An item that I have retained for many years is a map printed by a some form of early copier that outlines the lakes and trails in Nova Scotia south of the Gaspereau River extending to an area near the centre of the province at the junctions of Lunenburg and Kings counties.
It was a treasured item I gained as a member of the 1st Wolfville Boy Scout troop, and paired with a topographical map of the area (which was backed with glue and cloth) to preserve it through multiple folding and unfolding, they revealed an vast area of connected lakes as well as woods roads and trails. The area which was beyond highway access included woods camps that were simple left unlocked so that anyone needing a place to stay could find shelter for the night. With a woods stove and kerosene lamps they were warm and along with a wood pile and well nearby provided everything needed.
With the Wolfville Boy Scout
Camp located at Sunken Lake, the various trails leading to other lakes became the routes that over-night camping trips would follow. Starting with day hikes for Cubs, by the time one reached one's "second class journey" and "first class journey" in Scouts, achieving those goals and badges, required more extensive trips.
By exploring the area on canoe trips (1st Wolfville troop owned three canoes), we learned how hydropower development in the watershed south of the Annapolis Valley had built canals to connect adjacent bodies of water for increased water capacity at power dams. The roads built to these dams provided access to transport a canoe to the dam site and then paddle between lakes with minimal portaging following the canals and in some cases used connecting wetlands to access the next lake. Thus one could put in at Methal's Dam, crossing Methal's Lake and into Methal's Canal which connected into the swampy end of Little River Lake. Quickly one was into the main lake before embarking on the Gaspereau Canal that eventually led to a the biggest lake of the chain, Gaspereau Lake. All the lakes had great camping locations along the way with islands within the lakes being top choice locations. Gaspereau Lake is close to the New Ross Highway which was a good spot to return to civilization and arrange for transportation.
Amid all these hiking trails, canoe routes and places to explore were little notes on the map indicating "camp" and so we began to explore those as well. One located on the Methal's Lake system was simply known as Scof's Cabin and we learned that a man from the Hantsport area named Mr. Scofield had built the camp and we assumed he still owned it. We never met him and simply knew it was an "open camp". It slept four easily with a pair of double bunks, as well as a step stove, a cast iron cooking range that is known as a "Lunenburg stove" by some Nova Scotians as they were manufactured in the Lunenburg Foundry for many years. Similar step stove designs are known as Waterloo stoves. By any name it could heat a cabin in minutes flat taking the chill out of a frozen space into a toasty spot and with an oven behind and two levels of cooking surface it was a great combination for both space heating and cooking.
Further to the east is the watershed for the Town of Hantsport includes Davidson Lake and to reach it includes a climb up the side of hilly trail to reach the lake at the top. A pristine lake that was protected from development, it was well known for having healthy trout. On one winter camping trip using wooden-framed traditional snowshoes, we discovered a weakened pair which became wet and unraveled as we prepared to return home. Getting down the hill in snow that had accumulated all winter meant the drifts were deep but also wet from melting conditions. An early departure while there was still some early morning crust on the snow helped but the first two people to reach the trail head ended up sending in a pair of intact snowshoes for our companion with the broken snowshoes, who had managed slogging through in boots to make it part way out.
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