08 August: Toilet Mischief, Beer & Cheese, and a Foxy Trail.

Off to Port Rexton! Early! Very early! On the way I took a picture of one of the many small marsh ponds along the roadways of Newfoundland. It must have been very interesting for the road surveyors and engineers to find the best routes.

    Once at the village, we drove around and through its hilly labyrinth and stopped at a good-sized parking lot. There, above the garbage can, was a sign indicating private property. Below it, in smaller letters, it said “Please do not use as a toilet.” Was it the land behind the sign we weren’t supposed to use as a toilet or the garbage can? Either way, what’s the problem with people’s critical thinking skills?

    Taking a photo of the Skerwink Trail sign (8km and hiking time 1.5-2.5 hours) we set off. While going through the first leg, through town, the bright yellow flowers, house designs old and new, and hilly rock filled terrain were a lovely sight.

    Once in the forest, we started walking close to the cliffside as we increased elevation. The water views were admired. At some lookout areas, whale plumes could be seen, but K&A said they looked like they were from juvenile whales.

    During our return along the route, Port Rexton and another town could be seen in Trinity Bay. Looking back, at the tall cliffside we had just travelled along, it looked scarier than when we were on it.

    Time for lunch at Port Rexton Brewing. I had a tall glass of the shoreline salted stout, which was very delicious and refreshing. For food I had the Popeye grilled cheese sandwich from the attached food truck, Oh My Cheeses, which was pure gooey yummy goodness.

The next hike was on nearby Fox Island and it was called…Fox Island Trail. At 5.3 km in length we went for it.

    The path had mostly clear views of the water and surrounding areas. The first half was high up, but not too high. Occasional mushrooms grew on each side of the path and provided conversations like “is it poisonous or not”, but we didn’t chance it.

    Close to the end of the hike, while approaching the village of Champney’s West, one white panelled building stuck out. It was surrounded by trees and those trees were surrounded by white fences, with different styles on each of the four sides. There is a story here. Perhaps it is to keep out deer or keep in their own animals. Perhaps a subtle reminder to their neighbours that they do not wish to be neighbourly. Who knows?

    By the wharf, clever people had made a series of standalone rental cottages to look like fishing stages. I smiled at the idea, especially for how the concept would embed itself into the memories of those who were young or young at heart.

    Inside the village, I was looking at the closed Trailside Crafts & Things Store when two local residents came to meet me. They immediately began to rub against my legs and demanded I scratch their heads and backs. The noises were like lawn mowers in low gear. The residents were also quite…furry. Not sure who their owners were, but the cats certainly liked people.

    The remainder of the walk was taxing on our muscles, yet provided calming views. Delicate purple-pink Loosestrife flowers swayed from the light wind as we ascended to the parking lot. Just before we got there, in a field of wild berries, a young child was being taught to pick blueberries. The elders there coaxed and encouraged the youngling this way and that across the field. 

    That night, on our return, we stopped at Cabin 6 Pizza for supper. My pick was the sausage and sweet potato pizza with roasted garlic, brown butter sage, sprinkled goat and mozza cheese, then sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Birch beer, made by Crush (Pepsi), had interesting flavours.

    After returning we chatted, refreshed with water, and headed for bed. 13.6km walked and 62 flights climbed.

07 August: Some Random Island, dihydrogen oxide on the trail, and no Herbs here.

After a lazy conversational morning, we set out. By we I mean my wife and I so we could give K&A a little break. We went to a particular island because it was recommended and random.

    Random Island (FB page here) was first settled by the Beothuk First Nations and then  Europeans in the 1800’s. The fishing, mining, and logging industries began to collapse in the early 1900’s and many moved to nearby Clarenville. A causeway was built and the population grew to stabilize at ~1200 people, in 11 communities, on an island 32km long.

    After taking the causeway we had to wait…then we were moving but soon had to wait…then we moved again and yet again we waited. Road construction was the cause. Large diggers were doing their thing to remove the brush and weeds from each side of the road so large metal tubes could be buried. This is likely for water, power, and/or sewage. The diggers were depositing their loads into large idling dump trucks which would deposit the dirt and detritus on empty land. As a person who likes to plan things out, I saw the logic and approved of having three crews work in tandem. However, I also felt a little righteous indignation from this delay in our travel plans. I don’t know what to call this combination of feelings so I’ll invent the word Apprignation.

    Anyhoo, it was close to lunch and we chose “Open On A Nice Day” cafe as a place to eat in Hickman’s Harbour. My wife had a cheese and broccoli soup, which she said was a little salty, and I consumed the chicken panini with house made chips and potato salad. Big portions!

    Above the town was our first recommended hike to Burgoyves Cove. There was a sign about it, across the road from the cafe, and I web-checked at K&A’s place to scout the entrance. Both things combined and led us to the tiny parking lot. We began our hike.

    Until we reached a higher elevation, the views were that of the lush forest hugging the trail and the varied geology beneath our feet.

    At the top we could see much further and passed a mirror finish lake which contained a handful of tied up boats at different locations.

    Descending, we walked by large rocky hillsides and at the bottom we first heard a small waterfall and got closer to examine it before the bug squadrons became too much.

    Unfortunately, after the half-hour hike we could go no further. The rains of the previous night had filled the path some distance on either side and the waterfall runoff added to the water's depth.

    Next we went to Lower Lance Cove to find another trail, mentioned on the Random Island website. Here, like other places, displayed no signage and cell service was less than spotty. Instead we walked along the Federal wharf and looked into the bay and ocean beyond. A huge school of small fish were slowly swimming in circles among the jellyfish. It was very zen when combined with waves lapping against the sides of the boats tied up.

    Getting in the car we drove through Britannia, Petly, Aspen, Robinson Blight, Lady Cove, Weybridge, Elliot’s Cove, and Random Heights. All were small villages or a smattering of houses along the road. Of them all, only Hickman’s Harbour and Britannia seemed to have vibrancy and activity. The causeway seemed to have turned this island into a bedroom suburb of Clarenville or for summer cottages.

    For supper we ate at The Boat Vietnamese Restaurant and each ordered the vegetable fried rice (with salad and fried tofu on top) and shrimp rolls. I wasn’t surprised when it arrived and the vegetables were the frozen kind, but they did utilize some special method to make them taste good.

    We mentioned this to K&A when we got home and were reminded that vegetables are shipped into St. John’s then loaded into other trucks to go to the hub cities which were then delivered from there. Herbs are rare because of their fragility after being transported from the mainland or St.John's. 4km hiked.