The Speares

Gros Morne August-September 2018

We had never been to Newfoundland before, and had heard good things about Gros Morne park, especially the mountain. So off we went.

 

 

Like the Jasper trip, we felt that the trailer would probably just get in the way with ferries and stuff, so we got Hotels on the way out and a framed tent at the park.

 

August 30 Rivière-du-Loup

 

It was a bit of a haul, but we made it all the way to Rivière-du-Loup the first day. That's a great town; I always feel bad just blowing through on my way somewhere. Someday we'll go specifically there and see whales and stuff. Anyhow, we stayed in the Hôtel Levesque which has great sunset views over the Gulf and a fabulous restaurant. The servers there don't necessarily speak English (although there's always someone nearby who does), so brushing up on your high school French prior to going is a wise move.

 

August 31 Sydney

The second day found us in Sydney Nova Scotia. We didn't really have any plans here other than getting a night's sleep prior to the ferry the next day.

 

September 1 Port-aux-Basques

This was ferry day. The ferry trip during the day was pleasant and interesting and when we got to Port-aux-Basques we stayed in a great little hotel called St Christopher's. The restaurant features Cod Tongues and Scrunchions and various Moose delicacies.

 

September 2 Gros Morne

 

The next day we left Port-aux-Basques and drove to the Berry Hill campsite in Gros Morne. We stopped in Deer Lake on the way there to stock up on stuff and the car was full to the gunnels after that. The last bit of the drive was very spectacular and gave us a good overview of what we would see in the park over the next few days

 

September 3 Hiking

For our first day in the park we did the hikes close to the campground. There's a little hike that goes around Berry Hill pond, and also a short but steep hike up Berry Hill itself to a lookout. A somewhat longer hike is Baker's Brook Falls, and after a short drive there is Lobster Cove Head on the Ocean.

 

September 4 Boat Ride and Coastal Trail

Western Brook Pond is a fresh water fjord, which is not technically true but close enough. It started out life as a regular fjord but then the land raised or the ocean lowered (I forget which) and it became land-locked. Same difference for a boat ride: the scenery is spectacular.

 

The 3 km walk in used to be awesome apparently, all board walks and stuff. Now it's more of a gravel road. Too bad, but the boat ride is still worth it. For the really adventurous you can hop off the boat at the far end and start the Long Range Traverse. We're not that adventurous.

 

After a great boat ride on the fjord we had a few hours before the sun went over the yardarm so we hiked the Coastal Trail. It's a fairly easy walk between two places that were fishing communities back when there were fish. The trail is mostly cobbly beaches and "Tuckamore" - spruce trees that brave the winds on the coast.

 

September 5 Gros Morne Mountain

This was the big day! The whole point of the trip was to climb the mountain and here we were. We got there quite early to beat the crowds, but even still there were a few parties ready to roll and even one girl who was running out of the bush and had apparently run the entire trail in two and a half hours. She had bloody scrapes on her legs which is the least damage I would expect for someone running up the scree slope.

 

 

The scree slope was a humbling experience. I found I was ready to quit half way up but there was no chance of going down, so up it was. You can't tell in the picture but the slope actually goes up at quite a tilt.

 

Scree is rock - lots of little rocks; lots of medium sized rocks; lots of really big rocks. All falling down the mountain. Hopefully not on the day you're climbing it.

 

 

When you get almost to the top of the scree hill and turn around, the view will take your breath away. Or maybe it's the altitude.

 

A little ways past the top of the scree hill and you find yourself at the summit, where it is surprisingly Arctic no matter what it was like at the bottom of the hill.

 

There was no place out of the wind and cold to have lunch, but we were told there would be some good spots on the way down. So we wandered around on the top for a while and then started off to where the trail went down the other side of the mountain.

 

 

 

The way down is much more civilized than the way up, at least to start. There are hundreds of stairs going down part of the way and the grade is gentle. As the environment changes from rocks to vegetation, the wind seems to die down and lose its sting and there are lots of places to stop and grab a bite.

 

 

About half way down, though, you find out you're not quite done yet. The trail is not nearly as steep as the scree slope but it is still somewhat challenging.

 

 

A couple of hours later and our Gros Morne Mountain adventure was in the can and it was time to go back to the campground for some wine. We were also reminded by our camp mascot that it was time for supper.

 

September 6 Rain!

 

Amazing what a difference a day can make. The next day wasn't much good for anything. Sure would hate to be up on the mountain in this kind of weather.

 

September 7 Green Gardens and Visitor Centre Lookout

These are about the prettiest hikes you'll ever do. Green Gardens starts out somewhat lame and rocky but once you get near the ocean the view improves dramatically. Parts of the trail were closed and they really meant it. The relentless winds are making stairs and even bits of trail simply disappear.

