Paddling to Tobeatic Lake Cabin: A Map Guide

[Alain B]

Hi all, 

Here's a map showing how to get to Tobeatic Lake Cabin, a recently rehabilitated warden's cabin. It's only one of three still standing in western Nova Scotia. The trip to it can be done in one day, but care must be taken when paddling the large and often windy Rossignol and Tobeatic lakes. If you visit, please be on the look-out for illegal ATV activity and report any as soon as possible. There is a tiny bit of cell phone reception at the cabin, if you stand on the correct boulder. It is recommended that you bring all gear as if you were tenting, just in case someone else is at the cabin already (highly unlikely!) or you have to camp midway due to high winds. I expect this to be an excellent long-weekend trip for many in the coming years. The trip doesn't change much if waters are low, so this is a good route any time of year. There is a white square on a tree at the landing in front of the cabin. 

I won't post a picture of the cabin, you have to see it to believe it! It's like a trip back to the 1930's. A lot of work by very dedicated volunteers went into this cabin and it is now available to paddlers, hikers, researchers, and wilderness enthusiasts alike. There are still trout in the lake... for now. 

Cheers,

Alain  

[Dusan Soudek]

Alain (and all others),

   superb! Congratulations! A job well done! Another great paddling destination in the Tobeatic Wilderness Area!

Dusan Soudek

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[Jeff MacDonnell]

That's fantastic, nice work! I'm hoping for a Tobeatic trip next spring so I might try to swing by!

Cheers,
Jeff

[Tristan Glen]

I just spent the weekend visiting the Bats Rest Cabin.  What a great trip, and and incredible cabin restoration; it's like stepping back in time.  I noticed it might need something to hold the bottom section of the chimney together, maybe a couple big 4 - 6 inch (diameter) hose clamps would do it; currently there are a few pieces of wire.

We started at the Mersey River bridge, paddled down the Mersey, then we followed option A on the map (2 km road portage).  We portaged twice round the 2 rapids at the bottom of the Shelburne River (by Zane Grey's boat), then paddled up the Shelburne River to the private cabin in the hemlock forest. We portaged across to Tobeatic Lake on the roads and arrived at the cabin at twilight.  It was -8 overnight, and we encountered quite a bit of ice on Tobeatic Lake on our way out.  To get home,  we took option B on the map, only having to portage once around the small falls right before Little Tupper Lake (river right, 50 metres). Sand Brook was an absolute joy to paddle, especially with the fresh snow everywhere (but there were several sweepers to watch out for). 

I don't entirely recommend paddling Lake Rossignol in December, but we had some lucky weather which made it do-able. The trip in took us a full day, and would be better suited to spring time when the day is longer.  All in all a great trip though!

Tristan

[Alain B]

That's great Tristan, thanks for sharing! It's nice to see people visiting and appreciating the historic site. I'll forward your thoughts on the chimney. There may be one follow-up visit by a very small crew next year to inspect the cabin and make minor adjustments. 

The Zane Grey Portages... are they in any kind of good condition? I've always lined or poled that section (or run them downstream, at least the upstream section) so I don't know about the portage trails. I could add details to the map I made, or share that info when asked. 

The "private cabin" is actually public, though it is in very poor shape and probably locked. I think the foundation is falling apart, so I wouldn't recommend anyone go in there even for a peak. The cabin has also been abused by illegal ATV users in the recent past. Because of this continuous ATV threat, there are no plans to restore this cabin unless the province really steps up its enforcement efforts and keeps illegal ATV users out, which it probably won't unfortunately. I encourage anyone reading this to send a letter to their MLA/Premier/Dept. of Env. to allocate more funding to wilderness/public land enforcement. 

So glad you tried Option B, it's definitely my preferred route. In the past and in warmer weather I've walked up and down that brook, amazed by the schools of trout swimming along the banks and around my feet. The brook usually had white sucker fish in it too. This is where I learned how to fly fish. The sand along this brook comes from an esker that may stretch all the way down to the South Shore coast (~50km) and it might be the longest esker in the province (it isn't continuous though so it can be hard to find / connect in places). The campsite at the bottom end of the brook is one of the nicest in the Tobeatic and I should include it in an update of the map (a good halfway stopping point). 

Thanks again for the trip update!

cheers

Alain

[Dusan Soudek]

Hello Alain et al,

  I am wondering about the unusual name of the Tobeatic Lake Warden’s Cabin..... Bat’s Rest. Is it a historical name or a neologism? What do the old timers say?

Dusan Soudek

 

[jonathan riley]

Good point Dusan 

We are encouraging Tobeatic Lake Camp as the name. See the beautiful railing ;)

I await with interest Alanis answer…

Jonathan Riley

Trail and Open Spaces Coordinator

Municipality of the District of Digby

Phone: 902-245-2861

 

On Dec 8, 2021, at 11:15 AM, Dusan Soudek <sou...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:



Hello Alain et al,

  I am wondering about the unusual name of the Tobeatic Lake Warden’s Cabin..... Bat’s Rest. Is it a historical name or a neologism? What do the old timers say?

Dusan Soudek

 

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[Alain B]

"Tobeatic Lake Cabin" was the name given to the cabin by the wardens after they built it and for a few decades. This is what they wrote down by hand in their yearly summary of events. When the wardens no longer patrolled after 1964-ish, the cabin was abandoned along with all the others (11 in the Tobeatic and a few more elsewhere in NS). Most cabins disintegrated fairly quickly. At least one was burned down after ATV users used it too much and the province decided it was a liability that needed to be burned down. Somehow, both Cofan Cabin (on Sand Beach Lake/Shelburne River) and Tobeatic Lake Cabin received some sparse maintenance between 1964-ish and 2015. They were both given a new roof in the 1980's (ish) by volunteers who didn't want to see the cabins disappear. These roofs stood the test of time (barely) until the 2010's when more recent restoration efforts occurred. 

It is one of those volunteer groups that gave Tobeatic Lake Cabin's name "Bat's Rest" because they found bats living in it. Interestingly, while restoring the cabin from 2016-2021, we saw a bat sleeping in the covered patio. This is a rare occurrence these days. 

So, as with everything else about the cabin, I try to stick with the traditions so I say Tobeatic Lake Cabin. But the name Bat's Rest is catchy and I don't expect it to vanish anytime soon. ;) I'm not sure which name is used the most these days. Might be a virtual tie.