MacDonalds Glen Road

Summary

Location

Cape Mabou Highlands

Brief Description

This trail follows a partially abandoned road that runs northwest to southeast through the Cape Mabou Highlands, connecting MacDonalds Glen (beyond Mabou Coal Mines) to Northeast Mabou.

Trail Head

From Route 19 in Mabou, turn onto Mabou Harbour Road in Mabou Village and proceed past St. Marys Church and the Mabou Arena until you come to the bridge over the Northeast Mabou River, 2.25 km (1.4 mi). You then have your choice:

Turn right onto Northeast Mabou Road, a gravel road, and proceed northeast about 0.6 km (0.4 mi). You will cross a small bridge, shortly after which you will see a white garage with the number 110 above its door on your right and a road across from it on your left. Turn onto that road and park at its side. This is the southeastern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road.
Continue on Mabou Harbour Road for 2.9 km (1.8 mi) more to its junction with the Mabou Coal Mines Road, a gravel road; you will see a hiking sign at the junction. Turn right onto Mabou Coal Mines Road and drive north 7 km (4.1 mi), at which point you will be at the road down to the harbour at Finlay Point. Continue beyond this road, cross the small bridge over MacDonalds Glen Brook, and look for a black mailbox on your left bearing the numbers 1426-1500, about 1.1 km (0.7 mi) past the Finlay Point Road. Directly across from the mailbox, you will see a road and, looking up that road, you will see a two-storey white house with dark green trim. Park beside Mabou Coal Mines Road. This is the northwestern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road.

Trail Length

approximately 7.7 km (4.8 mi)^[1] from MacDonalds Glen to Northeast Mabou

Loop

Condition

Generally excellent: a car could drive the initial quarter and all of the last half of the road with little difficulty; the second quarter of the road is impassible for either car or truck. About forty minutes in from MacDonalds Glen, there is one short stretch where a brook has taken over the road bed, making it very difficult to cross this patch in oxfords whilst keeping one’s feet dry, so take waterproof boots. Except for this same patch, a mountain bike should have few problems.

Climbing

The road climbs from perhaps 10 m (33 ft) at MacDonalds Glen to 200 m (656 ft) at the Cape Mabou Road junction and then descends back to perhaps 5 m (16 ft) at Northeast Mabou. Except for a V-shaped glen about twenty minutes from MacDonalds Glen, there is no up-and-down; it is all steadily up or steadily down, but with no steep climbing.

Topographic Map

Lake Ainslie (11 K/3): this map shows the entire course of MacDonalds Glen Road as a thin red line.

Reference Times

None known.

My Times

2006 August 3 (MacDonalds Glen to Cape Mabou Road [uphill]): hiking time: 0h50; clock time: 1h32
2007 July 2 (MacDonalds Glen to Cape Mabou Road [uphill]): hiking time: 0h52; clock time: 1h42
2007 July 2 (Cape Mabou Road to Northeast Mabou [downhill]): hiking time:0h49; clock time: 1h02
2007 July 2 (Northeast Mabou to Cape Mabou Road [uphill]): hiking time:0h54; clock time: 1h27
2006 August 3 (Cape Mabou Road to MacDonalds Glen [downhill]): hiking time: 1h01; clock time: 1h02
2007 July 2 (Cape Mabou Road to MacDonalds Glen [downhill]): hiking time: 0h40; clock time: 1h03

References

None known.

^[1] Estimated from the topographic map.↩

Extended Description

As I described here, I discovered MacDonalds Glen Road on a hike in 2006 that started on Cape Mabou Road 0.3 km (0.2 mi) southwest of its junction with the Glenora Falls Road in the Cape Mabou Highlands. That hike taught me where the northwestern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road is located on the Mabou Coal Mines Road, just a short distance before it ends at the Mabou Post Road Trail Head of the Cape Mabou Trail Club’s wonderful system of trails in the Cape Mabou Highlands. Since I had been unable by other means to determine where its southeastern terminus in Northeast Mabou was,^[2] I resolved to find out by hiking the road from MacDonalds Glen. (The level of detail in The Nova Scotia Atlas, while good, wasn’t sufficient to resolve the location of southeastern terminus, while the topographic map, which I did not have at the time, is.)

