The Many Views of The Sugarloaf Path

  Every hiker has his/her own reasons for taking time out of life to get away and enjoy a trail. Some do it for the exercise, others do it for leisure. Everyone has their own reasons. I do it for many reasons. One of my favourite things about hiking is seeing a view that makes you stop in your tracks and just enjoy the moment. 

 On the east coast trail's sugarloaf path, there are many things to see. I wrote several earlier post's about these. I wrote about the old tress,  WW2 observation post, rock formations, Quidi Vidi village and the paths. In addition to these are the beautiful views of this trail.

  This first photo is on the Logy Bay side. As you can see there was a bit of fog rolling in that day. It did get thick for a short while, which made it a bit cooler. 

 At the peak we can see the fog getting closer. I was happy this did not last long so I could get some decent shots.  

 I do like the look and feel of the fog lingering over the rocks and water. It is beautiful and eerie at the same time. 

 As we head down the peak the fog still lingers. This was taken in August. This path is in the St. John's area. The city is known for its fog. Most of the time you will see it just roll in over the hills and it's gone again. Other times we could get it for days without a break. 

 Looking back I could see the peak we came from. At this point we did not see much more fog. It was awesome to see how the fog just lingers over the mountain.

 This whale was a nice surprise. This was a humpback whale. They are the most common whale seen in Newfoundland's waters. 

 Along the trail there are many view points that allow you to look out over the ocean and cliffs. I happened to be near a viewpoint and heard the whale coming up for air. It is hard to see from the photo but I am up much higher than it looks. I was amazed I was able to hear the whale from that height.

 If you ever walk this trail be sure to listen and watch for whales.

 This shot was interesting. Look to the bottom of the cliff where it meets the water. You should see two dark openings. They look like nostrils carved into the rock. They are two large caves. I could not get a better view from here. My camera's lens was not the best. I may revisit this area one day with a better camera and lens. Hopefully I can get more detail. I am sure a small boat could enter one of those caves. Not that I would try that or encourage it.

This looks like a generic shot. I thought to show this one to illustrate all the beautiful places to sit and have lunch. Just to the edge of the cliff you can see some trees.  This is a great place to sit in a shaded area to have a lunch. There are more than one of these along the trail.

One of my favourite characteristics of Newfoundland is the greenery and the jagged rocks. I thought this was a good shot to illustrate this. This is a typical view on the trail.

 This was a sight to see. The view of this bridge comes upon you unexpectedly. It is instinctual for the eye to be drawn to this because of the beautiful colours of the rocks. This is not seen anywhere else on the trail. 
 

This is another great place to sit and have lunch. Careful with your step here until you get to the board walk. 

 By far one of my favourite views on the trail. The green and copper colours and the water trickling over the rocks is inviting to the eye. 

 If you are wondering why the rocks are this colour, it is because of a high concentration of iron in the water which turns the rocks to this colour.

 This shot was taken on the bridge looking in the opposite direction of the ocean.

 If you turn around and look out to the ocean this is the other view you will see. I love the jagged rocks here. I did not want to leave here any time soon.

 A while after the bridge I took a shot looking toward where we started. If you look near the centre of the photo you will see the far peak. That is the first peak we traversed. The Sugarloaf path is almost 11 kilometres in length. At this point we are around 9 kilometres. Looking back it seems further. 

 Near the end of the trail, you can see a great view of Quidi Vidi Lake, Quidi Vidi Village and some of St. John's. As you can see St. John's is a green looking city. Right around this area are some bike paths so you have to be careful not to walk on the bike paths. There will be signs here to guide you. 

 On the way down you will get a better view of Quidi Vidi Village. This is a beautiful little fishing village. I may do a post on the village itself in the future.

 At the end of the trail near the road you will see a little marsh. You can hear the frogs here, though you will not see them. This was a nice way to end the hike.

 This will be the last post on the Sugarloaf Path. I will do other trails in the future as well as other subjects. I hope I was able to give you a little taste of what it was like to travel the Sugarloaf Path on the East Coast Trail.

Quidi Vidi Village at the end of the Trail.

