Day 14 Gros Morne

These days just keep getting better and better! We were up (with only a couple of grumbles from you-know-who!) early this morning to purchase tickets for our reservations on the Western Brook Pond BonTours boat tour! We made reservations days ago but you don’t actually pay until the day of the trip. We traveled early so caught the bottom of the Long Range Mountains captured in fog. The tops were clearly visible but they appeared as if delivered on a cloud!

We were plenty early for our tour so we decided to stop at Berry Head Pond along the way. We were a little nervous because although the guidebook claimed a 2km hike, we have learned that some things are apparently measured differently in Newfoundland! Time for example is half an hour off the rest of the world – who else has a half-hour time difference? In much the same was I suspect, they measure distance here. I’m not complaining since we love hiking. I know it takes us longer than most folks with the countless picture stops. But there is NO WAY that the hike distances here are as advertised! Nonetheless the description of the hike across the ancient bog was too tempting to resist!

One of the things I love about Newfoundland is the solitude. We were laughing at me this morning as we hiked in isolation. For someone who is as social as I am, as extroverted as I am, who loves people as much as I do – I appreciate my time away from people so much more than David does! We hiked this morning with only a deerfly for company. Apart from his annoying company, the hike was perfect! We hiked through an ocean-side bog. The early morning sun sparkling on the pond, and the ocean in the distance, was a soothing proof that all was right with the world. During the school year things can get pretty crazy. I try to hold moments that I can revisit during times of high stress to help me keep things in perspective. This morning was one of those mornings when I took mental (as well as digital!) snapshots to take out when the days get a little nuts!

Anxious to be on time, knowing Gros Morne is not good at estimating distance, and realizing the photo stops slow our progress significantly, we decided to head out to Western Brook Pond. You have to hike 3km to get to the boat launch dock so planning is important. Needing to hike 3km just to get to the 2-hour boat ride, we also suspected that this trip would be well worth it, taking us places we might not otherwise see. This time though the odds tipped in the other direction and we arrived at our destination two hours before our launch. The dock, though remote, is very well set! There is a dockside café, trails surrounding the dock (including another set of red chairs!) and magnificent views of the fjords – which interestingly are not technically fjords at all apparently. True fjords are filled with sea water. When the first glacier channeled through here a billion years ago the sea filled the resulting channel. When the land rebounded, the sea was cut off and the current 174 metre deep lake reverted to fresh water. Regardless of the geographic and geologic history, the end result is nothing short of spectacular!

As early as we were, the tour scheduled before ours hadn’t left yet and we were offered a spot on the earlier trip. Anxious to start our adventure we boarded the M.V. Westbrook I. Oh my!!! I am not at all certain I can do justice to the experience with words. I am not even sure David’s pictures can capture our experience (and it’s not often David’s pictures fall short!). This is one of those “must do” things. If it isn’t on your bucket list, fix that! The raw majesty of the views we had today defy description and at times were so overwhelmingly beautiful that I found myself this a blurred view and a lump in my throat.

The mile after mile of completely unblemished wilderness, not even a footprint to mar the exquisite beauty. The realization of the timelessness of the bowl of water we rested in, views that are quite literally tens of thousands of years old. The pristine beauty of nature at her finest. Magnificent juts of ancient rock that deceptively stretch 2000 feet above us that shower blessings of breathtaking waterfalls that appeared so often that I lost count!

In true Newfoundland fashion, this was narrated with a respectful yet matter-of-fact tone that offered tales of rockslides that “scared the life outta ya” to the official nomenclature of areas such a “Pissing Mare Falls” – I kid you not!

As the boat turned an hour into our journey, the view was of the iconic vista offered in the promotional materials for Gros Morne. Carson, one of the guides on the boat came around to offer to take pictures of groups with the view as a backdrop. When most people failed to come forward, he announced, “Come on b’ys! We don’t charge extra for this. You gotta do it. After all, yer memories won’t last forever!” Carson may have been wrong on that score!

When we arrived back at the dock we then had our 3km hike back to the parking lot. Occasionally we would pass or be passed, but it was, for the most part, a solitary hike back with one or the other of us muttering “WOW” as we both relived the past few hours. Neither of us needed to say more – wow says it all.

The Coastal Trail was about half-way back to the campground and is a 6km hike that hugs the coast between Berry Head and Green Point. Shortly into the trek we discovered another set of the red chairs and it seemed the perfect spot to enjoy a picnic lunch.

Having registered 10,000 steps on David’s Fitbit by mid-day and anxious to see our pictures, by supper time we were done and headed back to the trailer. Tonight the sun had to set without our watchful eye!

Days ago we had visited a little gift shop and I hadn’t forgotten something I had seen there. We have collected some objets d’art over the years, some funky pieces that I know have raised eyebrows, but they were acquired when they made me smile as we wandered through a little shop somewhere! Days ago I saw the rock paintings and they were still making me smile! Some extremely creative (and talented) person had found odd shaped rocks and turned them into Newfoundland buildings with bright colours, attention to detail, and a quirky sense of humour that worked the flaws into architectural designs! Before stopping for the day we went back into the shop so I could bring my smile home with me! The stop was worth the conversation that happened with the lady in the shop! I had chosen two of the designs and brought them to the checkout. David had raised an eyebrow at the cost but in true David fashion had simply said, “If they make you that happy…” When I put them on the counter and the lady turned them over to see the price, her thought was written clearly on her face! I started to laugh and she looked at David, clearly assuming him to have more sense! She said, “I got rocks like dat up in me garden, and I certainly won’t charge you dat for ‘em!” We all laughed until we cried! She begrudgingly agreed that they were cute and well done, but she couldn’t get past the fact that I was paying for rocks! I did marvel that only in Newfoundland would you find a sales person talking you out of a purchase. She acknowledged that her practicality just couldn’t be squelched, even for a sale. “Of course” says she, “at least yer not buying those Mummers” (referring to mummer dolls that were also in the shop), “’cause those are the ugliest things going!” My new treasures will keep me smiling now, not only for the craftsmanship and cleverness, but now also for the story that goes with them!

Early morning daisies, perfect and thriving in the ditch

Rocky Harbour waking in the morning mist

...and another!

Berry Head Pond with the ocean in the distance.

If only we could start every day this way.

Future driftwood!

The boat that will take us into the fjord.

Another set of the "red chairs" this time well hidden.

Heading out on our tour

I added the circle so you could see the "old man in the mountains" who's been there for billions of years!

Breathtaking views everywhere you look

This was my favourite waterfall. It zig-zagged down the mountain with the more spectacular drops creating spray that looked, from a distance, like smoke rising from the mountain.

So happy

More "red chairs" on the Coastal Trail offered a great place for lunch!