Keji Welcoming Committee
I had been invited to attend a planning meeting regarding the Cofan Cabin (along the Shelburne River system) this month. The meeting was being held in a hall near Kejimkujik Park, so I decided to take my tent trailer and combine the meeting with a few days of walking in the park. Our odds on the weather were looking 50/50 so we decided to try our luck camping in April. Besides, we’ve been having an unusually warm and eatly spring this year.
We arrived at the park on Friday and spent the night around the fire. It was fairly warm but wet. It rained Friday night and most of Saturday morning, however we spent that time at the Cofan meeting in a dry hall. After the meeting we drove into Caledonia to pickup gas and supplies, then back to the campsite and walked a bit of the trail around Kijimkujik Lake. Saturday night was a cool one, and we pretty much hugged the fire.
Farmlands Orchard Remnants
We awoke to sunny skies on Sunday morning and headed off to walk a few of the day use trails in the park. I’ve been backpacking the longer backcountry trails in Keji for years, but have never really explored the frontcountry trails. First stop was the Farmlands Trail… a short walk over a glacial drumlin that was once home to a farm. Wandering off the main trail a bit, I found the remains of an old apple orchard.
Next stop was the Gold Mines trail, an interpretive walk through the diggings of old gold claims and mines. This is now one of my favorite walks in the park. I never realized that Keji was once the site of “gold fever”.
From here we drove down to Grafton Lake to see if the gate was open, as we planned to return to the park for a paddling trip in May. The gate was indeed open, so we drove down to the Eel Weir (Mersey River) and found quite a few paddlers and fishermen taking advantage of the early spring weather.
High Water
On our way back to the campsite we stopped to visit the Rogers Brook trail… a short walk through a river flood plain. The water level was high but we managed to keep our feet dry on the boardwalk.
Back to camp and another cool night around the fire.
I’m looking forward to returning for a paddle in May. We plan to spend a night or two at Mason’s Cabin, then down the Shelburne River to Irving Lake for a night.
Happy Trails… Dino