Newfoundland - August 28-30/14 - Gros Morne Mountain Hike

Thursday, August 28

Watching the planes from PeeWee and getting caught up on the blog, consumed the whole day. It was a very cold,
 windy and wet one so it was perfect for staying indoors. Just amazing how much plane traffic there is at this
Airport. It was the first time the heater was put on.

Friday, August 29

Not much different today. Spent the morning in the warm restaurant in the terminal, finished blog and had lunch there. Skies cleared in the afternoon so took a long walk in the area. Made a nice supper and called it a day at 9pm. They were calling for frost during the night.

Saturday, August 30

Woke to a frosty windshield but the sun was shining. It's a perfect day to do the challenging hike up Gros Morne Mountain. It's a 16km round trip and sure had amazing views but certainly wasn't an easy one. It's 4km to get to the base of the mountain and then a scramble over rocks and scree up the steep gully. There was no path up and each step had to be placed well in order not to slip or twist and angle.
When I got to the parking lot at 10:15 am, it was full and had to park on the road. There was a steady stream of people making their way along the trail and up the mountain. It was the long weekend and a perfect day for this hike. Didn't return back to PeeWee till 5:30 with plenty of aching muscles and knees. A safe and most rewarding hike. Would certainly recommend it, but once is enough.

There two of us on the road when I got there and by the time I was ready to go, many more showed up.

The hike is done clockwise.

Good footwork was needed even getting to the mountain.

Even the 4km getting there was uphill and certainly got the heart pumping. 

From a distance it didn't look too bad at all. The climb is up the gully in the middle. Could see people making their way up.

One of several warning signs about this hike.

Can't be too bad

Up close, it's a different story. No path and only rocks to scramble over.

Part way up

Photos sure don't show how steep it really is.

Had to make plenty of rest stops. Besides, you had to take in the grand views.

It was a rest and take photo kind of a climb.

It just kept on going up

The views got spectacular as hight increased.

The climb started hear the left lake on the bottom. Almost at the top.

You think you're at the top here, but it still goes up further.

Just to prove I made it. 

It was very windy and cold, so took refuge behind this rock shelter to rest and have lunch.

There were several shelters which sure were needed.

There is more of a marked trail leading across the top. Sure glad I didn't have to go back the way I came up. The trail leads around the the back of the mountain and back to the base.

Boardwalk along some fragile area

It was 360 degrees of magnificent views. The gulf of St. Lawrence is in the far distance.

Couldn't believe what I was seeing when I saw this black bear making his way up the mountain.

That's about as close as I'd like to see him. Once he spotted me, he took a path away from the trail. It sure was an unexpected treat.

So many mountain lakes with small waterfalls running from them.

Blowing in the wind

This was a long set of steps leading down a steep part of the trail.

It had a rope to hang on to.

There were several platforms for campers to pitch their tents along this small lake. Their hike in is about 2.5 km from the base of the mountain.

One big black bear print on the trail.

It was quite the winding trail

Lichen 

I was sure there there would be a moose in the valley below. Nope.

Quite hazy that day

Purple cones. Haven't seen that before.

I talked with the owner of this bike while on the trail as he was heading to one of the camping sites and he told me he drove the bike from Toronto across the Trans Labrador highway (a very rough gravel road), in five days. Have to admire that.

This made for the perfect supper spot. Had it all to myself.
Then off to spend the night at Camp Irving. Love the free spots.

View looking across the water to Woody Point, where we had been on our way to the Tablelands, seen at back left.
End of a perfect day.