Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula
Whale Skeletons, Gros Morne National Park and Vikings
The Fogo Island landscape and Bale Verte Peninsula to the north felt somewhat familiar. This could be because the coastline is largely craggy inlets and bays dotted with islands where the geology is basalt and the foliage spruce trees; or it could be because the rocky grey beaches with brown seaweed under a bright yellow sun reminded me somewhat of the West Coast.
This summer has been especially warm and the weather has held up well. There is sometimes a light breeze and a few days with clouds but for the most part it has been clear skies and warm weather. This unexpected delight is welcome but I wondered if I was experiencing an ideal summer or if global warming will make this the new norm. This is important because I’d spent a lot of time imagining a summer home tucked into one of the sheltered bays here would be very nice.
Some of the bigger islands that stretch out like disjointed fingers into the Atlantic are stitched together by bridges and causeways — the arteries and blood vessels that make living here possible. In a place called Triton I stopped at a sperm whale pavilion and spoke with the caretaker, a retired school teacher named Terry. Terry spent everyday of the summer since June welcoming tourists with open arms and an informative explanation. The Sperm whale was original found on the west side of Newfoundland and after decaying it was cleaned and sent to Drumheller, Alberta so that an expert could put the bones together. Once it was ready for presentation, the bones were shipped back and the pavillion specially built for the whale. I was actually drawn to the building rather than the whale. The building references a typical housing architecture from the exterior but has a high vaulted ceiling on the interior supported by parallam trusses. This makes for a suitably airy interior to hang the skeleton from and also house the two giant squid that they have. For such a simple building, I thought that it was quite well done.
After having a good chat with Terry I went towards the end of the island string to do some hiking. I started with the Maple Ridge Walking Trail that was 3km up hill with some 2,500 steps. Luckily along the way were many encouraging signs which provided commical entertainment. The view from the top wasn’t bad either and I could see a mussle farm in the water below.
I planned on doing some other hikes at the tip of the peninsula but one was just a lookout beside the road and I couldn’t find the trailhead for the other. As well, when I drove to the next trail I wanted to hike, I found out that it was mostly in the woods and went to a ridgeline that was not beside the water so I decided to skip it thinking that it probably wouldn’t be that scenic. In my ambition to hike lots, by the time I arried at the Ocean View Walking Trail in Jackson’s Cove, up a different peninsula finger from Triton, it was nearly sunset so I hopped out of the car and hurried along the darkening trail. It eventually led to a series of three viewing platforms, the last of which looked back on a rock arch and I decided that this was a suitable end to a day of hiking.
The next day I crossed from the east coast to the west coast of Newfoundland and started driving the Great Northern Peninsula. The temperature had gotten noticeably cooler to the point that I began wearing a sweater and the sky was overcast. The first stop was Gros Morne National Park. I went to the Discovery Centre and had a brief look but was anxious to hike so I didn’t stay long. I probably should have taken a better look around because they had some interesting geological and aboriginal exhibits but I suppose I was in a hiking mood because I went up the Lookout trail and then walked the Tablelands trail.
The Lookout trail was cool despite the clouds because at the top I was faced with a long green fjord with a rusty brown valley to the right and the Open Gulf of St. Lawrence to my left. The strong contrast between green and brown was further reinforced by bands of sunlight punctuation the cloud cover.
The Tablelands are the brown coloured valley and the trail there went along the bottom of the U-shaped valley between geological formations. The brown landscape is a huge piece of the mantle rock filled with heavy metals that prevent many plants from growing whereas the green side is typical continental rock overlaid by soil suitable for boreal forest.
Not to stop with two hikes, I drove to Berry hill and did another short hike and then went to Lobster Cove lighthouse. Berry Hill was pretty boring but at the lighthouse I hung around hoping to see more sun rays through the clouds. Unfortunately it didn’t happen and I continued on.
Towards the north end of the park is the Western Brook pond that I had intended on hiking but by then it was late and getting both colder and windier so I decided to call it a day and head for camp. I knew that I’d be returning through the national park so I’d have a second chance to hike the trail another time.
Somewhat surprising is Arches provincial park, just north of Gros Morne. I would have thought that it would be included in the national park due to its proximity but for whatever reason it is under a different juristiction. This park is more of a rest stop but a worthwhile one because there are three arches in rock on the beach. It’s quite bridge-like and despite having seen many rock arches in the past weeks, this was the first trio. It was also accessible so I was able to walk within it and get some cave-like pictures.
I have a map of Canada that shows all of the national parks and historic sites but the scale is so large it’s practically useless for trip planning. I also don’t do any research ahead of time but I keep my eyes open and try to stop when I see them. This means that I don’t really know what they’re about or if they’re going to be interesting or not but with a paid for Discovery pass, I figure I might as well check them all out because they’re “free.”
The Port au Choix national historic site was one such site that I had no idea what it was about. I was surprised when I found out that it was about Indigenous peoples. Against a European name, Port au Choix has an interpretation centre about four different indigenous peoples who once walked the land and protects a former settlement site. The Philips garden is one of largest known Dorset Palaeoeskimo sites in the Canadian north. They lived on Newfoundland 2100–1200 years ago and in Labrador 2800–500 years ago but eventually died out, possibly due to a warming climate affecting the seal hunt and/or the arrival of Thule people who are ancestors of Inuit. The former settlement is a grassy meadow where late winter harp seal hunting was conducted over a period of eight centuries. Initially it was a short term seasonal base but eventually became more permanent basis for large number of family groups. Archeologist have outlines of at least 50 houses that are now shallow depressions covered in turff.
