines through the bush. I say this not to diminish any previous efforts but rather simply to state facts. I mean, who wouldn’t want to finish in Pollett’s and relax on that beach? The reality, however, is that the official trail will circumnavigate Pollett’s Cove completely.
What is the Seawall Trail?
1993 Boy Scouts 4-Day hike @ Meat Cove - Lee & Liam (Live Life In Tents) bottom left - Dad taking photo
For those of you not familiar with what the Seawall Trail is, or will be, I will try and summarize it the best I can. This proposed trail system was coined ‘Seawall’ a bit over a decade ago by a group who proposed to develop a long-distance hut-to-hut hiking system through some of the most rugged, untouched, and beautiful terrain here in Nova Scotia. People have been hiking and hunting in this region for decades prior to what everyone is now calling Seawall. Folks living in the communities along the northern coast of the island would travel to other communities, hunters looking for moose and other game, and, hikers accessing this route for a bit more of a challenge. Hell, I first hiked from Meat Cove to Pollett’s when I was 8 years old with my father and Boy Scout group. According to an old hiking guidebook from 1975 edited by Phil Thompson, ‘The original trail marked on the topo no longer exists, but parts of the telegraph wire for which it was built may still be found in some places.’ Now, although this may have been a route long established and hiked for years prior to the seawall being an idea and knowing the crew behind its creation, I’m sure this played some part in influencing the idea.
Excerpt from ‘Hiking Trails In Nova Scotia’ circa 1975
Depending on who you ask, the route can vary from distance from approx. 37km to 55km and cover almost 10,000 feet (3000m) of elevation gain and loss over the entirety of the route. Now some of you might think that’s not bad, comparable to other longer-distance hikes around the Maritimes, right? Let me be the one to break it to you, it’s exponentially harder than any established long-distance hiking route here in Atlantic Canada. This is not only because of the terrain but also because of the navigational skill required to move efficiently and think logically when in the backcountry. Following a GPS route and reading topo maps are great reference guides however, following a route too closely can potentially end up with you getting boxed into rock bluffs, tucamore, swamps, and just generally take you to all the shit spots if you are not reading the terrain and navigating accordingly. Now, I am not trying to scare anyone off this hike but rather being transparent and honest about the hike as it is now.
Did I pique your interest yet?
Naturally, there are those out there who are on the hunt for things that are hard, and difficult and make you wonder why in the hell you’re doing it in the first place. If this isn’t you, that’s fine but there are those out there that look at a route like this, the maps and know that this is something that they NEED to do. There are also some out there that take it further and think ‘How fast can this be done?’ or ‘Is it possible to do a 4-day hike in 1 day?’. You might be reading this thinking that that last group is a small ‘crazy’ group or individuals however it’s much larger than you may think.
Chalmers cresting Bald Mtn aka Pollett’s Cove Mtn.
After officially launching our guided hikes on this route in 2022, I’ve gotten asked many, many…MANY times about it from just those individuals. My recommendation to each one was to hike and scout it first because almost all have almost no backcountry nav experience and getting into this terrain, not knowing what’s in store for you, is a huge risk. The single most difficult job I have as a guide is conveying the sheer difficulty of the terrain to those who have no experience off-trail and in the highlands. To put it plainly, we have had several clients who do not finish. Yes, this happens. I’m also aware of many groups who have set out to hike this route and have chosen to turn back because they have grossly underestimated the hike and were not mentally or physically prepared. This is a no-joke hike. Because of this and the fact that more and more people are interested in anything backcountry, we (Live Life In Tents) are getting ready to launch a course to course to set them up for success to knock off the Seawall or any other backcountry hiking adventure. Shameless plug 😉 - *sign up for our mailing list below to be notified when that launches.
Setting the Seawall FKT (fastest known time)
Setting the FKT for Seawall was not really something I had an interest in doing but I did think about it from time to time. Can it be done in a day? How fast could it be done? These were questions I did ask myself from time to time when people reached out for advice or information.
Back in 2021 a good friend of mine Dave Greene announced his Night Of Adventure Grant recipients and one out of the lot piqued my interest; Bike the Cabot Trail and trail run all trails in the National Park in under 60hrs. That 332km bike ride and 139km trail run.
Chalmers & Stewart @ LLIT post bike/run June 2021
I reached out to Dave to get in touch with the guy and offer up some sponsorship for the trip and that is how Chalmers Blinkhorn and I met. Since then, he and his family moved to Cape Breton (Ingonish) and we’ve been on some hikes and talked a lot about Seawall and if it can be done in under 24 hours. I knew of a crew who had done it in two days (and surely many others have done it as well) but it really wasn’t until the spring of 2023 when I got a text a few days prior to another couple of guys were attempting it in under 24hrs that the competitive side of me came out. Once they didn’t quite hit their target the game was on. I was just kicking up our June guided trips so we planned to do it mid-July ’23. Due to the chaos of the summer season here, I wasn’t able to do it so we picked September 16th. I would be two days off guiding our first fall trip with the route fresh in my mind.
