Day 59
I had a bit of a rough night with a dance going on at the nearby lodge
and my antihistamine working overtime to completely block my sinuses. My
sleep was interrupted for a few hours as I tried to fall back asleep
so I decided to sleep in and didn't get up until 11am.
I had some Cream of Wheat for breakfast and then tried to decide what
trails to attempt. I drove off to a parking lot with a few choices
before me and decided to bike out to the far trailhead of the Lomond River
Trail and hike back to the car. It was quite nice but you don't see
much of the river. Once back at the car, I decided to take a break
and pick up my bike and go to the campsite for lunch. With that out
of the way, I headed back and headed out on the Stuckless Pond Trail. One
reference had the length listed as 7.5km but I realized on the trail (when
I passed the 7.5km marker) that it would be a bit longer. I later found
the length listed as 9.5km in another spot. The trail was fairly easy
as it mostly followed old logging roads. The only wildlife of interest
was a cow and calf moose that I saw across the lake - too far away for
pictures.
Back at the campground, I cooled
down and then bought a burger and fries from the camp store. I returned
to my site to eat them but I had to keep my eyes on my fries since the squirrels
were quite bold. I had to resort to throwing stones near them (not
at them, of course) just to keep them at bay. I headed back to the
camp office to see if I could borrow a phone line to connect and was happy
to be offered one. The office suddenly became quite busy as the nearby
park campground filled up. I took my leave of the confusion and decided
to wander down to the Lomond River. The trail was a bit muddy but I
soon found myself amongst a few avid fly fishermen on the banks of the fast
flowing river. I moved a bit upstream to a small set of rapids and
sat for a while. I was rewarded by seeing a salmon (I think) try
unsuccessfully to jump the rapids.
As the dark clounds approached, I headed back to my site and did some
computer stuff before heading to bed.
Day 60
I slept in a bit and then got
up and decided to treat myself to some pancakes for breakfast. Soon
after I had the car packed and headed off toward the northern section of
the park. I stopped at a few of the lookouts along the way and snapped
a few pictures. I did stop for one short hike to a trickle of a waterfall
but aside from that it was just driving. I stopped in at the Visitors
Centre to watch a few videos and wait out a few showers - some of them were
fairly heavy. Between showers, I got to the car and did a bit of driving
around Norris Point and Rocky Harbour. I stopped at the lighthouse
on the edge of town but the rain continued so I decided to visit it later
and headed off to find a campsite. Among the offerings, I decided to
pick Juniper RV and Campground and set up on site 13. I just put up
my tarp (third time in the trip) and then headed across the road to get some
Fish and Chips. I also picked up a few groceries then returned to finish
setting up my tent. The campground office directed me to a
shop just around
the corner for internet access. I decided to head over and check things
out. The Big
Mountain Escape gift shop has a small room set up with a computer. The
owner, Glen, was using his Sympatico account to offer tourists and others
to access their email for a small fee. I asked about just using the
phone jack and was soon surfing. I tried to update the web site but
nbci.com's FTP server was down so it was no-go. I picked up a Gros
Morne music CD and then headed back to the campsite. I did some computer
stuff, listened to the radio and then headed to bed.
Day 61
Things had dried up a bit by morning
so I got up, had a bit of breakfast and headed off for a hike. The
weather was a bit unpredictable so I decided to wait on ascending Gros Morne
and headed to Bakers Brook Falls Trail. Its a rather simple, mostly
boardwalked, trail that travels along quiet fields to descend to a run of
3 sets of waterfalls. I walked to the farthest lookout point and scrambled
down to the water's edge. I had a bit of a snack in the mist and then
headed back up. I then wandered around the middle falls for a bit before
heading back towards the car. I hadn't gotten very far when the dark
clouds rolled in and it started to rain. It was constant or excessive
but it was wet so I quickened my pace to cover the 5km back to the car.
