After keeping my eye out for a weekend of good weather the opportunity arose -- 18C forecast high and bright and sunny for August 16th, 2009. I started the weekend off with a visit to Corner Brook for Chinese food and a movie (GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- not particularly good but a good distraction for a few hours). Spent the night in Corner Brook and then had McD's for breakfast. This is the first time that I ate at McDonald's as an adult without feeling guilty: OJ, Egg McMuffin, hash brown, hotcakes, and a decaf coffee for the long hike ahead.
I had a brief stop at the nearby town of Rocky Harbour to stock up on food: a turkey sandwich from the local restaurant, 1.5 L of energy/sports drinks, and 2 chocolate bars. Once I arrived in the parking lot I slapped on some sunscreen, changed into my hiking boots, and started hiking at around 10 AM.
Gros Morne awaits....The mountain itself is easily visible from the highway but requires about a 1 hour hike to approach the base of it. The approach is a good warm up for what lies ahead with a smooth trail through forest and shrubbery with a gentle climb.
Decked out for a hike. (Note the cellphone on my belt..yup, there was coverage at the top!)Here's a movie clip I shot at the base of the mountain. There was a stiff breeze which you can hear intermittently. There were other hikers on the trail -- enough to make you feel safe should anything happen but not so many that you feel like you're in a tourist trap.
At the rest stop and at the start of the climb you are strongly encouraged to turn back if conditions don't look favourable -- Newfoundland weather is notorious for changing quickly and there have been a number of deaths associated with this hike. There have been a number of heart attacks and one person recently fell to his death when fog/cloud suddenly rolled in and blanketed the top of the mountain.
The ascent is the first test.
Sound advice.Fortunately, the weather was still excellent and I began my climb in earnest. As you can see from the above photos, the "trail" is not your typical dirt trail. This is, after all, Newfoundland so it's a trail of rock which is why this is such a grueling hike. With every single step you are looking for a safe place to plant your feet. Since the rock faces stick out at various odd angles you will rarely get the opportunity set your feet down horizontally. All this is pretty harsh on your ankles. You can probably imagine why after 6 hours my ankles were becoming so tired that I was having trouble feeling them.
The ascent, believe it or not, was not the most difficult part of the hike. With intermittent breaks I was able to scale the side of the Gros Morne in 75 minutes. Some sections were a little steep and required climbing on all fours. Once you get to the top you're rewarded with excellent views of the surrounding park.
Looking back. You can just make out the beige coloured Tablelands on the horizon.
Rocks everywhere and the Long Range Mountains are in the background.
I climbed up here.
It's amazing how plants can grow on this wind blasted rock.
Looking northwestwards towards the ocean. Watch your step!
When I got to the top I found a comfortable rock to sit on and had lunch. It's interesting how you can eat almost anything after a tough workout. Turkey sandwich, gatorade, and a chocolate bar -- now that's a meal! The temperature was noticeably cooler and the wind was stiffer as well at the top. I almost had to break out my jacket but the heat I generated from the climb kept me warm.After posing by the official sign declaring the height of Gros Morne as being 806m, I set off again. The top of Gros Morne was just as rocky as the base but the terrain was a little flatter and interspersed with wooden boardwalks so my ankles got a much needed break. Gros Morne is the second highest point in Newfoundland so I was able to get a really good view of the surrounding area.
It took about an hour to walk the marked trail at the top of Gros Morne and then the descent began in earnest. Little did I know that the true challenge of the Gros Morne trail was not in the climb but in the descent. It's a less direct route involving the southern 1/3rd of the mountain as you follow a gulch back to the base. The path is just littered with rocks sticking up at odd angles forcing you to pick your way carefully. As fatigue sets in your risk of injury definitely goes up -- I wished I had a walking stick with me.
Down we go. This rocky path is on the side of Gros Morne.
Almost halfway down. There's a campsite near the pond on the left side.After what felt like forever, I finally made it back to the rest stop at the base of the mountain. The way back was uneventful except for two notable encounters with the local fauna.
Close encounter with the antlered-kind. Vegetarians aren't necessarily pacifists...This was my first opportunity to see a moose up close -- I was about 30-40 feet away from this bull moose. I am respectful of any living (or non-living) thing that weighs more than I do and so I was slightly nervous being this close to one. The tales I've heard of angry moose chasing humans didn't help things. Fortunately, this moose was too busy having lunch to care about what I was doing.
Yes, you're cute -- now get off the trail!On the way back to the parking lot I ran into a Quebecois tourist who motioned for me to slow down and be quiet. Up ahead on our path was a rock ptarmigan. Another fascinating thing about Gros Morne was the fact that it is the southernmost locale featuring arctic tundra in the world. So, one can actually find species typically found in the arctic on Gros Morne mountain. The rock ptarmigan is one and the arctic hare is another. Given the stresses of living in such an inhospital environment the park brochures ask all tourists not to disturb these animals.
So, we waited, waited, and waited some more. The ptarmigan kept its distance but it didn't exactly run away either. Eventually it just plopped down on the trail and refused to move any more. After 5 minutes we had had enough and decided to continue down the trail -- rare bird or no. When it saw us coming it finally jumped up and ran away.
While we were waiting for the ptarmigan I had another close encounter with the largest member of the deer family. I could hear a rustling behind me and I assumed it was another tourist. As I turned to warn him/her about the traffic jam I saw a big brown head bobbing and lumbering towards me. "Moose! Moose!" I hissed, perhaps a little too loudly. The moose startled when it saw us and quickly turned tail and ran back the way it came. The Quebecois didn't react in time and was quite disappointed she missed a chance to see a moose up close.
I finished the hike in about 6 hours. Although it's not an easy trail, it's definitely worth it and I would encourage anyone who's into hiking to give it a try!
