Saturday, November 25, 2017

September 7, 2017 The Skerwink Trail

After breakfast at our B&B, we drove to Crow Head on North Twillingate Island.

But first I dropped Chrissy off to take these pictures, then looped back to pick her up. 


We hiked around the cliffs at the Long Point Lighthouse for most of the morning.

Once again, the coastal views were amazing.

This was a unique looking lighthouse.

Looking toward Devil's Cove

Hiking through the forest


There were lots of signs warning you about unstable cliffs.

Chrissy went one way...

...and I went another way. We've been together non stop for almost two weeks...it was probably the safest way for us to hike along those very unstable cliffs. This way if one of us fell, the other wouldn't be questioned by a Canadian Mountie.

The network of trails here gave you access to so many incredible viewpoints. 

We had a self imposed time limit here because of a huge rain storm predicted for the next two days. This storm was the remnant of Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston. We wanted to get to Port Rexton so we could hike the Skerwink Trail today before the storm reached Newfoundland.

So instead of hike down to this area, we drove here.

We spent at least an hour hiking along the coast below the lighthouse.


Looking out at the North Atlantic Ocean. 



I am guessing the artwork painted red and yellow along the shore are from old ships that either wrecked around here or used to ply these waters.


After lunch we drove the Road to the Isles to the Trans Canada highway...

...to the Discovery Trail on the Bonavista Peninsula. We were driving in sunshine until we drove over a hill about 10 minutes from Port Rexton. Then we were in a heavy fog.


As we drove downhill the fog wasn't as bad but our sunshine was gone. We checked into the Skerwink Hostel and were assured by the young staff that we had time to hike the famous Skerwink Trail before dark. 


So we walked down to the trailhead...

...and headed out for our late afternoon hike.

We decided to start on the coastal side of the loop first.



Hey, we found blue skies and the sun popping in and out of the clouds.

The people of Newfoundland work very hard to maintain these trails in very rugged conditions. This trail is a great example of allowing people access to amazing places with relative ease.


Evergreen trees are incredibly adaptable and seem able to grow anywhere.

These earthen stairs are found all over this trail.

We started seeing the fog out across the Atlantic Ocean begin to roll in. But looking inland it was still somewhat sunny.



Chrissy heading toward the fog.


As we neared the end of the peninsula, you could see what the constant wind had done to the trees.


I finally caught up with Christy on a plateau at the head of the peninsula.

On the grassland high above the water looking back to where we just hiked from...

...looking toward where the trail is headed as the fog has now reached us.


Christy kept hiking as I sat and was mesmerized by the fog rolling inland from the Atlantic Ocean. It was so beautiful in a strange way.

I watched the fog move right over me and continue inland.



Finally a photo where my head doesn't look so big.

Just like the young man who runs the hostel told me, the fog will make the hike more enchanting as it flows over you.


As the scenery disappears in the fog, I paid more attention to the smaller details along the trail.

We heard the fog horn for at least 30 minutes as we continued along the trail...

...then the Fort Point lighthouse appeared seemingly out of nowhere and we found the fog horn.

The sun trying to break on through.

This was a fun climb above the fog.


As we hiked back there wasn't much fog...

...so I walked down to the beach at White Cove.

The sound of the surf is so relaxing to me. I stayed here enjoying all the beauty around me. 

Feeling lucky to be able to hike at places like this. It is so easy to feel isolated from the rest of the world when surrounded by unspoiled natural beauty. I love that feeling.


On the trail back to reality.


Chrissy loves being able to hike and eat wild berries along the trail.


We made it back in time to join the others at the hostel for Trivia Night at the Port Rexton Brewery.
We piled a bunch of young people from all over the world into our car and drove to the Port Rexton Brewery. We met others from the hostel including the couple that run the hostel. They also run the trivia night at the brewery.

We got some tasty gourmet grilled cheese and poutine from the food truck parked outside.

Dinner and drinks Newfie style.

Chrissy and I spent the rest of the night drinking and not answering many of the trivia questions. But we also had wonderful conversations throughout the night with people from all over the world that decided Newfoundland was a great place to visit. It is days like this that I will remember forever because I knew it was something special as it was happening. I even remember I had a couple of Baycation Blondes and a few Big Cod Mountain Ridges. OK, if I didn't take a picture of the beer menu, I probably would have forgotten which ones I had. Let's just say, I slept very well that night.




No comments:

Post a Comment