The Sentier Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail is a 147 kilometre wilderness hiking and backpacking trail in New Brunswick, Canada that follows the Nepisiguit River from the Daly Point’s Nature Reserve in Bathurst to Mount Carleton Provincial Park. Officially opened for hiking in 2018, the trail is a recommissioned ancient Mi'gmaq portage route and is one of the eleven signature hiking trails in New Brunswick.
History
The Sentier Nepisiguit Mi'gmaq Trail (Oinpegitjoig owteech) has historically been used by local Mi'gmaq people; the first usage is estimated at 5,000 years ago. The trail provided a migration artery to and from the interior of their territory (now most of northern New Brunswick). The Mi’gmaq would spend the summer along the shores of the Bay of Chaleur (Mowebaktabāāk) to fish, hunt and escape the torrents of black flies and other bugs. In autumn, they would pack their camps with preserved supplies, and head back into the interior to set up winter camp in a region sheltered from storms and abundant in caribou and moose for sustenance. The trail was used to carry supplies that could not be hauled up or down the river by canoe, that being their main source of transportation.
The Mi'gmaq people also used river portages to travel to other parts of the territory. These portages were used to carry supplies and people to other river systems. These river portages are currently being recommissioned by Robert Doyle and Tim Humes of CKNB (Canoe Kayak New Brunswick). These portages were mentioned in some of William F. Ganong’s journals he wrote while exploring the wilderness of New Brunswick.
When the first European explorers, trappers, prospectors and settlers came to this region (the Bay of Chaleur) they also used this convenient route to navigate into the interior of what is now the Province of New Brunswick.
Restoration of the trail started in 1985 as an initiative of the Pabineau First Nation, which flagged and cleared the route from Pabineau Falls to Mount Carleton. In 1997, the trail was opened from Gloucester Junction to Middle Landing, but in the years that followed, trail maintenance lapsed and much of the trail grew over as government priorities shifted. However, in 2015, efforts were renewed to clear the entire route for hiking and camping. Work was largely completed by 2018 and on June 21, 2018, the New Brunswick government designated the new trail as one of the eleven signature trails for the province. as part of the New Brunswick Trails Action Plan due to its historical significance and tourism potential. The official recommissioning of the trail was made on August 27, 2018, at the “Golden Metre” event. The trail has now entered the second phase of construction, consisting of creating an infrastructure construction management plan. The plan will include water crossings, boardwalks, and switchbacks constructed only in crucial areas.
Name
Oinpegitjoig owteech (win-peg-it-joe-ick-owe-tee-je) is literally translated as Nepisiguit Trail. Oinpegitjoig means roughly or evil flowing waters; and Owteech means a path.
Geography
The trail follows much of the original portage path along the Nepisiguit River. The route goes from sea level at the mouth of the river in Bathurst Harbour (Gepamgeâg) to Mount Carleton Provincial Park in the headwaters of Bathurst Lake (formerly known as Nepisiguit Lake), where it connects to several trails leading to Mount Carleton, the highest mountain in Canada's Maritime Provinces.
The trail itself is an estimated 147 kilometres with a terrain that varies between mountains, river valleys and a river delta. See maps under the heading maps here. The scenic trail offers breathtaking lookouts, waterfalls and valleys filled with Acadian forests.