Backpack to Mont Carleton via Mont Sagamook

First, this adventure makes for a great day hike, but we figured that it would also be a fantastic occasion to backpack and camp under the stars on a mountain before Winter settled in in the Maritimes. Mount Carleton is the highest peak in the Maritime Provinces, and is designated Dark Sky Preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.  It is also a perfect place to see the leaves change colours in the Fall. 

The trail starts at Mount Sagamook. Turn right at the first intersection and choose to hiked up the "shortest" trail. It zig-zags up to the top of the mountain at 777 meters of elevation. It is very abrupt and half of the trail consist of climbing boulder after boulder, but the view is absolutely worth the extra effort. 

From the top of Mount Sagamook, hike South on the Mount Head trail towards Mount Carleton. Following the red markers, the first portion of the trail consists of wiggly rocks and turns into a flat trail in the forest. Halfway in the trail, a short 0.8 km side-trail brings you to the top of Mount Head. The trail ends at the a crossroad on the main Mont Carleton trail, a 400 meters hike away from the summit. 

On the top of Mount Carleton is an old watch tower that was once used to monitor potential fires in the area. The Provincial Park says that from the top, you can see 10,000 trees. If you are interested in plants, the Mountain is full of Labrador Tea bushes, Sorb berries, and Canadian bunchberrys.

To finish the trail and reach the backcountry campsite, you have to go around the watchtower on the edge of the Mountain. You can hike the edge or get down on the rocks at the right. Both are about 1.5k hike to reach the campsite. The trails are difficult and need a lot of balance as some of the rocks are wiggly and the wind is strong. 

There are 4 camping areas at the campsite and you need to get a permit before you start your hike if you plan to spend the night. The campsites are very basic but there is an older outhouse and a bear cache you can use to hide your food away from your tent. There is a brook running bellow the campsites were water can be filtered to fill up bottles. It's not a fancy campsite, but a great spot to stop if you're planing on watching the sunset or sunrise on top of the Mountain. 

To reach Mount Carleton parking lot on your way down, the hike from the campsite is about 4,5 km. The last part of the trail features beautiful trees and is the most colourful part in the Fall.