Since the trail was fairly flat, I had also decided to bring my CD
player along and listen to my new Gros Morne CD. It's a collection
of songs inspired by parts of the park and is a nice mix of vocal and
instrumental pieces.
Although I was tempted to go on a few other trails but the rain contined
so I headed back to the Visitors Centre to check about the Western Brook
Pond trails. There is a picture on the cover of the Newfoundland Visitor's
Guide that has a nice view of the Pond from the far end and I inquired about
getting there. There is a boat tour that travels the Pond and will
drop you off but the attendant stated that it was a 6 hour hike to get to
the spot where the picture was taken. I was a bit skeptical about that
length of time but I took the information to ponder.
Resfreshed back at the campsite, I pondered my plans and took at nap.
Soon after I had some pasta cooking and had some alfredo pasta in the
style of Kraft Dinner. I decided to head back over to the
Big Mountain
Escape shop to check about the FTP site but I was again foiled. I
did have the opportunity to talk with Glen about maintaining a web site and
gave a few pointers about updating things. As the night wore on, Glen
closed the shop and I headed back to the site to listen to the radio and
then headed to bed with rumblings of thunder in the distance.
Day 62: Two Months and counting
Well, it seems like Nature was
overdue for some fireworks for Newfoundland so the sky was lit up quite regularly
overnight. I found out later that the province experienced one of the
highest lightning strike rates for the previous 24 hours. I heard quite
a bit of the storm as my sleep was interrupted a few times with thunder claps
and rain. I managed to sleep in a bit to compensate but I was still
tired as I rose and started my day.
With all the nasty weather, I decided to move north and come back
to complete Gros Morne in a few days. I packed up my gear (mostly dry
except for the tarp) and headed off to see the nearby Lobster Head Light.
It was mostly dry so I wandered a bit before continuing north on the
Viking Trail. I stopped for some chips before exiting the park and
soon found myself approaching The Arches PP. It was still a bit gloomy
but I stopped to click a few pics before continuing on. Next up was
the Historical Site at Port aux Choix which is an active archaeological project
studying the former inhabitants of this point. I toured a bit, hit
the lighthouse and then headed on.
I had passed a campground just before the turnoff for Port aux Choix
so I stopped for some groceries and registered there for the night. At
only $7, I think this is the cheapest place yet. They don't have a
set tenting area just a field with a few picnic tables so I searched
for a spot where the water wasn't too deep and set up my tent.
Next to
the campground is a boardwalk trail along the Torrent River that is named
after a Newfoundland Ranger. The Hogan Trail follows the shore for
a few km but I only went halfway and then turned back. As I approached
the campground, the sun broke through the clouds.
The sun stayed out for the remainder of the evening while I had some
hotdogs for dinner. It posed fairly nicely for a sunset but then
made a hasty retreat until the next day. I was able to connect at the
campground office/tourist chalet and was again unable to update the website!
Disheartened that I wasn't able to keep my loyal followers informed,
I headed to bed.
Day 63
I heard
a few sprinkles of rain overnight which paled in comparison to the previous
night. When I arose, however, it was clear again. I packed up
the car and headed off towards the northern tip of Newfoundland - St. Anthony.
On the way, I stopped at the (West) Ferrole Point Light and the Flower
Island Light. I had a bit of trouble getting a nice closeup of the
second one for some reason, but I continued on. Next up was lunch at
a small diner and then on to my destination.
As I approached the city, I noticed something large and white near
the harbour. Having never seen anything like it before, I immediately
knew it was an iceberg and headed out to the furthest tip of land to get
a better view. It turned out to be quite a ways offshore so the pictures
didn't turn out too well. Content that one of my desired sightings
of natural phenomenon (whales being the other one) was accomplished, I headed
back out of town to the Triple Falls RV Park. They have a few tent
sites scattered in the woods around the RVs so I settled on site 67 for a
few nights. I still had some time left in the day so I headed back
to St. Anthony to tour the historic building detailing the life and
accomplishments of Sir Wilfred Grenfell. He was a British doctor who
brought regular medical treatment to the inhabitants of Labrador and northern
Newfoundland starting around 1898. His efforts and then legacy continued
until the government took things over a few years ago. I also had a
chance to see his custom built house on the side of Tea Hill which provides
a nice view of the city.
