1976-1980s The River That Missed The Boat Part 1





The title, that of Barbara Grantmire's book and the river, the Shubenacadie. The name Shubenacadie is the Mic Mac Indian name, supposedly meaning "where the sweet potatoes grow."

My/our/the Hutton association with the river started in 1976 when we moved to Nova Scotia and lived, initially, on its bank, in "Back of the Moon" cottage in Enfield. The water flowed from right to left and no doubt we didn't even know it was a river at first. But I bought a 16' fibreglass canoe and Mitchell and Martin and I began to explore a little.

Shubenacadie River rises in Grand Lake and drains into the Bay of Fundy at South Maitland. Add to this the string of lakes that lead from Grand Lake to the Atlantic and you have the Shubenacadie Canal system.

Sixty miles (or maybe more, given the river's meandering) of connected waterway which, in time, I was driven to travel. In previous centuries for perhaps thousands of years the native population is said to have used this same route to cross the province back and forth. Mrs. Grantmire's book is well worth a careful read to get a grasp of the waterway's history .......... I leave that to you dear reader. (I have an autographed copy)


As for me (and with successive crews): I was to make the northward journey at least six times. Never southward against current and prevailing winds, that was just too daunting somehow!


Originally the canal ascended from Dartmouth Harbour by an inclined plane into Sullivan's Pond. From there into Lake Banook via a lock, thence into Lake MicMac. Next a lock and cut channel into Lake Charles.

Lake Charles is the watershed of the system and from here the water flows down into the Bay of Fundy, via Lakes Thomas, Fletcher and Grand and the Shubenacadie River itself (and numerous locks of course.)

Long abandoned/disused, the route is usable only by canoe really. Although I did bits of the system by home built kayak from time to time I don't think I ever kayaked the whole route. That was left to the 16' canoe.




So ...... after a bit of 'background' I try and descibe a typical trip from memory.


We'd arrive by car in Dartmouth with the canoe on its roof racks. It would be perhaps 9 a.m. Banook Lake was our usual starting point (I did once kayak across Sullivan's pond for the sake of completeness). We'd load paddles and life-jackets, food and drink etc and Mitch, Martin and I would set off roughly northwards. Glennys would drive off and hopefully collect us later.


I'd fitted the canoe with a small, square, orange sail made from a nylon poncho. The sail was secured to a 'yard' atop an aluminium mast made from tent pole sections: modelled essentially, if modestly, on the Viking long-ship sail. Despite its small size the sail pulled the canoe along at a nice pace with a good breeze, maybe as fast as we could paddle.

Given that there always seemed to be a south wind blowing along the lakes we usually did little paddling at least until the exit from Grand Lake came.

The lakes would pass slowly under us as the day progressed. I'd sit on the back steering with a paddle and the boys would control the sail. After Banook came MicMac, they were 'divided' by the highway close to the then MicMac Rotary.

Next we'd portage round the lock that raised the canal into the "cut" that led to Lake Charles.
Back "then" this area hadn't been restored/developed into the Shuby Park of today. Then the "Shuby Park Pond" was silted up and weed choked. The paddle through to Lake Charles was as pretty then as it is now.

Already memory lets me down - which portages at which lakes? This string of lakes was really a delight to travel. At each interlake connection there be assorted obstacles to the portage. Remnants were still to be found of the old canal system.

Eventually we'd reach Grand Lake with the afternoon well advanced. The wind always seemed to 'get up' then, and our progress along the lake would be relatively swift with waves threatening to spill over the canoe's side. It's a big lake and we had to travel over half the length.

Finally we'd turn the corner and head for the spot where the lake drains into the Shubenacadie River.

The journey down the river to Enfield was always gently exciting, with minor rapids and fairly fast flowing water. At the end of the 'fast' run we'd pass the lock in Horne Settlement and make the turn onto the long, slow, deep section. Next, the Highway 102 roadbridge, high above us and the railway bridge (its predecessor had effectively killed the Shuby Canal).

And so to that last stretch into Enfield, past where we'd first lived back in 1976. Under the road bridge and, hopefully, there would Glennys, waiting with the car to pick us up.