Accordingly, on 2007 July 2, I drove out to MacDonalds Glen and parked at the side of the road across from the black mailbox bearing the numbers 1426-1500. Having already hiked from here to the Cape Mabou Road the previous year, I knew what to expect and made sure that my woods boots were in my backpack, as I knew I was going to need them, and set off. At that point, the skies were somewhat inscrutable, with a warm sun playing hide-’n’-seek among a slew of clouds, and a nice cool breeze blowing that made a perfect day for a hike through the Cape Mabou Highlands; some days like this turn cloudy, damp, and rainy while others become very fine days: I hoped for the latter, but was prepared for either.

Four minutes up from the road, I was beside the white house trimmed in green, puffing and noticeably warmer, as there is a gain of roughly 20 m (66 ft) in a relatively short distance. The house is a good point to catch one’s breath, as it offers fine views of Finlay Point, MacDonalds Glen, the Gulf, and of Beinn Alasdair Bhain (Fair Alistair’s Mountain), which will be very familiar to anyone who has hiked up to the glorious look-off there.

Beyond the house, the road levels out considerably, but continues inexorably uphill. After fifteen minutes of easy climbing, one is at 100 m (328 ft) on the western ridge of a V-shaped glen. There is a semi-open view here of the highlands to the southwest, which reach more than 280 m (919 ft). At the bottom of the V some 30 m (98 ft) below and an easy two minutes downhill hike later, an unnamed brook from the east runs underneath a wooden bridge and one hears for the first time the waters of MacDonalds Glen Brook into which the unnamed brook empties a few metres/yards to the west of the road. The height one has just given up has, of course, to be made up as one ascends to the eastern ridge of the glen. Both on the way down and the way up, the road now has ruts caused by run-off that would require very careful attention in a car, but it remains otherwise in generally quite good condition.

Six minutes beyond the bridge, one arrives at a wooden gate, presumably once (and perhaps still) the entrance to a pasture for cattle or sheep. Somewhat before the gate, the road approaches the gully carved by MacDonalds Glen Brook and runs for quite some distance close to and along its edge. On the both sides of the brook’s course, the flanks of the mountains are now quite close and one notes the transition from an open road to a tree-covered forest path. The previously gravel road becomes much grassier here and travel by car is now if not completely impossible then both very problematic and unwise.

For me, the gate marks the start of the most beautiful part of this hike: like MacIsaacs Glen along the Trap à Mhathain (Bear Trap) Trail and the Gleann Sidh (Enchanted Valley) Trail in the Cape Mabou Trail Club system, this too is a magical place that boosts my spirits each time I pass through it. The brook’s song fills the air beneath the canopy of the trees overhead through which the sun’s filtered light adds sparkles and movement to a scene in which one would not be greatly surprised to hear a whimsical leprechaun’s mischievous greeting. The brook here is very shy: my camera captures mostly leaves and dark hues and only glimpses of the water flowing below, as the light does not penetrate very far into the gully. My eyes do little better, so it is very tricky trying to judge how much water is coursing down below—the sound makes one believe that there must be a fair amount. Indeed, the topographic map shows that numerous unnamed rills run down from the mountains above on both sides to empty into MacDonalds Glen Brook all along this stretch of the road.

Eight minutes beyond the gate, the road badly deteriorates, as the ground becomes ever wetter and muckier. Delicate small wildflowers abound here, showing their blues and whites and yellows to the passer-by. In another five minutes, one reaches the point where the brook has preferred the road to its former course; here, the road’s original surface is now gone, washed away, and one is left with a jumble of small rocks and boulders over and past which the water flows. At this point, I switched out of my oxfords and into my woods boots, as the water reaches well above one’s ankles here in places. The many minutes it took me last year to cross this stretch were reduced with proper footwear to two this year and I enjoyed splashing through the water much more than clinging to the trees and trying to hop from rock to boulder to rock without either slipping or getting my feet wet.