To be perfectly honest, I was very apprehensive about the challenge. I am, even now, not in the best shape – or where I would like to be. That happens in summer. Long days on the river and running a campground with lots of beers and eating horribly – it’s summer man.. that’s the way she goes. Knowing others who are in much better shape and train regularly hadn’t been able to do it played a role in my mindset however, I know the route and am extremely comfortable and confident in my abilities in the mountains. Not to sound too cliché but that’s my world. I spent my childhood in it and I’m more comfortable off trail than I am on.
Chalmers crossing the Blair River before Bald Mtn ascent
At just after 0400 we departed from Red River (Pollett’s Cove trailhead) and started trying to crush the first 4kms + before leaving the trail. As we crested the ridges south of Pollett’s at sunrise and ran into a bear and cub on top we descended and made what is usually our first night’s campsite just around 3hrs in. Normally day one is 5-6 hours of hiking.. so, doing good on time. Check.
The goal for me was to make the hallway point by noon. At one point Chalmers asked if I had ever run into anyone else while hiking this route and I no sooner said never than we came around a turn and ran into 3 survey folks who happened to be working for the Sewall Trail. Wild. We arrived at the halfway point at 1134. Ok, doing good on time. Check.
Next up was Seawall Mtn itself. This was when it got hot out. Seawall Mtn is one big scree climb and on a hot day with zero to no wind, those rocks can feel like hiking up a sauna. There are about 6 spots I know that you can pick up 1-3 bars of cell service along this route and the top of Seawall is one of them. If any of you reading had been following our socials this would have been where I uploaded a quick story to follow along on the hike. On a guided trip (day 3) we’d have lunch at this spot and generally reach it between 12-1 pm. We hit the top at 1 p.m. exactly. Okay, still great on time. We may make sailor brook (campsite 3) before dark.
Skull Mtn just north of Lower Delaney’s Brook
Now there are a few points I make a habit of visiting each time I go back there. One of them is a place I’ve coined Skull Mountain. This is because of a moose skull I tied to a tree in the middle of a field. Once I’m here it’s a straight bearing to a swamp and then only about 1km to the descent of Sailor Brook Mtn or, as most people call it Shit Mountain. If you ever get out there, you’ll know exactly why. We made Sailor Brook (campsite 3) by 530 p.m. Damn, we are doing good and might be out before dark! Check.
This was the point that Chalmers informed me that his knee was toast and my ankles and lower back started screaming. I’m extremely flat-footed for which I require custom orthotics otherwise it’s not an optimal situation. I forgot these in my hiking boots… way she goes.
Once you hit Lowland Cove it’s about 9km to Meat Cove. This is where I usually call for a pickup and budget 3hrs on guided groups. We made it out a bit quicker and Ally, Ice Cold glass bottled Coke, a couple of smash burgs, and the most epic shower waited for us.
Red River to Meat Cove 16hrs and 16min. The bar was set. Game on. Check.
Lee’s strava which varied by almost 3km from Chalmers’ recorded distance. Why? No GD clue.
Let’s Get after it.
For all of you reading so far, thank you. For those of you who might already have your maps out, there is still meat on the bone. This can be done faster, and I want to see it done. We moved quickly but took some time to chat with the folks we met, take some photos, and eat lots of chocolate. I will say this again, this is a no-joke hike. Do not attempt this without taking these words seriously.
As it goes on almost all my trips, my mind wanders. This is where I get creative and think of other ideas, and kind of whiteboard concepts if you will. Put me in an actual room with a whiteboard brainstorming ideas and I am of no use but get me into the mix and it all comes barrelling out. Believe it or not, almost all our business offerings, film projects, and other things we do have all been conceptualized during these trips so it’s not a surprise to those who know me that a new idea was born on this trip; The Seawall 24 Challenge.
If you are interested in attempting to complete Seawall in 24 hours or less, please reach out and I will share our route with you. If completed in under 24hrs I will send you a badge for completing this challenge. Let’s have some fun!
For those just interested in hiking the route in the future OR interested in jumping on one of our upcoming Backcountry Fundamentals Courses; You can find more information below.
My hope is that this adventure has inspired some of you to get out there and get after it.
Lee Fraser
Apply for 2024 Seawall Trail Dates Here.