Day 4 Rocky Harbour to Cow Head Trail
On a cool, misty morning we left the B&B for Cow Head Peninsula to walk the Cow Head Lighthouse Trail as we were both interested in the restored lighthouse and the conglomerate limestone geology of the area. Travel was a bit slow on the way due to the highway construction, mainly new bridge construction all part of the road upgrades the park is going through. We made a wrong turn and ended up at Shallow Bay Beach, in the summer this would be a great place to spend some time in the water as it is shallow and warms up. There is a great picnic shelter and washrooms at the site. The inland area of the beach (beach dunes) is a protected area for plovers.
We retraced our route and found the way to Cow Head and the trail head. In the misty rain we parked at the Amphitheatre and started our hike on the trail. The start of the trail is through a forested area with a wide variety of plants on the forest floor. There were many outcrops of the limestone conglomerate beside the trail. We had never seen limestone of this type before. We came upon a wonderful orange fungus, don't know my fungus species well at all. The bright orange in the subdued light of the mist and fog was a wonderful site. The limestone conglomerate makes up a rough type of rock with various sized pebbles within the matrix.
Higher up the trail is a lookout where normally Steering Island and Belldowns Island can be seen, this day the islands are in a sea of fog but had to take a photo anyways. From the top of the trail, or actually just off the trail at the cliff's edge, you can see down to the ocean and the continuation of the conglomerate at the water's edge. As you lose elevation on the opposite side of the peninsula you come to the old lighthouse which is found among the trees now. The lighthouse was built of cast iron in 1909 and was in use until 1979. The first lamps run by kerosene were replaced in 1931 by propane lamps. The lighthouse was restored in 2002 as part of a project completed by the Cow Head Tourism Committee.
We continued on a side trail down to the shoreline to walk amongst the rough landscape. A few hardy plants had a hold near the shoreline. There were pools of water amongst the rock, it was a wonderful, enchanting site especially in the fog of the day even with the misty rain coming down.
Heading back up the trail to the main trail we walked back to the amphitheatre and the car. Now off to our next stop at Broom Point Fishing Camp.
Day 2 Part 2 Cow Head to Sentier du Steve
We saw a small road leading off of the highway and down to the shoreline, always on the lookout for some place new to explore we headed down the road and found a small outport with a few buildings and warves. Found out later the site is called Sentier du Steve which is comprised of some neat buildings and is still in use. This was a neat stop that wasn't planned.
Day 2 Part 3 Sentier du Steve to Tablelands
Leaving Sentier du Steve we headed back to the B&B for some dry clothes before heading off to the Tablelands. With the road construction slowing us down, some rock blasting had occured and we were stuck in a lineup waiting for the road to be cleared. After a bit of a wait we were lucky as our side of the traffic stop was allowed to drive through first. With the busy traffic and lateness of the day due to the delay in traffic we didn't stop along the way until we reached the Discovery Centre just before the Tablelands. Stopping in the Centre we read about the Tablelands environment so we would be knowledgable when we reached the trail head.
The drive from the Discovery Centre to the Tablelands is short, upon arriving where we could see the Tablelands well it looked like we were entering an alien land. The reddish rock and lack of vegetation is very different. The Tablelands are made up of an ultramafic rock, periddotite. The rock originated in the Earth's mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several million years ago. eridotite lacks the usual nutrients required to sustain most plant life, hence its barren appearance. The rock is very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and has toxic amounts of heavy metals. Peridotite is also high in iron, which accounts for its brownish colour (rusted colour). Underneath this weathered zone, the rock is really a dark green colour.
We walked the 4 km trail entranced by the landscape, streams flowing down off the hills from the still melting snows, and the plants which have taken hold in areas were wind has accumulated dusts etc. from other areas giving the plants a chance to grow. At the end of the trail is a surprise, a wonderful small waterfall. After the hike it was time for the long drive back to the B&B and the end of our time in Gros Morne National Park.