A couple of minutes beyond this bad stretch, the road’s character changes yet again. MacDonalds Glen Brook has just crossed to the east side of the road and flows some distance from it, so that its cheerful song fades away nearly as soon as one starts uphill. The road is again in fine condition, though still definitely a forest pathway and not a gravel road, and quite dry. From the gate, the road has been climbing gently, gaining perhaps 20 m (66 ft) over a kilometre (0.6 mi). One is now about to climb up along the side of the mountain that was earlier to the west of MacDonalds Glen Brook in order to reach Cape Mabou Road; the road climbs about 80 m (262 ft) over roughly 0.8 km (0.5 mi). After about three minutes of easy uphill hiking, one traverses a noticeable C curve, passing over a sluice in the middle of the curve. Seven minutes more of moderate uphill climbing, punctuated by three stops to recover my breath, I found myself coming into a grassy meadow and two minutes later I arrived at the junction with Cape Mabou Road, roughly the midpoint of MacDonalds Glen Road, warm from the climb, ready for a lunch, and very pleased to be able to enjoy it in the sun under a lovely blue sky: though plenty of clouds were still there, it was clear that they were going to remain benign for the rest of the day.

Lunch done, my wind recovered, my legs rested, and back in my oxfords (while they do keep one’s feet dry, woods boots also become uncomfortably hot in the summer time!), I then set off towards Northeast Mabou. Just as the hike to Cape Mabou Road was (with one exception) all uphill, that to Northeast Mabou is all downhill. One is now back on a good gravel road that is readily drivable by a car. While trees line the road for nearly all of the rest of its descent into Northeast Mabou, there is usually open sky above. At the junction with Cape Mabou Road, there are fairly open views, one allowing a glimpse of the Creignish Hills in the far distance between the profiles of two prominences in the Cape Mabou Highlands. Such views diminish thereafter, being replaced by brooks that enter from the side or cross in sluices beneath the road, wild flowers, individual trees of distinctive form or colour, birds, and small animals such as red squirrels scurrying across the road in search of food or mate—in other words, all the things one sees during a normal walk along a back country road. What makes this walk different is that one is passing through the beautiful Cape Mabou Highlands, though it is rather more often their sides than their summits that are in view.

From Cape Mabou Road, in about twenty-five minutes time and 1.8 km (1.1 mi), one descends 100 m (328 ft). A stream crosses underneath the road near here through a sluice that enters a brook which follows the road much of the way into Northeast Mabou, where it will empty into the Northeast Mabou River, though distant enough from the road that one only occasionally hears it flowing along. A small gravel pit lies near the sluice off the side of the road. Not far above this sluice I met the only vehicle I encountered on MacDonalds Glen Road this day: an ATV.

In another nine minutes, one arrives at a Y junction, with a road entering from the left. (When returning from Northeast Mabou, one must remember to take the left fork here as the right fork, though it looks to be the better road, dead-ends after a kilometre (0.6 mi) at a private home.) As one continues on towards Northeast Mabou, the side of Mabou Mountain now rises in the distance above the road, so one knows that one is fast approaching Northeast Mabou. Indeed, about seven minutes later, one passes the first house on the road. At the next house down, my arrival was noticed by two large dogs, who set up a loud clamour and, thankfully, were called indoors while I passed by. To the west, a fine vista opens up showing the Northeast Mabou River, Northeast Cove, the Mabou River, and West Mabou. The road then makes a sharp curve to the right and descends past a fine patch of lupins, in bloom this day, to reach its southeastern end at 110 Northeast Mabou Road, eight minutes below the first house on the road. From the sluice above the Y junction to Northeast Mabou Road, another 95 m (312 ft) of elevation has been lost over a distance of some 1.7 km (1 mi).

When I reached Northeast Mabou Road, I knew exactly where I was but was bewildered at how it was possible that I had never tried to explore the road I had just descended. It was then that I saw the garbage bin at the side of the road and immediately answered my question: after having unintentionally driven up a number of private driveways during my first years on Cape Breton, I learned to recognize the trash bin by the road as signalling a private driveway and not a public road. In this case, however, the signal was wrong, as the trash bin belongs to the residents across the road and not to those up the road; it was this false sign that kept me from exploring this road in past years. Mystery solved!