The national historic site should really be a park because there are hiking trails that wind along the coast and include some some beautiful scenery as well as interesting geological formations, a surprise because the visitor centre person made no mention of it. At the time I felt oddly free and happy to be alive, especially when I came across some sedimentary layers that I think might have been mudstone. They made for some interesting geology and a fun landscape to explore. I was reminded of my fortune and privilege to travel to this place and places like it which few see, let alone experience.
This is the first national site that I’ve visited to be entirely dedicated to aborigional people. My thesis may have made me more aware of First Nations history but visiting Port au Choix made me wonder why there aren’t more national sites across the country for indigenous history and culture.
I didn’t expect to spend so long at Port au Choix and by the time I left it was mid afternoon. Seeing as I wouldn’t get to the next parks Canada site till after it closed, I took a lunch at a fork in the road and then went in search of a trail that my map said was the only place in the world where salmon go underground on their migration up a river. This was a short but cool walk with two sections of underground stream that the salmon migrate through on their spawning run. Before one I saw several fish but I couldn’t identify if they were salmon or trout. I assumed they were salmon but they were a dark blue-purple and I wasn’t sure.
Ship Cove is the most northernly community on the island and at the far point is a cemetery with a viewpoint. The wind was bitterly cold, probably around 10 degrees minus wind chill, so I operated the camera one handed with the other clenched in my pocket. I wondered if my upcoming trip to Labrador would be this cold because I wasn’t prepared for winter. Still, the landscape look cool and really felt like Viking land. In the spring this would be a fantastic spot to see whales and icebergs because it is at the junction of Iceberg alley where the bergs either flow down the Atlantic or into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
That night was the first night I slept with all my blankets and in my thermal layers. It was cold in the morning when I got out of bed but I warmed up quickly. Around the bend is Quirpon, the most North-Eastern community on Newfoundland. I drove a circuit of the town and then climbed a hill behind it for a scenic lookout. The view wasn’t great but the islands still looked rugged and wild.
The main place peopel visit at the tip of Newfoundland is L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site which is dedicated to a Viking settlement that existed for a decade on Newfoundland in 1,000 CE. The visitor centre is a cool building set into the hillside and I’ve decided that I really need to look into mid-century Parks Canada buildings more because I really like their architecture.
L’Anse aux Meadows has a short video and gallery that explains how the Norse came to Newfoundland but left shortly after. The video called it completing the circle which referenced how the Norse meeting the Indigenous peoples would have signified human’s complete encirclement of the planet to the east and west. This is marked by a beautiful copper statue on the way to the shallow mounds where the viking village buildings once stood. Nearby are some recreated buildings with staff dressed in period costumes.
I’ve noticed that many of the more popular heritage sites I’ve visited on the East Coast have these period dressed staff to explain what happened in each room of the building. Interesstingly, Just down the street is Norstead which is a privately run viking village, also with period-clothed staff. As if to out-do the the national park, in addition to a long hall, chapel, and blacksmit, Norstead has a recreated Viking merchant vessel that was built in Maine and then sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland. In 1997, twelve men set to recreate Leif Ericsson’s 1,500 mile journey from Greenland to Newfoundland when he came in 1,000 CE. It took them longer because they had a smaller crew but they eventually made it. Afterwards the ship was donated to Norstead where it now resides. It was impressive to see the ship up close and understand the technical sophistication that enabled the Norse to reach North America 500 years before Christopher Columbus and in a much smaller vessel.
This was a busy morning for me because after L’Anse aux Meadows and Norstead, I was heading to the Labrador ferry. I made a stop in the town of St. Anthony to get Tim Hortons snacks, lunch, and dinner and two more cans of soup in case I stayed in Labrador longer than anticipated. Newfoundland is remote and Labrador even more so, so it pays to go prepared. While in St. Anthonys I found at the end of the town a nice lookout with a lighthouse and some dramatic sea cliffs.
I made good time to the ferry for Labrador and the crossing was uneventful but I spent a lot of time thinking about the future. The next day I’d reach my furthest point in the trip and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this because it meant that a milestone would be reached and I’d be turning around. I wish to travel longer and had been contemplating driving across Canada before fall but I’m running out of summer and good weather.
At the same time I’d love to take a break. My friend asked when I’m coming home but I have no home to return to. Even though I’m travelling, I’m already anxious about getting short and long term accommodations in Toronto when I return. I’m anxious about apartment hunting and renting and paying for parking and applying for jobs. It’s easy to travel indefinately but without a steady income I know my bank account is quickly draining and it costs a lot to travel when I’m not making any money at all.
Still, I found that I was happy on the crossing and that I’d been happy for the past few days even though the weather was getting colder and the wind stronger. I was at the edge of the world, alone, but doing what I enjoyed most. I was exploring untouched lands and stretching my imagination to the horizon. Each stop was a new experience and each hike a climb to an epic photograph. I see that the good times are coming to a close and the stage curtain is slowly descending on this act. I don’t know whether to stop it or accept it but I suppose, for the moment, I am doing my best to saviour the freedom and joy of travelling as best as I can without letting the anxieties of the future muddying it up.
