'It felt like a waterbed': Fundy Footpath campers wake up to flooded tents

When Colin McLean and a group of three others hiked the Fundy Footpath on the weekend, they decided to set up their tents in a clearing near the Little Salmon River in southern New Brunswick. That was on Friday night.

It's picturesque, not far from the river and McLean had tented there before. So he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

The next morning, about 2 a.m., he was startled awake by a commotion as everyone in the group woke up to flooded tents.

"I think I thought I was still dreaming because I put my hand on the bottom of my tent and it felt like a waterbed," he said. "And then I pushed down and I couldn't feel the ground. There was so much water."

McLean estimates the water soaking their tents, sleeping bags and clothes was 15 to 20 centimetres deep.

"Initially we thought maybe it rained," McLean said. "But then we realized we didn't hear any rain or anything, so I assumed it must have been the tides.

"So we weren't sure how much more water was coming, or if there was any more, so we quickly kind of salvaged what we could and moved to higher ground."

The Fundy Footpath is a wilderness trail that winds from the Fundy Trail Parkway in Big Salmon River to Fundy National Park in Alma.

It's considered a fairly advanced trail and the Fundy Hiking Trail Association, which manages the trail, recommends on its website that hikers plan for a four-to-five-day trip.

McLean said after managing in wet gear overnight, his group decided to cut their excursion short and head home.

He said he doesn't think people should be deterred by his experience, but he hopes more information about the specific site will be added to the hiker's guide book published by the trail association.

Marc Leger, president of the Fundy Hiking Trail Association, said the book does warn hikers to be cautious about where they camp in relation to tidal areas.

Leger said the biggest challenge is to get people to read and use the guidebook instead of just buying it and using the map. 

"These are public areas, public lands," he said. "I can't tell people where not to camp, but I can provide the best information that I can for those that choose to access it."

Leger said that the area, which he described as an estuary only a few inches above sea level, floods several times each year during high-tide events, so he generally wouldn't advise using it as a campsite, but it can be used if people monitor the tide forecasts.

McLean said he had read the guide book and the group thought they had done their research, but he has some advice for others wanting to camp near the river.

"Definitely pay attention to what the moon has been doing and is doing," he said. "Really take the time to look at the high watermarks, and don't assume anything."

Leger said personal experience on the Fundy Footpath isn't enough to teach someone all of the risks.

"It takes years of experience to be a successful backpacker," he said. "But but also it takes years of personal knowledge to get to know a particular area that's very dynamic, and you won't find a much more dynamic area than intertidal zones on the Bay of Fundy."