It was a fine hike on what turned into a very nice day and one I would readily repeat. While the section from Northeast Mabou to Cape Mabou Road is easily drivable, one misses a lot in a car. It may not have the magic of the stretch along MacDonalds Glen Brook, but it is very pretty nonetheless. I had fallen in love with the first half of this hike last year; I can now recommend both halves of this hike without hesitation.

So, should one do this hike from MacDonalds Glen to Northeast Mabou or the other way around? You will save some driving (and gas!) if you start from Northeast Mabou, but you will then miss the beautiful drive along Mabou Harbour to Mabou Coal Mines and back, which will only add to the beauty of your day. For the hike itself, I don’t think it much matters one way or the other. In either direction, you have an uphill climb followed by a downhill climb and, on the return trip, the same. Just enjoy it, whichever way you go!

^[2] MacDonalds Glen is still a known locality in the Mabou Coal Mines area, but the name MacDonalds Glen Road no longer means anything to the folks in Mabou whom I had asked. As a result, my queries about it were met with a shrug. In part, this is doubtless because (a) the section from MacDonalds Glen to the Cape Mabou Road has not been usable for automobile traffic for many years now (if it ever was) and (b) because the grading at the junction where the MacDonalds Glen Road and the Cape Mabou Road meet now makes it appear that the Cape Mabou Road is the continuation from that point on, causing its name to also be applied to the portion of MacDonalds Glen Road from there to Northeast Mabou.↩

Side Trip

If one has the time, I highly recommend hiking up the Cape Mabou Road, which climbs sharply 120 m (394 ft) over a distance of 1.6 km (1 mi) to reach a previously logged area at the summit (320 m (1,050 ft)) from which one has an amazingly fine panorama:

To the east, there are fine views of the forested countryside towards and behind Smithville and Glendyer, with the inland hills towards Whycocomagh and Glencoe in the far distance.
The view to the southeast is blocked by an uncut (or re-grown) stand of trees.
To the south, there are again fine views of the countryside towards Southwest Mabou, Glencoe Station, and Judique, much of it forested, and, in the far distance, of the Creignish Hills and St. Georges Bay. Somewhat closer, it is possible to make out the Southwest Mabou River and the Cèilidh Trail (Route 19).
As one turns gradually towards the west of south, the beautiful Cape Mabou Highlands that line the Mabou River undulate in the distance across the field of vision; one’s eyes are forced to follow their gentle folds and rounded profiles. St. Georges Bay and the mountains on the mainland on the other side are visible on most days, even fairly cloudy ones.
As one approaches the southwest, the Port Hood area and the Colindale Shore come into view (though one may need to move somewhat from one location to another along the road to avoid trees blocking the views). Eventually, Cape George itself becomes visible to the southwest.
To the west and northwest, the views are again of the Cape Mabou Highlands, but this time towards MacDonalds Glen and MacKinnons Brook, with a view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence beyond. On a very clear day, one can see the eastern shore of Prince Edward Island across the Gulf (the closest point, to the northwest, is East Point, about 60 km (37 mi) away; directly to the west is Cardigan Bay, with the nearest point of land about 73 km (45 mi) away).

My hiking time from the junction with MacDonalds Glen Road to the summit was sixteen minutes (clock time was forty minutes); in the reverse direction, it was eighteen minutes (clock time was twenty-eight minutes). It was, for me, a stiff climb, with a very steady moderate grade uphill, requiring four stops for rests. The road is tree-lined on the left, but there are obscured views through the leaves of the Gulf in the distance; I tried at several points both on the way up and the way down to get a decent photo, but succeeded mainly in capturing foliage. Cape Mabou Road is generally in good condition throughout most of its length, but I did not find its southern end drivable by car: on the summit, there are several (eight, if memory serves) very deep puddles (I quit when I found myself in water above the lower edge of my car door in the second of them) and the ascent/descent would likely be very problematical due to deep ruts and wash-outs; a truck or an equally high-slung vehicle should have no problems with either puddles or ruts, however. Note that, if you take this side trip, you need not worry about any of the puddles, as they are found between the summit and the Glenora Falls Road.

Photos

The photos below are ordered from MacDonalds Glen to Northeast Mabou; those from Cape Mabou Road side trip appear together at the end.

Taken 2006 August 3 from the Mabou Coal Mines Road

This photo shows the mailbox which marks the northwestern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road on the Mabou Coal Mines Road.

