The plan was to leave St. Peter’s and head to Baddeck on the northern section of the lake, stay a day or so there and visit some points of interest. We called for a reservation, but no space was available until Sunday, so we decided to change course for Marble Mountain, where slip availability would not be an issue. We’d anchor!
We arrived at the anchorage around 1400, plenty of time for a dinghy tour of the area and a beach visit. We went ashore by the old marble quarry where the beach consists of small flat pebbles of various shades of marble. Very interesting! And it really is white from a distance. We explored the beach a while, fascinated with the fresh water springs that run down the hill to the beach. They just seem to come out of nowhere; the water is cold and fresh! It’s a popular local beach spot, with water temps hovering around 70, the clear water of Bras d’Or Lake is great for swimming. The only shortcoming is the presence of jellyfish, which some of the local folks told us aren’t particularly troublesome. They avoid them, but contact doesn’t usually result in much more than a mild rash, so the jellies don’t stop the swimming.
A few hundred feet up the mountain is an old marble mine that operated from the 1860’s until the 1920’s. The old mine road leads to the abandoned quarry site, and the excavation spoils form huge banks down to the water. It was quite a hike up the spoil bank to the road, but the going was easier up to the quarry. The dogs had a field day (literally!) running ahead on the trail and in the fields along side. The hike to the quarry is about a half mile or so up an easy grade, but the actual quarry is only about half way to the top of the ridge. We returned the same route, but opted not to climb back down the spoil banks, instead taking the longer but safer route along the road the mile or so back down to the small park where we landed. It was an interesting explore. The dogs made some stops at the springwater brooks to cool off and get a long drink. After a bit more dink touring, we returned to the boat for a peaceful night at anchor. Winds were calm, skies clear and temperatures in the low 60’s overnight.
Perfect.
