ET wrote:

Most public use airports in the US also have a segmented circle
indicating traffic patterns to help keep folks who choose not to do any
research about the airports they are choosing to land at.


Funny think is, even if the OP was correct, they could very well have
been "dead" to rights, and taken another pilot with them.

Now, i'm just a lowly student pilot, but I've been taught to call ~ 10
miles out when approaching an uncontrolled field, announce my intentions
and ask for traffic advisories. If you're not sure of the traffic
pattern, then ask at that point if you can raise anyone. ....

Snide comments aside, I realize we were on the wrong side (not my
call). We could have crossed over and joined the left downwind but that
could have put us in conflict with the slower traffic joining the left
base. I suspect my captain's thinking was that the 172 had just called
a 2 mile base - he was much closer - and we had enough of a speed
advantage that we could slot in ahead of him and it wouldn't have been
an issue. As it was we were on with Timmins Radio who had cleared us
for the visual approach - the 172 was also in contact with FSS. In a
similar situation now I would extend the DW and slot in behind the
slower traffic