Taken 2006 August 3 on MacDonalds Glen Road
about four minutes up from Mabou Coal Mines Road

This two-storey white house with dark green trim is a second identifying landmark for the northwestern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road. It is a good place to pause, as there are excellent views from here, as the next three photos will show. MacDonalds Glen Road lies in the right foreground and along the right edge of the photo in the middle ground. The house is boarded up; I do not know if there are inhabitants at certain times of the year or not, but I have never seen any there. You will note a house on the bluff to the left of the white house; that house is inhabited and a driveway leads up to it on the left (not visible in this photo) that you want to pass by.

Taken 2006 August 3 from just below the white house

The flanks of Beinn Alasdair Bhain (Fair Alistair’s Mountain) are seen here from the left to the middle of the photo across the field, ablaze this day with goldenrod, just below the white house. Just below the summit a bit left of the middle of the photo, you will see a bare spot surrounded by vegetation: this is the look-off from which one has marvellous views of the Cape Mabou Highlands, the Mabou Coal Mines area, the Inverness County shore to the southwest, and across St. Georges Bay to Cape George on the mainland. The trail leading to Beinn Alasdair Bhain is part of the Cape Mabou Trail Club system; it begins at the Mabou Post Road Trail Head which is found at the end of the Mabou Coal Mines Road about 0.5 km (0.3 mi) further north of its junction with MacDonalds Glen Road.

Taken 2006 August 3 from just below the white house

This view shows Finlay Point at the centre left of the photo and the intervening area of MacDonalds Glen. Cattle are often seen grazing along the coasts and on Finlay Point itself. The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the water one sees at the right of the photo. The white rocks at the centre left and the middle of the photo are gypsum.

Taken 2006 August 3 from just below the white house

This is another view of the MacDonalds Glen area against the backdrop of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; gypsum is again visible here.

Taken 2006 August 3 from above the white house

MacDonalds Glen Road starts up quite briskly from Mabou Coal Mines Road, as this photo demonstrates quite well! It will soon level off considerably.

Taken 2006 August 3 about four minutes beyond the white house

This is pretty typical of the early portion of MacDonalds Glen Road: views of the adjacent highlands are readily visible and the trees, while encroaching on the road and in bad need of trimming, do not form an overhead canopy.

Taken 2007 July 2 about fifteen minutes beyond the white house

The unnamed prominence in the centre of the photo rises to about 280 m (919 ft). The plateau at the top runs south to Mabou Harbour. MacDonalds Glen Road will follow the eastern flank of this mountain for much of the way to Northeast Mabou.

Taken 2007 July 2 about fifteen minutes beyond the white house

This is a close-up view of the same prominence as seen from the same spot.

Taken 2007 July 2 about a minute further down the road

This photo shows the V-shaped glen which is the only up-and-down section of the road. The bottom of the glen is a bit below the exact centre of the photo, mostly obscured by a tree.

Taken 2007 July 2 about two minutes more down the road

This is the bridge at the bottom of the V-shaped glen; the unnamed brook flows under the bridge and enters MacDonalds Glen Brook to the left of the photo and outside of its scope. It is here that one first hears MacDonalds Glen Brook, whose song will accompany the hiker for the next while. After snapping this photo, I sat on my three-legged stool and enjoyed the sound and the views for a couple of minutes to gather up wind to climb up the other side of the glen, seen in the previous photo.

Taken 2007 July 2 about six minutes from the bridge

This wooden gate presumably once led to a pasture for cattle or perhaps sheep. It appears to be still functional, but no longer used; in any case, the land behind it is not open to the public. Notice that MacDonalds Glen Road has now become partially grass-covered; it is in the process of becoming a forest road and, as one proceeds, the canopy will cover the road, blocking out much of the light of even a sunny day.

Taken 2007 July 2 about two minutes beyond the gate

The road now follows above the gully carved by MacDonalds Glen Brook, seen here.

Taken 2006 August 3 about two minutes beyond the gate

This is another view of MacDonalds Glen Brook, taken on a different day and a somewhat later hour.

Taken 2007 July 2 about four minutes beyond the gate

This is another view of MacDonalds Glen Brook from the road above.

