I arrived into New Brunswick by crossing a giant green suspension bridge from Quebec. At last I was in the Maritimes, an area I've heard great things about and that I've always wanted to visit. New Brunswick is an interesting province because it is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. All along the Eastern coast is the boldly proud French speaking Acadian people with their long and troubling history and in the south is Saint John, the largest town in the province, which is mostly English speaking. Then theres so many places all around where neither the languages has a majority population like Cambelton the city in which I just arrived into the province.

I was going to pass straight through Cambelton and do another 20 km but as I left town I saw an interesting looking lighthouse with a blue triangle on it. Sure enough it was the hostelling international symbol so I decided that I had to check it out as I've never stayed in a lighthouse hostel before. Also there was a mountain with a hiking trail leading up it not far from town so I decided to run from the hostel to and up the mountain and then back.

The next day I headed down the coast eager to explore the new province and check out the colourful Acadian fishing towns which proudly displayed the Acadian flag everywhere. I felt quite tired after climbing two mountains and pulling many long days so I ended my day at only 120 km on a public beach where I would camp the night. As I was cooking my dinner I met an incredibly friendly local couple who offered I could camp in their yard just up the road. I went for it rather than have to worry about police or other unexpected guests and when I got there they insisted that I sleep in the empty bedroom downstairs. They said stay as long as you want, you have your own kitchen and TV and you can even lock the door to upstairs if you want. There hospitality blew me away but I said that I would only stay for the night. In the morning I woke up in the giant soft bed and I did not want to leave. I needed it, I deserved it and so I said I would stay another nigh tif they were sure it was okay. "Of course" they said and so we spent most the day touring around the Acadian coast to many places that I would have not visited otherwise (thank you so much Lou and Jane).

The next day I set out now considrably more rested but still not fully and made 150km down the coast where I camped in a nice safe spot for free right beside a campsite which wanted $23 to squeeze me in tight between other tents. The next day satrted out well but led to a long and sour evening and night. I passed through Shediac a large Acadian Community that claims to have the worlds largest lobster(a statue as it turned out) aswell as New Brunswick's favourite beach. Parlee Beach was indeed very beautiful and there I took my first swim in Atlantic Canada. Actually I was still in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the water was surprisingly warm. Feeling fresh and invigorated, which is quite rare in my biking lifestyle, I headed on hoping to make it to Prince Edward Island before night fall. An ugly storm started to take shape around me and just as the rain started to fall and the lightning began to flash I found an old highway diner to take shelter and have an early supper.

I left as soon as the sun reappeared and made haste down the highway. My progress stopped with a nasty flat tire as I rolled over a screw which punched right through the top and then out the side leaving two nice big holes in my alredy worn tire. I put in my spare tube but only made it 5km before it burst so using 2 of my 4 tire patches I put them on the inside of the tire to cover the holes and then patched the tube itselfwith my second last patch. After that I made good ground for 30km until the sun started to dip towards the horizon and I had only 4 km left before the Confederation bridge which traverses the North Umberland Strait to Prince Edward Island. Then again I heard the hideous sound of air blasting out of a punctured tube once again. Now way out in the middle of nowhere and feeling quite frustrated I began to walking feeling doubtful my last patch whould get me far and hoping I would be at the bridge and catch the shuttle over to the island. I could see the enormous bridge rising at the end of the straight away but it was farther then it looked and still a couple kilometers away. The sun had almost set so I figured maybe I should just camp there, right then to my right I saw a trail heading off into the deep marshy forest.