As hunger started to make itself known, I returned to the site and made a few more hotdogs. I again tried unsuccessfully to update the website but did sort through my email at the campground office. Back at my site, I had a chance to talk with some fellow campers who strongly recommended the whale watching tour. I decided to take their advice and had images of humpbacks breaching as I drifted off to sleep.
Day 64: Whales and 'Bergs
It was a bit chilly overnight
so I wasn't eager to get up but I did and made up a bit of breakfast before
heading off for the day. I made a reservation for whale watching and
then headed off to see what the Vikings had to say up in L'anse aux Meadows.
The arrangement of buildings and artifacts found showed this to be
a wintering stopover spot as opposed to a major settlement. I followed
a guided tour and then toured the reconstructed sod houses. Even with
6 foot walls, they will still burn to the ground as our guide explained.
At the interpretive centre they also had a translation of the two Viking
sagas that mention travels to North America which made for some interesting
reading - especially when contrasted with some of the tales passed down within
the local First Nations community.
They had a few other Viking related attractions but I headed back to St. Anthony for my boat tour. I paid my fare and we were soon underway in search of the leviathans of the Atlantic. We were instructed to keep an eye out for gray clouds which would indicate whales taking a breath. We soon saw a few and started the tedious process of guessing where the whales would resurface next. We tried to keep track of 2 whales diving together as well as a nearby solo whale but we didn't get any really close encounters. I snapped a few pictures when I thought they would do something interesting (like show off their tail) but there was no dramatic breaching ('jumping' out of the water) as I had hoped. I did get a nice one of the pair with the iceberg in the background (above). We soon ran out of time and headed off to circle the grounded iceberg a few times. Since it was stationary and not constantly diving for capelin, it was rather easy to get good pictures showing both its sunny and gloomy sides. After collecting a few "bergie bits" to taste, we headed back to the dock. We had some good music and some good stories along the way so trip had a few more highlights.
I was soon back at my site making some dinner and soon after I tried again to connect to update my web site with no success. I started to think about finding another host for my site. I did a bit of computer stuff and then headed to bed.
Day 65: Back to Gros Morne
I got up after another chilly night and had a Carnation Instant
Breakfast I had received as a sample at the pharmacist conference back in
May. It was chocolate and not that good so I don't need to worry about
becoming hooked or anything. I packed up my gear and headed south back
to finish off Gros Morne park.
I took a more scenic route passing through Roddickton, Englee and
then back to the highway near Port aux Choix. It wasn't that scenic
since I only took one mediocre picture from a short trail in Englee. I
didn't see anymore icebergs (or whales for that matter) and soon found myself
back withing the borders of the park. I decided to try a different
RV park within Rocky Harbour and registered for a few nights at the Gros
Morne RV Park/Campground. Once my tent was set up, I headed over to
visit Glen at his
gift shop.
Glen was a bit busy so I took a few pictures for his web site and then
headed off to find something to eat. Filled up on a salmon steak, I
headed back to Glen's to do some web authoring. I was again thwarted
in my attempts to update my site so I sent off a few emails and then set
about helping Glen add a few more pictures to his site. We were able
to get the pictures incorporated into his site and also added a few extra
links. I left Glen with some pointers on doing further updates and
a few web sites to check out on html authoring.
Before heading back to the site, I decided to see what kind of sunset I could catch at the waterfront. I snapped a few pics and then headed back to the campground for an evening of computer stuff and the radio. I had hoped to get a good nights sleep for the ascent of 807m Gros Morne in the morning, but there were a few revellers on the next site who kept me up a little later than I had planned.
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