Date of hike: 2015/06/20
In this post, I will write about the Moosehorn and Laverty Falls trails in Fundy National Park in Alma, New Brunswick.
This loop is comprised of, as previously stated, two separate trails which join ends; Moosehorn and Laverty Falls, which are rated by Parks Canada as difficult and moderate, and are (one-way distance) 4.8 km (3 miles) and 2.5 km (1.6 miles) in length, respectively.
The original plan for this trek was to hike to the Laverty Falls trail in and out to see Laverty Falls, a curtain waterfall in a cool river valley. The waterfall is 12 metres (39 feet) high, and is approximately as wide as it is high. After recent rain it is a spectacular sight, and a magnet for hikers (and, for that matter, swimmers); however, the waterfall dries up fairly quickly, and if you go to see it after an extended period without rain, it may be little more than a trickle of water flowing down a rock wall. I have never seen it dry, but my father has told me that one year he and my mother brought my cousin to the falls after a period of little rain. With the lack of rain, the waterfall looked like, as he described it, a rock wall with a hose running water down from the top. Therefore, it is important that a visit to this location be made not too long after a period of rain.
We drove up the long gravel road that leads to the trailhead. As stated before, we originally intended to access the Laverty Falls by the shorter, easier trail bearing the waterfall's name; however, we ultimately decided to take the more strenuous Moosehorn trail. Only one in our group had ever hiked Moosehorn before, but his memory of it was vague. None of us knew exactly what to expect.
The hike began with a fairly steep downhill incline. After 200 metres (660 feet) we reached a junction sign and a fork in the trail. The first 200 metres are shared with another trail called the Forks; this 3.4 kilometre (2.1 mile) trail leads to the convergence of two rivers into the Upper Salmon River, which comes out in the village of Alma. Part of the river forms a park boundary. An 8.8 kilometre (5.5 mile) trail bearing the river's name leads from the Forks to the Headquarters area, where you will find a large campground, a visitor centre, an expansive beach, a nine-hole golf course, and other amenities.
At the fork, we turned left, continuing Moosehorn. The trail is of moderate difficulty until just before reaching the Broad River; it is all downhill, and is, for the most part, fairly gradual. The major difficulty was the condition of the trail; the route is very rooty, and there are a lot of rock-strewn sections of the trail. It has been noted in the past that the trail is poorly marked; this issue has apparently been remedied by park staff in recent years. On trees, you will see blue trail markers which look quite new. They are very obvious; however, they are sometimes considerable distances apart from one another.
After a while, the trail began to get steeper. This is the beginning of the hiker's descent into the Broad River valley. The trail leads down a steep hillside by a series of switchbacks; the switchbacks are not terribly difficult to descend, but the trail is still fairly steep and narrow.
At the bottom of the hill is a small creek which empties from the forest into the Broad River.
Large, jagged, beige boulders, a waterfall, and churning water. Typical Broad River scenery.
Myself sitting on the rock, the fellow at the top attempting to photobomb the picture!!
The trail continues; some sections require walking over the rocks. Trail markers are painted in yellow on the rocks in such sections. The trail leads from the rocks back into the woods and then back onto the rocks; this goes on for some distance.
Later, the rocky river becomes more flat, with sandbars jetting out into the river. The trail here is fairly flat with some smaller but sometimes steep hills. It leads along the river all the way to the end, where it joins the Laverty Falls trail.
At one point you will encounter a grassy, open area next to the trail. This is what probably was the site of the Upper Salmon River backcountry camping area. The trail along the river was once a part of the Upper Salmon River trail; backcountry campsites existed along the trail for overnight hikers. These campsites have been in disuse for some time, and are now grown over.
The trail continues to a side trail leading back down to the river; this is where the aforementioned Laverty Falls are located. We went at a perfect time; there was plenty of water, and the falls were a terrific sight.
After taking a break and taking some photos at the falls, we went back up to the trail. We returned to the parking lot by the Laverty Falls trail. This trail, unlike Moosehorn, is unspectacular in and of itself; it only serves as an easier route to the waterfall. It is a gradual climb back up to the parking lot; while there are no steep sections, the uphill grade is almost constant, and it can be tedious and tiresome walking considerable distances uphill after walking Moosehorn. It is, however, much less of an annoyance than would be doing the loop the other way around. The trail passes through the forest; a few small streams cross the trail. The trail is quite muddy; you will frequently run into sections of soft, boggy soil.
We ended at the Laverty Falls trailhead, thus completing the 7.3 kilometre loop. It was certainly longer and more strenuous than the hike we would have done had we stuck with our original plan, but it was absolutely worth the extra effort. I do not hesitate to say that Moosehorn is one of the most beautiful trails in Fundy National Park, and possibly the most beautiful trail I have ever hiked to date. If you are capable of a challenging hike, you should absolutely give Moosehorn a shot.
I will write again soon about a hike which took us to a backcountry camping area in New Brunswick's other national park, Kouchibouguac.
Get out there, log some miles, see some places, and live some stories.
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