 

On the way home we went to the visitor centre and there found the Lookout Trail. By next year this is going to be a great trail. But while they're building this great trail they have you "detour" straight up the hill on a not-trail. It was slippery as goose poop after the rain and quite the adventure getting to the top. But the view from the top was worth it.

 

September 8 Table Lands, Port-aux-Basques and a Stygian Ferry Ride

 

The Newfoundland portion of our trip was drawing to a close so it was time to pack up. Definitely the cleanest the tent had been all week. We also had to say goodbye to our little friend which proved awkward because just as I was about to spread peanuts all over the warden showed up to see us off. I don't know if they actually care about feeding chipmunks in this park as they are not indigenous, but I didn't want to risk a ticket so I carried on an entire conversation with the warden whilst holding a handful of peanuts.

 

Once we got away from the park we did a tour of the Table Lands. Pretty significant place for Geologists and worth googling. Not so scenic but still worth the visit.

 

For lunch we ate at the Seaside Restaurant in Trout River. What a great restaurant! Just outside the restaurant there is a boardwalk that turns into a trail, so we walked that for part of the ways after lunch.

 

A few hours later we made it to Port-aux-Basques where we ate some more great food at St. Christopher's Hotel and did part of the board walk while waiting for the ferry.

 

We took the overnight ferry, thinking we would save a hotel and arrive in Cape Breton all refreshed from sleeping on the ferry and ready to roll. Not so much. The ferry has cabins that you can rent for the crossing, but if you opt to sleep in one of the reserved chairs instead they're happy to sell you a blanket. What that means is the chairs are like sleeping on lumpy bricks and they don't heat the room that the chairs are in. This helps with blanket sales. Also there's some kind of routine announcement in case you do manage to get to sleep. Not the worst night of my life but you don't want to hear about that one. This one was close. Next time we cross during the day or get a cabin.

 

September 9 Cape Breton

 

We wanted to stop in Cape Breton National Park for a couple of days on the way home but couldn't get a cabin or tent with electricity. So instead we found a nice little motel (the Mountainview Motel) that had cottage units for cheap. Our cottage came with a fairly complete kitchenette, but rather than make our own food we just went a couple of miles down the road to the Rusty Anchor and ate there.

 

On the way to the motel we stopped at the East gate and did the Middle Head trail with a guide. Interesting, but not very hilly. After the hike we stopped at a little place and had fish and blueberry soup (2 different dishes).

 

September 10 Busy Day!

We packed a lot into this day. We started with a drive around bits of the Cabot Trail which is absolutely incredible. Then a quick peak at Beulach Ban Falls before heading out on the Aspy trail.

 

The Aspy trail was a little disappointing. There some nice views of the Aspy fault and then the trail simply ends. I would have expected a viewing tower or some such.

 

 

src="/trips/2018/Gros Morne/P1060060.JPG" caption="Bush Chic"

 

src="/trips/2018/Gros Morne/P1060061.JPG" caption="The Aspy Fault"

 

src="/trips/2018/Gros Morne/P1060064.JPG" caption="End of the line"

 

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After Aspy we visited the Lone Shieling, which is a replica of a crofter's cabin. There are plaques here explaining exactly why they have a replica cabin, basically to honour the heritage of the person who gave 100 acres of his land to start the park.

 

 

On the way to the next venue we stopped and took a peak at Fishing Cove, a hike down to a little abandoned fishing community on the coast. We didn't have time for this hike on this trip but may be the reason we go back someday. It is a totally heinous hike. With most hikes you start at the bottom and go up, so when you're tired you come down. This one you start at the top and hike down, so when you're tired you have to hike up over a thousand feet of elevation. Can't wait.

 

Next up was the Bog. It's not a very challenging walk - in fact it's wheelchair accessible - but it is interesting if you're into peat moss. And who isn't.

 

The last hike of the day was easily the most spectacular, the Skyline Trail. It is a very level walk out to some elaborate viewing platforms on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Gulf. This is the hike where, sadly, a young woman was attacked and killed by coyotes a few years ago. We didn't see any coyotes but we did see a big bull moose close up.

 

September 11 Home

Time to head on home. We needed to regroup a little bit in preparation for the next trip which was to a family reunion in Holland. Didn't really have any adventures on the way home; we made it from Cape Breton to Rivière-du-Loup in one go, and then the next day we made it home although we were well into deer and moose time on the roads so had to take it a bit easy.

 

Anyhow, a great trip and I think we'll do one just like it again in the future.

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