A Hiking We Will Go

3 full days in Gros Morne National Park, and this is where we will really get our hiking itch scratched!

First up, Gros Morne Mountain itself. It is a French name, which means "large mountain standing alone" or (my preferred version) "great somber". There are a lot of French names on the west coast of Newfoundland, as this is was all French territory for many years. Then the English came in and changed or anglicized the names. The English version as it stands now sounds the 's' in Gros. 

It's the jewel hike in the park. Unfortunately, the second half - the hardest half - is currently closed. Not only is there a lot of snow on the steepest part of the actual trail, but the top is still playing nursery to breeding ptarmigan, hare and caribou. It's not until the end of June that all snow is gone and the babies are well on their way.

this is where the top trail starts
- you can see the snow going right up the crevasse,
right where the trail is

But the approachment trail is good, and not even muddy. It's a steady upward slope for almost 2 hours, then it levels out a bit. Harder on the knees coming down, but the views are spectacular. There are waterfalls and steep slopes and tiny flowers and singing frogs galore. At the top there is a lovely river and meadow, where one can catch breath before going down.

Another day it was Baker's Brook Falls. About the same length - 4 hours in total, but much, much simpler as 3/4 of it is pretty flat, and most of that is on a boardwalk through the forest and bog.

There is a fenced in area that I thought was sign-posted "moose enclosure", which seemed rational to my tourist brain. But then we realized it was "moose exclosure". 

Generally this harsh environment is changed by wind and insects. Insects take over, plants are eaten, insect eat themselves out of food, wind blows new seeds around, new plants take over, and the cycle starts again.

But since moose were introduced to Newfoundland at the beginning of the 20th century (to help supply poor inhabitants with meat), they have completely changed the cycle, as introduced species often do. Moose cause such damage by eating the plants and trees as high up as they can reach, and are so voracious that new plants struggle to grow back.

So this moose exclosure was set up about 10 years ago to illustrate what the land would be like without moose impact. The effect is startling.

in the exclosure

visible moose damage

The last kilometre of the hike is a bit muddy and gnarly with tree roots, but the payoff is a magnificent waterfall, and the opportunity to walk that beautiful path back again at dusk, with birds chirping and wildflowers starting to bloom.

Then to watch the sunset from our cabin high on the point.