Here is a shot of Quidi Vidi Village at the end or beginning of Sugarloaf Path on the East Coast Trail. It is a beautiful view to see this at the end of the trail. Quidi Vidi Village was an old fishing village. There still is some fishing done from here, but not so much any more since the Moratorium.

 I am from Newfoundland, but when I go through Quidi Vidi Village I feel like I have entered another world. A world that once existed for most Newfoundlanders, throughout Newfoundland's history.

The harbour is to the left in the photo. They call this "The Gut".

 There is a huge house in the top left of the photo. It overlooks the opening of the harbour into the ocean. This is a popular place for newly weds to take photos.

Just on the right of the photo you will see a large green building. This The Quidi Vidi Brewing company.

There is something interesting about this village you cannot see in this photo. Just below the cliff are some small houses or sheds with docks. The only way to get to these sheds is by boat. Each one is a different colour. They are unique and beautiful. I may do a post on these in the future.

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Here is a shot of the main part of Quidi Vidi Village. At the very end of the trail there is a bridge over the waterway in the harbour. This is to the far right in the photo.  Just below is what you would see looking out over the bridge toward the harbour.

To the left you will see some of the small houses you can reach by boat. This is a great place to end your day on the trail. In the future I may post some photos of the unique characteristics of this village. Until the next post, enjoy!

The Abandoned World War 2 Observation Post

In my last post I had mentioned another interesting feature of the Sugarloaf Path on the East Coast Trail. The feature was an old World War 2 observation post, which you may have already guessed is in the above photo. It is rounded on the front to allow close to a 180 degree view. 

 As you can see it is deteriorating. Inside there are old fire pits and broken beer bottles; most likely from past hikers or kids just having fun. I can't say I am a big fan of the graffiti. Though I do find some graffiti beautiful, just not on a historical site.

 

In the next photo you can see an old ladder used to enter the post. Most of the ladder is gone now. 

 This post is about halfway into the trail which is almost 11 kilometres. I wonder how the soldiers managed to get their gear here considering the rough terrain you have to navigate. They had to be hardy. 

This is the path leading to the observation post. Straight and to the left of the bush you will find the post. In the below photo you will see the view of what the soldiers would observe. Considering the remoteness of the area they must have spent days or possibly weeks out here. 

This post is north of St. John's harbour. This would allow a fair warning of any approaching vessels. Knowing what it took to get to this point makes one appreciate what a soldiers life was like at this post. It must have been a tough experience.

Though the hike here was not easy at times, stumbling on this post made it worthwhile. I hope you enjoyed the photos and experience as much as I did.

Old Trees on the East Coast Trail

 I love to take photos of things I experience. From time to time I will take videos as well. I love sharing these with others. Technology allows us to do this very easily. 

 When I go on vacation or some other activity of note I take many pictures and upload them all at once to facebook to share them. Sometimes there are too many to absorb. So I decided to take certain photos of interest and blog about them. 

 I am not a professional photographer and probably never will be. But I do enjoy taking photos and sharing them. I will provide some other interest and information besides the photo.

 As you probably have guessed by my background and the pic at the top this will be my first post. This is a photo I took in August, 2013 on the East Coast Trail (Sugar Loaf Path) on the Avalon Peninsula, NL, Canada. For those of you not familiar with this place this trail is on an Island off the east coast of Canada. This trail runs over 500 kilometres across the east coast of Newfoundland. The trail is divided into sections. 

 The section I was hiking is called the Sugar Loaf Path. It can take about 5 hours to hike depending on your fitness level. There are many beautiful paths and features along this trail. There is an old World War 2 observation post along this trail. I may post a photo of this in the future. 

 About three quarters into the trail you come to a beautiful bridge with copper coloured rocks in a river. Just past this bridge bridge I came across these trees that was creating an arc above the path ahead. It looked like something out of a kids fantasy book.  It did not seem natural for trees to form that way. 

 Of course I had to get a shot of this. Unfortunately, they are dying trees. You would see one here and there on the trail but not so many in one place creating such a fantastical view. I hope you found this as interesting as I did. If you have any questions about this feel free to ask. Enjoy!