Taken 2007 July 2 about five minutes beyond the gate

As one progresses uphill, the gully gets deeper and the road higher above it, making it quite hard to see into the gully, as much of the light is blocked by the canopy above, since the sides of the highlands are close to the road on both sides now.

Taken 2007 July 2 about five minutes beyond the gate

This is still another view of MacDonalds Glen Brook from the road above.

Taken 2007 July 2 about eight minutes beyond the gate

The sluice one sees here deposits the waters of a side rill that crosses under the road into MacDonalds Glen Brook. There was lots of water flowing here and the sound of the brook was lovely.

Taken 2007 July 2 about eight minutes beyond the gate

The road has now definitively become a forest path. The trees encroach from both sides and join overhead to block much of the sunlight from reaching the ground.

Taken 2007 July 2 about nine minutes beyond the gate

At this point, MacDonalds Glen Brook is no longer so far below the road; indeed, it will soon become level with it and cross to the other side of the road.

Taken 2007 July 2 about nine minutes beyond the gate

Some time not too long ago, a heavy vehicle (perhaps a tractor) passed through here and gouged the road bed as it found itself nearly crossways of the road. The track here is moist and becomes wet and mucky as it approaches the place where MacDonalds Glen Brook crosses the road.

Taken 2007 July 2 about nine minutes beyond the gate

MacDonalds Glen Road continues uphill here, somewhat eroded by rains running down its side. MacDonalds Glen Brook is to the right outside the scope of this photo, merrily singing away. On a day such as this, the sparkling sun is magical as the breeze moves the foliage in such a way as to make it appear that there is movement on the forest floor.

Taken 2007 July 2 about thirteen minutes beyond the gate

Delicate wildflowers at the side of the road bed catch the eye; this area is quite wet and mucky and these lovely flowers are taking advantage of it.

Taken 2007 July 2 about thirteen minutes beyond the gate

At this point, MacDonalds Glen Brook leaves its former course and takes over MacDonalds Glen Road itself. In 2006, I managed to get through this stretch with dry socks but wet shoes by jumping from wobbly rock to slippery rock, a couple of minor bushwhacks, and some swinging past on tree branches, but it was hard work and not worth the effort. The water here is well above one’s ankles in places, so it behoves one to have waterproof footwear when traversing this brief stretch.

Taken 2007 July 2 about thirteen minutes beyond the gate

This is another view of the “bad stretch” where the brook runs down the road.

Taken 2007 July 2 nine minutes past the “bad stretch”

Once beyond the bad stretch, MacDonalds Glen Road, now quite dry and again in fine shape, starts to rise to its junction with the Cape Mabou Road along the side of the mountain that was earlier to the west of MacDonalds Glen Brook. The road climbs moderately about 80 m (262 ft) over roughly 0.8 km (0.5 mi). This view, taken while regaining my breath, is about six minutes below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road.

Taken 2006 August 3 from about four minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view shows MacDonalds Glen Road reaching the top of its climb to the Cape Mabou Road. The sunlight shows the beginning of the end of the forest path that MacDonalds Glen Road has been since passing the wooden gate.

Taken 2007 August 3 about three minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

As MacDonalds Glen Road reaches its junction with the Cape Mabou Road, it leaves the forest and crosses a grassy meadow. At the side of the road, I saw these delicate yellow flowers abloom in the sun.

Taken 2007 July 2 about two minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This backwards looking view shows the end of the grassy meadow and the point where MacDonalds Glen Road starts down the mountainside up which I had just climbed.

Taken 2006 August 3 at the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

The Cape Mabou Road runs across this photo from the middle left to the centre right. The trampled grass of the meadow here is actually MacDonalds Glen Road, which no longer looks much like a road.

Taken 2007 July 2 at the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view was taken from a short distance up the Cape Mabou Road looking back downhill to the junction. The grading here makes the Cape Mabou Road look like the continuation of the MacDonalds Glen Road to the left, but it is not; it’s a distinct road.

