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Club Events 2008 : 2008-08-04 : COC - ECT - Brigus South to Cape Broyle

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Activity
Type	Name	Description	Service Provider	Cost	Kms	To Date	Total	Notes	Actions
Hike	Brigus South to Cape Broyle	Brigus Head Path +		$0.00	12.00	12.00

Trip Log

Notes	Actions
Rhonda’s Notes Joel and I left Calgary together at noon on the 23rd hoping to get an early start on the vacation, but instead, a “mechanical” airplane before we even got started, a diversion to Montreal and a free three-hour sleep in the Montreal Airport Hyatt put us in to St. John’s a few hours after Angela and Tina who’d left after us on the red eye. From there, though, it was smooth sailing (or hiking, as the case may be). As the gang of nine trickled in, we spent a couple of days in St. John’s exploring downtown, some pubs, Signal Hill, The Battery, The Fluverium and Quidi Vidi Village. We also visited the BEST gift shop in Newfoundland, The Tickle Trunk where I bought a couple of Doug Bird prints. On Sunday, Bill from the Brown Rabbit Cabins picked some of us up (the others followed in Angela’s car after attending the Folk Fest) and took us out to the cabins where we spent the rest of our time. I cannot stress ENOUGH how awesome the Brown Rabbit is. Bill and his wife Isa run it with a focus on providing service to East Coast Trail hikers and they do a brilliant job. They provide a fantastic breakfast and dinner each day, a bag lunch for on the trail, plus trailhead transportation shuttles to and from our hikes each day (as well as to some other stops). After “getting a little tongue” from a cod (ie. eating cod tongues), Angela, Brent and Laurie figured they had taken care of the “kiss a cod” requirement and were halfway to being completely screeched in. Angela, however, was the only one to take the plunge with the rhum, although a lot of us gave the bottle a sniff. Brent shared with us his family myth that trying a new food adds 144 days to your life, and Laurie racked up the most “bonus days” on the trip, trying new foods at every opportunity. Members of our group tried “fish and brews” (aka “fish and brewis”), cod tongues, fried caplin, and other tasty morsels. I did not add any days to my life personally, but I did enjoy the Homemade Fries Deluxe at the Riverside restaurant in Cape Broyle (which included fries, ground beef, gravy and peas). Ed, Brent and I put on the most kilometers on the trip, with Laurie then Lynn trailing slightly behind, and the rest choosing a number of alternative hikes and activities. In addition to walking the trails around Signal Hill and The Battery (~10km), plus the trail from the Fluverium to Quidi Vidi Village (~5km), Ed, Brent and I did the following sections of the East Coast Trail: - Deadman’s Bay Path which goes from Fort Amherst to Blackhead (Map 1). 10.6km. Highlight – coastal scenery around Small Point. - Spout Path in and out from Bay Bulls to The Spout (Maps 5 & 6). 22km with 1200m elevation gain and loss – this was the hardest hike we did (which would have been a top-end D3 according to COC’s difficulty ratings). Highlights: Saw a lot of whales. Beautiful scenery at Freshwater, Gull Rock, Drop Cove Rock and The Spout, and some trail poetry: Limerick by Brent S: At the tender young age 86 Ed the Legend went out in the sticks To hike the East Trails And photo some whales And offer warm hugs to some chicks Haiku by Rhonda S: On the East Coast Trail Polé Polé the mantra This is not a race - Tinkers Point Path which goes from Mobile to Tors Cove (Map 8). Recovery hike after The Spout – 5.1km ending up with coffee at Brittany’s Tea Garden (an outdoor operation with a teenaged proprietor) and a visit to the Five Islands Art Gallery. - Mickeleen’s Path from Witless Bay to Bay Bulls (Map 7). 14km. Witless Bay, incidentally, was so named because the Wittle family had lived there, then they all moved away leaving the area Wittle-less (which eventually became Witless). At the end of the hike we enjoyed a lively chat with a toothless Newfie. - Bauline East to Brigus South – both the “La Manche Village Path” (Map 9) and “Flamber Head Path” (Map 10) for a total of 20.9km. - Caplin Bay Path from Calvert to Ferryland (Maps 13 and 14) – 6km. This was my least favorite trail. We were near the highway for a time, and near a ball diamond and high school for a time, which included a chain link fence plus lots of litter and broken glass on the trail. - Blackhead to Maddox Cove – both the Blackhead Path and Cape Spear Path (Maps 2 & 3). This was a very enjoyable trail with a variety of terrain and scenery. - Spurwink Island Path from Aquaforte to Port Kirwin. Highlight: the Berry Head arch (aptly called a “massive sea arch”). - Brigus South to Cape Broyle – both the Brigus Head Path (Map 11) and ?? (Map 12). This was our only really rainy day hike. In addition to the hiking, I squeezed in a visit to the Lantern Festival, the Graham Wells concert at the Five Islands Art Gallery, a Whale and Bird Watching boat tour, and participated in helping Angela retroactively misspend some of her youth with a trip to the beer store, a night-time visit to Cape Spear, followed by a dorm party in which we took the remaining beer back to the University Hostel to haul Joel out of bed to have a beer with us. Some new nicknames from the trip: - Brent: Polé Polé (Swahili for "Slowly Slowly") - Angela: Mama Mia (ok, so she didn't cook us spaghetti, but she did talk about it) - Tina: Trouble (new nickname after a brief stint as the “Magic Navigator”) - Laurie: Wow, a Cowboy (occasionally, Wow, a Ninja) And a newly coined phrase, “poking the bird” meaning to act in a silly fashion causing your companions to suspect that you may be on some kind of drugs. Inspired by Joel, naturally, but if you want the whole story you’ll have to ask one of us. This was definitely one of my favorite trips ever – thanks to Ed for making it happen, and to the others for sharing the wonderful experience. -- Rhonda

Notes

Actions

Rhonda’s Notes

Joel and I left Calgary together at noon on the 23rd hoping to get an early start on the vacation, but instead, a “mechanical” airplane before we even got started, a diversion to Montreal and a free three-hour sleep in the Montreal Airport Hyatt put us in to St. John’s a few hours after Angela and Tina who’d left after us on the red eye. From there, though, it was smooth sailing (or hiking, as the case may be). As the gang of nine trickled in, we spent a couple of days in St. John’s exploring downtown, some pubs, Signal Hill, The Battery, The Fluverium and Quidi Vidi Village. We also visited the BEST gift shop in Newfoundland, The Tickle Trunk where I bought a couple of Doug Bird prints.

