Go Home Day

Got an early start to allow us to scratch off the few remaining things we wanted to do. Drove up to the top of the park near Cow Head and walked along the nice beach that's fringed with sand dunes.

 A girl kissed me....

Then to Green Point to look at some geology plus sit in some more red Muskoka chairs...

Our last hike was up Berry Hill. Not a biggie but good to stretch out the legs and get a good view of the Gulf.

Got back to Norris Point in time to have a beer and chowder on the dock...

...before boarding a boat tour of Bonne Bay which was beautiful as well as entertaining and educational. Got some pics of eagles.

Wow, that was a quick week. We loved it here - the people are incredibly nice and the scenery and wildlife are unbelievable. Can't wait to come back.

St. Anthony

We felt pretty good this morning  but after the grueling day we had yesterday, there wasn't going to be much hiking going on today. So we hopped in the car and took a drive up the west coast of the island. No real plan was hatched other than to see how far we got before we wanted to turn around. We ended up going all the way to the top of the peninsula to St. Anthony - about 400km from Norris Point. It's a pretty little town with a nice view of where the icebergs would be if it was iceberg season. We climbed a set of 476 stairs to enhance the view further.

Finally Found the Timmies

Just a 4 hour drive...

Sunset At Cow Head

On the way back from St. Anthony, the first village you pass after re-entering Gros Morne National Park is Cow Head. By the then, the sun was sinking so we stopped for fish and chips and watched the sun go down. Nice end to a fun day.

 

Gros Morne Mountain

So, the big hike...8 hours. 3 hours up, an hour at the top, 4 hours down.  800 metres of elevation gain. 16km trek.  The climb was challenging but not as bad as we expected. The descent, though, was tough and my thighs and Roberta's knees were screaming by the finish.

The views were breathtaking.

Just had a fabulous cod dinner here at the Inn. Now need to find the Advil.

Now that we're home, a few more details...

The Climb

At the point were we took the photos below, we had already been climbing through forest for about an hour and a half.  The trail was a mix of stairs and damp, packed earth.  Even though it was a cool morning, the elevation change was over 300m and we were protected from the wind so we were quite sweaty.

Soon after leaving the treed section we started up the boulder field.  It was pretty treacherous and at times you had to pull yourself up - a bit of a full body workout.  We took our time, though and enjoyed the spectacular views back down the valley.

 There's a moose bellowing below...

Lots of warnings about what lay ahead.  Here's the 'Decision Point'.

We were well provisioned with food, water and extra clothes and were feeling fine so we forged ahead.  This gives you an indication of the ruggedness of the scree slope.

The very last bit of the climb was tough as you had to pull yourself up onto a fairly narrow ledge.  We both said later we didn't want to look down and we sort of crabbed walked on our hands and feet for the last bit.  There was no picture taking going on just then but then we realized that was it, we were at the top.

The Top

 

The first thing we heard when we got up there was a baby crying.  I thought it was tough carrying 20 pounds of food, water and cameras.  How about carrying all that plus a 20 pound kid?   

Regardless, we felt good to be at the top of the second highest mountain in Newfoundland.

Nice little lunch spot.

Decent enough scenery.

This is one of the iconic Gros Morne views.  Ten Mile Pond.

Roberta went to the edge to get her shot of the pond.

The Descent

Four hours after we left the car - 3 hours of climbing and one hour at the top - with another 4 hours to go so it was time to start the long descent.  The path down goes across the back of the mountain and, while less treacherous, is tough on the knees and legs.

One more glance at the mountain.  Looks more like a knoll from here but it definitely felt more mountainy than knolly.

The last bit through the woods.

I'd do it again.