Taken 2006 August 3 at the junction with Cape Mabou Road

This is a better view, taken from the same place as the previous one, of the prominence to the west of the junction. This prominence is the same one that was seen before descending into the V-Shaped glen some time ago, though, of course, from a rather different angle and at a considerably higher elevation. At the junction, the elevation is approximately 200 m (656 ft); this prominence rises above the road to reach 280 m (919 ft).

Taken 2007 July 2 at the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view was taken from a short distance down MacDonalds Glen Road, looking backwards to the junction. Cape Mabou Road is at the far right of the photo; the road down the mountain is straight ahead through the grass showing there.

Taken 2007 July 2 at the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view, from beneath a tree at the side of Cape Mabou Road just above the junction, is just a hair west of south, so one is looking at the Creignish Hills between Glencoe and Judique through the gap in the centre of the photo. It can also be seen here that MacDonalds Glen Road starts briskly downhill below the junction.

Taken 2007 July 2 near the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This is a close-up of the previous view of the gap from a bit further up Cape Mabou Road.

Taken 2007 July 2 just below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view is of the side of the hill to the east of MacDonalds Glen Road just a bit below its junction with Cape Mabou Road.

Taken 2007 July 2 just below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

While visible in the previous photo, these flowering grasses do not stand out from the greens the way they did to my eyes that day; this close-up gives a better idea of their true colours.

Taken 2007 July 2 about four minutes below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This backwards-looking view gives a good idea of what the countryside and the views are like on this hike from the junction with the Cape Mabou Road towards Northeast Mabou.

Taken 2007 July 2 about four minutes below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

MacDonalds Glen Road continues through the beautiful Cape Mabou Highlands on its way down to Northeast Mabou. It is now low enough that the view through the gap is of the sky and not of the lands beyond.

Taken 2007 July 2 about four minutes below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

These lovely blue miniature wild flowers were smiling at me as I was resting on the return trip; I found them irresistible. While similar to those seen during the “bad stretch”, these are smaller and lack the gold-coloured centres the others had.

Taken 2007 July 2 about seven minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

At a few points, such as this one, the trees on both sides of the road come together to almost form a canopy over one’s head, making the road cool on a hot day. The day I was there was not hot, but I was warm from hiking so the shade felt good, as did the gentle breeze that was blowing along nearly all of the hike. MacDonalds Glen Road does not pass through the gap, but makes a 90° turn to the left (east) before it reaches it and continues downhill below the prominence on the left of this photo.

Taken 2007 July 2 about fifteen minutes below the junction with Cape Mabou Road

The road continues its downward course, now trending to the east rather than south. The Cape Mabou Highlands are always close at hand, making it a very lovely hike.

Taken 2007 July 2 about fifteen minutes below the junction with Cape Mabou Road

This close-up of the previous view shows better the interesting geological formation along the ridge in the centre of this photo; it apparently is made of sterner stuff than the terrain on either side. The road will soon bend to the right to take up a southeastern course, which it will then maintain nearly all of the rest of the way to Northeast Mabou.

Taken 2007 July 22 about twenty-two minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This backwards-facing view shows MacDonalds Glen Road climbing easily but steadily towards Cape Mabou Road, with the Cape Mabou Highlands rising above.

Taken 2007 July 2 about twenty-five minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

A stream from the east crosses beneath the road here through a sluice, joining a brook on the west side of the road that flows into the Northeast Mabou River. That brook follows the road for most of the way into Northeast Mabou, at some distance to its side so that one does not hear it continuously, to leave the road definitively near its end.

Taken 2007 July 2 about twenty-five minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This photo shows the brook exiting the sluice on the west side of the road.

Taken 2007 July 2 about twenty-five minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This gravel pit sits at the side of MacDonalds Glen Road near the sluice seen previously.

Taken 2007 July 2 about twenty-five minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This view just below the sluice seen previously shows a thunderhead that was the first I had seen so far. It turned out to be perfectly benign, but I was glad I had come prepared for rain!

Taken 2007 July 2 about thirty-three minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

The road has descended enough at this point that one can now see in the far distance the side of Mabou Mountain, beneath the cloud in the centre. This photo, taken on the return trip, shows the thunderhead as a bit less threatening than in the previous photo. In any event, it was the only thunderhead I saw all day; though plenty of clouds were in the sky, they did not prevent the sun from shining down brightly and brought no rain that day.

