Turtle Mountain: Oct 19 2019

At 8 am on Saturday Oct 19, seven of us left Fredericton and drove south on Route 7 towards Saint John. We pulled off the highway just past km marker 76; drove behind a guard rail and over a short rough road to a parking area. 
                                                                                                  Leaving the vehicle. we turned right and walked 200 meters to an orange gate, and then followed the road for 3.3 km to a rough bridge over what the locals call the Dardanelles, a short thoroughfare between Robin Hood and Little John Lakes. 

Beyond the bridge, the trail alternated between rocky and wet for a good part of the way. There were several short trails bypassing bad areas, always on the right as we hiked along.

3 km past the bridge, there is an open area where you can end up at the wrong mountain if you are not careful. The trail naturally leads left to Mahaney Mountain, while the trail to Turtle Mountain is hidden away on the far right. *there is usually red tape marking the correct route.

From there the trail continues for another 4.2 km to the bottom of Turtle Mountain. The trail up the mountain  resembles an inclined sidewalk as you make your way towards the top.

The top of the mountain has a grove of trees with campsites in the center, while the rest is smooth and flat with great views in all directions. You can see the ocean as well as several lakes from the top. I've made a few trips to the mountain now, and never seem to have enough time to take it all in. Perhaps I need to stay overnight :-)

This trip was a slower than usual, due to having to work around many wet areas. Our total time including lunch was 9 hours. Total trail mileage was 22 kms.