Newfoundland

Western Newfoundland Highlights: Gros Morne Mountain (video post)

September 27, 2016 by Marie Leave a Comment

Though officially fall only began about a week ago, it’s been creeping in around here since the beginning of September. Temperatures hovering around 6 or 7 degrees Celsius seem to be the norm lately.

In an effort to fit in at least one more good day hike at a busy time of year before the weather really turns (and to celebrate Tim’s 30th birthday), we took a drive into Gros Morne National Park last weekend to climb Gros Morne Mountain — the second highest peak on the island of Newfoundland (admittedly, still not that tall).

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Western Newfoundland Highlights: Green Gardens Trails, Gros Morne National Park (video post)

September 5, 2016 by Marie Leave a Comment

Just a quick post to share some footage from yesterday’s hike in Gros Morne National Park. This video shows clips from the short trail (Long Pond to the Coast = 9 km return). The longer trail is a 14.5-km loop. Unfortunately, we arrived late in the day and so opted for a quick hike.

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Western Newfoundland Highlights: Cedar Cove

August 21, 2016 by Marie 2 Comments

Growing up in eastern Newfoundland, with few ties to the western region, meant that I really spent very little time in this part of the island. I never thought I’d one day come to live here, even if only for a year (as the plan stands at this point). I’ll always love St. John’s and feel connected to the Avalon peninsula where I grew up, but there are ways that it just can’t compete to where I am now. And one of those ways is the vastness and scale of the scenery and landscape here.

You can get in your car and drive in seemingly any direction and see something unique and beautiful. Yesterday, I had one of those days where I just wanted to go see something pretty and take lots of photos. So, Tim and I headed further west to Lark Harbour, where we took a short walk out to Cedar Cove.

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Seabird Sightings in Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve

August 12, 2015 by Marie 1 Comment

Did you ever wake up with this urge to see 11,000 gannets? Well, that’s apparently how many there are at Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve here in Newfoundland.

At the tip of a peninsula that juts out into the frigid Atlantic, this ecological reserve just happens to be home to one of the largest and most accessible seabird colonies in North America.

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Explore Newfoundland’s Eastport Peninsula [video post]

August 6, 2015 by Marie 4 Comments

There’s nothing like a good national park that’s only a three-hour drive away. This past weekend, Tim and I took advantage of the proximity and camped for two nights in Terra Nova National Park. It may not be Newfoundland’s biggest national park (there are only two on the island, and Gros Morne gets that distinction), but the region deserves some recognition.

Not all of the places in the following video are actually in Terra Nova, and technically Terra Nova is adjacent to and not within the Eastport Peninsula.

Here are the places you’ll see:

Malady Head Trail and lookout (Terra Nova)
Louis Hills Trail (Terra Nova)
Sandy Cove Beach (Eastport Peninsula)
Eastport Beach (Eastport Peninsula)
Salvage (Eastport Peninsula)

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3 Reasons Why I Failed My First Thru-Hike

July 30, 2015 by Marie 14 Comments

If you read my blog or subscribe to my email list, you might know that I have been planning to thru-hike the East Coast Trail (a combined 260+ km of trail with varying levels of development and maintenance along the eastern coast of Newfoundland’s Avalon peninsula) for a few months now. It was my big project for the two months I would be home for the summer.

If you read the title of this post, you already know that it didn’t work out as planned. As much as I don’t want to be the person to make excuses, the truth is that I wasn’t being realistic with myself. I don’t have much experience with multi-day hikes, and this was a pretty big undertaking for me.

Rather than just avoid talking about it, I figured I would share the main reasons why the hike just didn’t work out (for now, at least). Maybe if you’ve got similar ambitions, this will help you be a little more prepared.

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On the Trails to Two Historic Sites in Newfoundland

July 24, 2015 by Marie 2 Comments

Newfoundland may not be the most popular island out there to visit, but it does have some unique history that makes it stand out within North America.

The highlights include a capital city that touts itself as the “Oldest City in North America” (the “oldest settlement in North America to become a city” would be more accurate), the presence of American bases from World War II that still stand today (from the days of the Dominion of Newfoundland, before it joined Canada in 1949), and remnants of French and British forts from the 17th and 18th centuries (the days when Newfoundland was fought over for its rich fishing grounds).

Here are a some experiences that will help you get to know a couple of these significant places.

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Newfoundland

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