Taken 2007 July 2 about forty-two minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

The Mabou River first comes into view here; there is no doubt whatsoever that one is getting close to Northeast Mabou and therefore to the end of MacDonalds Glen Road! The reversed-S curve in the shadow one sees at centre left is the Mabou Harbour Road on its way to Mabou Village. Southwest Ridge rises at the far left of the photo and West Mabou at the far right of the photo.

Taken 2007 July 2 about forty-two minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

Mabou Mountain rises above MacDonalds Glen Road in this view. One of the dogs who was unhappy about me passing by can be seen on the porch of the house at the left; a second (not visible here) joined him from out back. Both were taken inside before I got to the driveway. Just below this house, there are fine views to the southwest. MacDonalds Glen Road then makes a 90° turn to the southwest and descends to its junction with Northeast Mabou Road.

Taken 2007 July 2 about forty-four minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This lovely panorama was new to me. The Northeast Mabou River is at the far left of the photo. Mabou Harbour Road crosses it on a causeway and wooden bridge. To the right of Mabou Harbour Road is Northeast Cove, the mouth of the Northeast Mabou River. Beyond, in the centre of the photo, is the Mabou River proper. West Mabou lies beyond the Mabou River. The road at the far left of the photo is MacDonalds Glen Road, after it makes a 90° turn to the west not far from where I am standing (but out of the scope of this photo).

Taken 2007 July 2 about forty-four minutes
below the junction with the Cape Mabou Road

This is a continuation of the previous view, looking a bit further towards the west.

Taken 2007 July 2 near the junction
of Northeast Mabou and MacDonalds Glen Roads

This view is to the west from MacDonalds Glen Road just before it enters Northeast Mabou Road. There is a meadow here with nice views of the Cape Mabou Highlands in nearly all directions.

Taken 2007 July 2 near the junction
of Northeast Mabou and MacDonalds Glen Roads

These lovely lupins, seen also in the previous photo, were in full bloom in the meadow, sharing their beauty with anyone who cast them a glance.

Taken 2007 July 2 from the Northeast Mabou Road

110 Northeast Mabou Road (the number 110 is visible above the garage door) is the southeastern terminus of MacDonalds Glen Road. The garage sits directly across from MacDonalds Glen Road, whose entrance can be inferred by following the tire tracks in the gravel that lead to the left in the left foreground of the photo.

Taken 2007 July 2 from the Northeast Mabou Road

The brook which flowed parallel to southeastern end of MacDonalds Glen Road flows under this bridge on Northeast Mabou Road to enter the Northeast Mabou River just to the right of the scene shown in this photo. The white house right of centre is at 110 Northeast Mabou Road. The flank at the right is part of Mabou Mountain.

Taken 2007 July 2 from the bridge
on the Northeast Mabou Road seen in the previous photo

This is the unnamed brook which flows under the bridge seen in the previous photo.

Taken 2007 July 2 from the bridge
on the Northeast Mabou Road seen in the previous photo

Mabou Mountain lies in the background of this photo. The grass one sees here is actually a marsh formed by the mouth of the Northeast Mabou River, whose main course is marked by the dark line from the centre to the right of the photo just beyond the bridge.

This concludes the photos taken during my hikes along MacDonalds Glen Road. The photos that follow are from the side trip up Cape Mabou Road.

Taken 2006 August 3 from the Cape Mabou Road
about a minute above its junction with MacDonalds Glen Road

This view is from a bit further up than the one seen previously, but, like it, is a hair west of south and shows the Creignish Hills between Glencoe and Judique in the gap in the centre of the photo.

Taken 2006 August 3 from the Cape Mabou Road
about six minutes above its junction with MacDonalds Glen Road

The Cape Mabou Road twists around the terrain as it climbs. On the left side of the road, there are frequent tree-obscured glimpses of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the distance, but most are only that. This one is better than most, though my camera seems to have focussed on the plants in the foreground and not on the Gulf. Given the turns, I am not positive precisely which direction this is, but it would be either to the west towards Finlay Point or to the northwest towards MacKinnons Brook. These trees are on the edge of a ravine, so one doesn’t want to get too close to the edge.