Welcome to the Louisbourg Lighthouse Trail that will take you past the rugged coastline, dense coniferous forests, and wetlands indicative of this region, ending at Big Lorraine. In 2008, 1.5 km of the trail has been groomed. The remainder winds itself along bluffs, peat embankments, sand and pebble beaches and possible bedrock outcrops. Caution is required here, with the trails being somewhat primitive, but the views are magnificent. Total travel distance is approx. 8-10 km return. Take water, a friend and lots of pictures. There is also a regular ( GC6JG1B ) and multi-cache ( GC6ERTG ) associated with this this cache. The posted coordinate will take you to the Lighthouse and trailhead.
The base of this rugged coastal barren is 570 million year old pre-Cambrian grey and black rock that is criss-crossed by lighted coloured veins from volcanic activity from about 350 million years ago.
From 40,000 to 10,000 years ago, four cycles of enormous glaciers passed over this terrain. As they advanced, they scoured the rock surface leaving groves that are still visible today. As they receded, the melting glaciers left deposits of till, soil, gravel and the large loose boulders you see scattered over the headlands. Erosion of these tills provide the source of the cobbles and sand on the beaches you will see. Barrens formed along Nova Scotia’s coast where the rigours of the climate combine with soil conditions.
Four factors may be involved in the development of barrens: 1. the effects of ice action during glaciation scraping over hard rocks and leaving only a thin residue of coarse till with numerous boulders; 2. the formation of a hardpan layer which is impenetrable to roots; 3. the effects of fire, stripping humus from the soils. ; 4. Rigorous or harsh climatic conditions are the greatest influence on some of the Cape Breton high altitude barrens and coastal barrens on exposed headlands.
As you approach the ocean, leaving the shelter of the forest behind, the coastal barrens stretch out before you. This is a zone of vegetation generally about the height of an adult human. Cold and salty winds from the ocean clip the growth of plants, causing them to be stunted and twisted. Barren conditions favour ericaceous (heath) vegetation and lichens. Ericaceous plants are usually woody, acid-tolerant and very resistant to drought. Lichens are a pioneer vegetation type, in this case colonizing exposed rock. They can also survive very dry conditions. Coastal barrens have an abundance of Reindeer Moss , Broom Crowberry or Black Crowberry.
Despite the name, the barrens are a diverse and fascinating habitat. This landscape is actually a miniature Acadian forest. Stunted White pine and Red maple are present. Black spruce, Balsam fir, and Wire birch grow not much taller than the multitude of shrubs such as blueberry, Sheep laurel, Bearberry, Canada holly, and huckleberry.
Many of these shrubs are prolific berry producers later in the summer. Birds and sometimes Black bears can be seen feasting on the rich bounty. Beneath the twisted, impenetrable, and dwarfed trunks of tree and shrub, there is a forest floor. A lush growth of Cinnamon ferns, Wintergreen, Bunchberry, and mosses are found here. This is also a haven for many small animals like Snowshoe hare, Red squirrel, and other small rodents who seek the shelter offered by the thick vegetation. Birds like the Common yellow-throat warbler, the Savannah sparrow, and the Palm warbler flit in and out of the branches. These small creatures move easily in the tangle of shrubs and dwarfed trees typical of the barrens. During June and July, orchids like Rose pogonia, Calopogon, and Arethusa display splendid flowers. Tufted seed heads of Bog cotton float like clouds above the surface of Sphagnum moss. Certain trees do seem to be able to endure: Wire birch, Black spruce, Balsam fir, and sometimes even White pine adapt to the conditions. Bare, branchless trunks face into the predominant winds, while most of the growth is directed downwind on low, lateral branches. Due to the extremely slow rate of growth, trunks of a few centimetres in diameter may contain up to one hundred very fine growth rings.
Nearer the ocean, the barrens become more stunted. The shrubs give way to Crowberry, Reindeer moss, and Ground juniper that grow right up to the beach’s edge.
Peat moss is dead fibrous material that forms when mosses and other living material decompose in peat bogs. The difference between peat moss and the compost gardeners make in their backyard is that peat moss is composed mostly of moss and the decomposition happens in the absence of air, which slows the decomposition. It takes several millennia for peat moss to form, and peat bogs gain less than a millimeter in depth every year. Since the process is so slow, peat moss isn’t considered a renewable resource.