I approached it and found a sign indicating a trail but not clearly saying where it went or what it was for; On a hand drawn map it looked as if it might lead out to a lighthouse. Feeling enticed by the strange trail and the deep woods I set off pushing my bike at my side. The trail led away from the highway until I could no longer hear the passing trucks. The spruce trees grew tall and formed a canopy above wich left only dead trees and light shrubs below. An old rotting sign warned me of poison Ivy which I could see growing entagled all around the trail. It was still and very quite. I continued on. Not sure where I was going but feeling thrilled with the eerie atmosphere and sure I would come out to a nice cleering to camp I kept going pushing my bike over roots and around mud puddles. Finally I came out to a clearing but it was not inviting at all. There in the midst of wild green grass sat an old concrete cross weathered and crumbling. The inscription was in french and I couldn't understand it at all. Facing the cross was a rotting wooden bench with orange fungi growing around its base. All over the seat of the bench was peculiar animal shit. Exactly the size of a mountain lions or a large bobcats but the texture and appearance of a bear that had been feasting on berries. I certainly was not going to camp there so I left and continued on farther and farther. The trail all of sudden was old and over grown with wet branches soaking me as I pushed through them, I could tell a fairly large animal had been through because in a single line the wet grass was pushed through; It seemed unlikely any humans had been here recently. It was getting very dark and the night was settling in on me so I resolved to pitch my tent as soon as I found a poison Ivy free flat piece of ground. I ended up pitching my tent inbetween two great spruce trees on a dry flat piece of ground just off the trail. I hung my food from a tree near by and crawled in to my home.

I didn't feel all that comforatable after seeing what I saw in the field but I was tired and felt rewarded to lay down. Just as I started to drift to sleep I heard a loud noise in the distance. A very strange noise like nothing I have ever heard, I could only compare it to something a large duck might make coarse and long kkoo-wshhhhhhh! The sound would last for 3 seconds and go every 5 seconds. From the first time when I heard it pretty far away after 7 times it had come rapidly closer and came within 20 feet or so of my tent. An absolutely terrifying experience not having any idea of what it was. Instictively I grabbed my bear spray, layed handily beside me, and yelled in my most ferosous voice terrible threats towards whatever it was should it dare come one step closer. With my my hand on the tent zipper and ready to spring but hoping dearly that I wouldn't have to. I heard it dissapear into the night crashing through bushes as if a large animal, I could even hear its feet hitting the ground all the while still making that awful noise kwooo- shhhhhhh! Quieter and quieter as it fled away. Feeling totally agitated I tried to ignore the experience and get back to sleep. I gave it a good yell and hopefully it learned to stay the hell away I thought. Just as soon as I was back asleep again I woke up startled to hear the same terrible sound from far in the distance and again in almost no time it came right up even closer to my tent. "Fuck! Get The Fuck Away From Me I Swear Ill fuckin Kill You!" I screamed out to the night. I grabbed my bear spray and stuck it out the tent ready to fire in its direction but seriosly not wanting to have to deal with my camp spot covered in bear spray. But it was off again as quickly as it came. Its terrible sound fading into the night. I looked out from my tent but with my headlamp all I could see was decreped dead trees and thick shrubs entangled like a wall. How is it moving so fast I thought? What the hell is it? Now I just wanted to get through the night and get out of there at first light, leaving at this point whould be a task finding my way back to the highway with a dim headlamp in a dark forest full of poison ivy. So I layed back downand finally fell asleep after a long time of laying still and listening to the sounds of the creaking forest.

The exact same thing happened once again with the exact same terrible sound but this time I lay still and listened closely to it's movement. So tired that I didn't want to work myself up again it came right up close and then again vanished making considerable noise as it stomped off. I just went back to sleep I was no longer afraid and I wasn't going to let it get the best of me. I looked at my watch it was almost 3 AM, what a night. I slept till 7 and woke up exhausted. I looked around outside my tent but couldn't see any noticable animal paths through the dense undergrowth, I figured I must have slept on some animal's path that really didn't apprecaite it, but then still what the hell was it. A badger or a wolverine maybe. I dont think a cat of any kind could make a sound like that but it was big enough to hear its feet yet small enough to make haste through the dense growth. Oh well i left it as a mystery and saddled my bike up and continued down the trail thinking that I would end up right back at the bridge. Somehow I ended up exactly back where I entered the forest. I guess in the darkness of the evening forest I walked a giant loop and totally disoriented myself. I can honestly say that is the most disoriented I've ever been in my whole life.

Back on the highway I patched my tube with my last patch and rolled up to the information center at the foot of the great bridge. I caught the shuttle across as they wont let you ride over the 13km long brigde and was very happy to have left that that deep dark forest behind. Leaving New Brunswick I already knew that I would be back to see many things I had not yet seen and aswell to meet my buddy Cam who I hadn't seen since Thunder Bay in the very center of Canada.