New Brunswick - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island - page 218

ston Lake, which is ringed by tall evergreens, hot-chocolate stands and straw-bale
seating for the 8000-odd spectators drawn to the four-day event. The tournament
is wildly popular, with 120 amateur four-person teams traveling in from places as
far flung as England, Egypt and the Cayman Islands. Anyone can register to play,
but they will have to defeat the Boston Danglers, who have scrambled over squads
such as the Skateful Dead, the Raggedy Ass River Boys and the Boiled Owls to put
a lock on the championship trophy several years running.
If you want to play, register early. If you want to watch, pack your long johns and
a toque (wool hat) and book your accommodations early. If the motels are full, the
organizers keep a list of local folks willing to billet out-of-towners in their homes for
the weekend.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Mt Carleton Provincial Park & the Tobique Valley
From his workshop on the forested banks of the Tobique River at the foot of Mt Car-
leton, Nictau canoe-maker Bill Miller rhapsodizes that 'If you telephone heaven, it's a
local call.' He may be right.
The 17,427-hectare provincial park offers visitors a wilderness of mountains, valleys,
rivers and wildlife including moose, deer, bear and, potentially, the 'extinct' (but appar-
ently regularly seen) eastern cougar. The main feature of the park is a series of rounded
glaciated peaks and ridges, including Mt Carleton, which at 820m is the Maritimes'
highest. This range is an extension of the Appalachian Mountains, which begin in the US
state of Georgia and end in Québec. Mt Carleton is little known and relatively unvisited,
even in midsummer. It could be the province's best-kept secret.
The park is open from mid-May to October; entry is free. Hunting and logging are pro-
hibited in the park, and all roads are gravel-surfaced. The nearest town is Riley Brook ,
30km away, so bring all food and a full tank of gas.
Activities
Canoeing
The Mt Carleton area boasts superb wilderness canoeing. In the park itself, the Nictau
and Nepisiguit chains of lakes offer easy day-tripping through a landscape of tree-clad
mountains. For experienced canoeists, the shallow and swift Little Tobique River rises at
Big Nictau Lake, winding in tight curls through dense woods until it joins the Tobique it-