On Sunday, Bill from the Brown Rabbit Cabins picked some of us up (the others followed in Angela’s car after attending the Folk Fest) and took us out to the cabins where we spent the rest of our time. I cannot stress ENOUGH how awesome the Brown Rabbit is. Bill and his wife Isa run it with a focus on providing service to East Coast Trail hikers and they do a brilliant job. They provide a fantastic breakfast and dinner each day, a bag lunch for on the trail, plus trailhead transportation shuttles to and from our hikes each day (as well as to some other stops).

After “getting a little tongue” from a cod (ie. eating cod tongues), Angela, Brent and Laurie figured they had taken care of the “kiss a cod” requirement and were halfway to being completely screeched in. Angela, however, was the only one to take the plunge with the rhum, although a lot of us gave the bottle a sniff.

Brent shared with us his family myth that trying a new food adds 144 days to your life, and Laurie racked up the most “bonus days” on the trip, trying new foods at every opportunity. Members of our group tried “fish and brews” (aka “fish and brewis”), cod tongues, fried caplin, and other tasty morsels. I did not add any days to my life personally, but I did enjoy the Homemade Fries Deluxe at the Riverside restaurant in Cape Broyle (which included fries, ground beef, gravy and peas).

Ed, Brent and I put on the most kilometers on the trip, with Laurie then Lynn trailing slightly behind, and the rest choosing a number of alternative hikes and activities. In addition to walking the trails around Signal Hill and The Battery (~10km), plus the trail from the Fluverium to Quidi Vidi Village (~5km), Ed, Brent and I did the following sections of the East Coast Trail:
- Deadman’s Bay Path which goes from Fort Amherst to Blackhead (Map 1). 10.6km. Highlight – coastal scenery around Small Point.
- Spout Path in and out from Bay Bulls to The Spout (Maps 5 & 6). 22km with 1200m elevation gain and loss – this was the hardest hike we did (which would have been a top-end D3 according to COC’s difficulty ratings). Highlights: Saw a lot of whales. Beautiful scenery at Freshwater, Gull Rock, Drop Cove Rock and The Spout, and some trail poetry:
Limerick by Brent S:
At the tender young age 86
Ed the Legend went out in the sticks
To hike the East Trails
And photo some whales
And offer warm hugs to some chicks
Haiku by Rhonda S:
On the East Coast Trail
Polé Polé the mantra
This is not a race
- Tinkers Point Path which goes from Mobile to Tors Cove (Map 8). Recovery hike after The Spout – 5.1km ending up with coffee at Brittany’s Tea Garden (an outdoor operation with a teenaged proprietor) and a visit to the Five Islands Art Gallery.
- Mickeleen’s Path from Witless Bay to Bay Bulls (Map 7). 14km. Witless Bay, incidentally, was so named because the Wittle family had lived there, then they all moved away leaving the area Wittle-less (which eventually became Witless). At the end of the hike we enjoyed a lively chat with a toothless Newfie.
- Bauline East to Brigus South – both the “La Manche Village Path” (Map 9) and “Flamber Head Path” (Map 10) for a total of 20.9km.
- Caplin Bay Path from Calvert to Ferryland (Maps 13 and 14) – 6km. This was my least favorite trail. We were near the highway for a time, and near a ball diamond and high school for a time, which included a chain link fence plus lots of litter and broken glass on the trail.
- Blackhead to Maddox Cove – both the Blackhead Path and Cape Spear Path (Maps 2 & 3). This was a very enjoyable trail with a variety of terrain and scenery.
- Spurwink Island Path from Aquaforte to Port Kirwin. Highlight: the Berry Head arch (aptly called a “massive sea arch”).
- Brigus South to Cape Broyle – both the Brigus Head Path (Map 11) and ?? (Map 12). This was our only really rainy day hike.

In addition to the hiking, I squeezed in a visit to the Lantern Festival, the Graham Wells concert at the Five Islands Art Gallery, a Whale and Bird Watching boat tour, and participated in helping Angela retroactively misspend some of her youth with a trip to the beer store, a night-time visit to Cape Spear, followed by a dorm party in which we took the remaining beer back to the University Hostel to haul Joel out of bed to have a beer with us.

Some new nicknames from the trip:
- Brent: Polé Polé (Swahili for "Slowly Slowly")
- Angela: Mama Mia (ok, so she didn't cook us spaghetti, but she did talk about it)
- Tina: Trouble (new nickname after a brief stint as the “Magic Navigator”)
- Laurie: Wow, a Cowboy (occasionally, Wow, a Ninja)

And a newly coined phrase, “poking the bird” meaning to act in a silly fashion causing your companions to suspect that you may be on some kind of drugs. Inspired by Joel, naturally, but if you want the whole story you’ll have to ask one of us.

This was definitely one of my favorite trips ever – thanks to Ed for making it happen, and to the others for sharing the wonderful experience.

-- Rhonda

Photos

Map
View
Strange little hut
Ed with Brown Rabbit Cabin hosts

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