Cape Breton Roadtrip: Fiset Brook Falls

Today I went through the series of waterfalls along the Fiset Brook. To get to the bigger waterfalls, some people wait until they are above the falls and then descend--the geocache listed below is one entry where you will find the directions "Follow this trail until your GPS points directly into the gorge and begin making your way down to the bottom." However, there are smaller waterfalls and beautiful pools to be found along the way if you join Fiset Brook immediately after leaving Le Platin Road. I'd recommend parking at the end of Le Platin Road (off the back road of Cheticamp), going on foot up the hill, turning down the ATV trail on the right, and hopping down to the brook near a small pull-off area (My apologies--did not have my GPS on this fine day to mark coordinates). HOWEVER---there will be two options available to you at some points along this follow-the-brook journey. One: climb, two: shoulder-deep swimming. Today, I climbed whenever possible--had not brought proper swimming gear, had my iphone to protect--but I still wound up putting my phone in a ziploc bag in my friend's backpack and jumping into a couple of pools when I felt the swim was a much safer bet than the climb up a cliff-side. This was my first time navigating the brook from the "bottom up" and I underestimated the depth of some of those pools. It's a huge regret to me right now, as I lack any pictures of the biggest falls. (Depending on your generosity towards use of the word "falls," you may count five of them before you get to the tallest.)

Also, it may be noted, I'm eighteen weeks pregnant and erring on the side of caution more than usual. A stronger climber might make it from the lowest falls to the highest without swimming if following the brook, but it's doubtful--and would not have happened today. One of my companions got a couple of good knocks to her elbows when she fell from the rocks around one of the deeper pools on the way back down, hitting her arms first and then crashing into a pool that was just deep enough for her to submerge herself completely while saving the backpack with completely outstretched arms.

At the last couple of stages of waterfalls, there are ropes to guide a person up and above these bigger sets.