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, fens and bogs are not the same thing. Although both are types of wetlands, the ways that they collect water are different and result in different chemical compositions that affect which plants and other life forms are found there. While other types of wetlands ( march and swamps ) are very nutrient-rich, bogs are clearly defined by their lack of nutrients and their relative inability to support large plant life. Bogs are mossy wetlands. Almost all of their water comes from rain and snow. Water in bogs is low in oxygen, very acidic and often cold. Sphagnum or peat moss is common in bogs. This moss has large cells with openings that absorb a lot of water. This makes bogs very spongy. A bog is created over hundreds or thousands of years, formed when plant matter decays in a lake and fills it. This creates layers and layers of. Bogs are freshwater, and in spite of the large amounts of decaying plant matter, they are very poor in nutrients because of the slow rate of decay. Most of the plant life around a bog is along the lines of fungi, mosses, and small shrubs. Many carnivorous plants, such as the pitcher plant and the sundew, have evolved in bogs and augment their meagre rations taken from the sterile peaty soil with insects.
Bogs are infinitely valuable in their ability to store carbon, removing this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Plants that also grow here include Bog laurel, Bog huckleberry, Three-leaved false Solomon’s seal, White-fringed orchids, Rhodora, and Sweet gale. All of these plants thrive in the bog conditions which prevent many other plants from growing. At the Seaside, the bogs are pierced with large boulders. These boulders are called glacial erratics and remind us of the relatively short span of time that has passed since the last Ice Age swept over Nova Scotia. Many of the seaside bogs began as small ponds that formed when the last of the glaciers melted along the coast about 13 000 years ago. Cool and damp, this landscape encouraged the growth of sphagnum. The moss gradually filled in all of the ponds to form bogs. Another bog-like wetland is called a fen.
Like bogs, fens formed when glaciers retreated. Grasses and sedges are common plants in fens and fens often look like meadows. They are like bogs because they have peat deposits in them, but unlike bogs some of their water comes from small streams and groundwater. The main difference between a fen and a bog is that fens have greater water exchange and are less acidic, so their soil and water are richer in nutrients. Fens are often found near bogs and over time most fens become bogs. Insects like mosquitoes and horseflies are common in fens as are amphibians, insect-eating birds and mammals like shrews and voles. Nova Scotia coastal barrens host rare species of vascular plants. These are more common at the more northernly and isolated sites such as Baleine (Cape Breton). Over forty species of lichens have been found growing on exposed boulders at a single field site.
To qualify a find for this earthcache, the following questions and actions must be completed.
1 ) During your trek of this trail, what is the most common ground cover plant you have encountered. A - Ground Juniper, B – Broom Crowberry, 3 - Reindeer Moss, 4 - Sphagnum Moss.
2 ) At the stage 2 location, you will see the starting of a small bog in an hollowed area of glaciation. Note the standing water and start of moss development. Take a bearing true of the direction of the glacier retreat to form this little hollow.
3 ) At the stage 3 location, you will find a small peat moss bank exposed by weather or animal diggings. Measure the peat thickness from the bedrock and calculate how many years this would have taken to form ( if continuously deposited ).
4 ) At the stage 4 location, you will find a large out of place item. What is it’s geological name, and calculate it’s weight. It appears to be a form of granite, so a specific gravity of 2.65 can be used. It is ellipsoidal in shape. Just west of this item, you will see a parallel series of fractures in the bedrock. Please take a true reading of their bearing.
5 ) Along your travels, you will come across a few locations of Sphagnum Moss. Describe these locations.
You may log your find immediately if pictures included can verify your travel, if not, please forward answers before logging your find.
This earthcache was setup in early spring, no flowers were in bloom. If you are able, please include any close-up pictures of flowers and berries you may encounter, so they can be added to a index in this cache, Thanks
Louisbourg Lighthouse Trail Info Louisbourg National Historic Park Info
Unique Hits - 
Bog flowers and berries
Bake apple or Cloudberry flowers