Mystical Pathways on the Sugarloaf Path

 Along the Surgarloaf path on the East Coast Trail, you will encounter many different features and variations of the paths themselves. What I love most about the paths are the colours of greens and browns. It gives you a feeling of peace and serenity. 

 Check out the above photo. It could be scorching hot or windy but in here the trees shelter you from that. All you hear are the trees blowing in the wind, the ocean and the sound of wildlife. 

 The path continues on like this for some time. You have to pay attention you do not trip from a root. I love the smells and air along this area. It is cool and refreshing.

You will also see many paths running through bushy areas. These are usually in open areas along the trail. Many of those bushes will have tasty blueberries in August and September.

 

You will discover many rocky areas along the path, so you should watch your step. The path can go from a dark shaded area, to breaks in the trees allowing the light to gleam on the path. It allows for a beautiful contrast in colours. 

This trail has been developed and maintained by volunteers. You will see different steps and walkways along the trail. It can't be easy walking all the way in here with tools and gear to make a set of steps or a walkway.  Those volunteers deserve a big pat on the back.

 Here is another set of steps I walked down. They do add to the beauty of the trail. It is welcoming after navigating rocks and roots. 

 The above photos are another good example of the colours and lighting along the trail. Another welcoming set of stairs in a well lit area. The brown colour on the ground is from the decaying needles from the trees. It does make the ground softer to walk on.

 Sometimes there will not be any stairs, but just a sort of rail built into the path to keep it level. 

 In the above photo you will see a beautiful set of trees. I wrote an earlier post about this. This was a nice surprise. The path leads into a dark shaded area. The trees themselves did not seem like they belonged there. Unfortunately they are a set of dying trees. 

Just past the old trees you will come to a set of stairs that leads upwards for what seems like miles. 

  Near the top you will come across some nice walkways. This is welcoming after the long climb up the steps. 

After the walkways I thought I was near the end. Once out into the open I saw a long set of stairs heading up the mountain. The photo does not do it justice. In person it looks more daunting.

 Once you get to the top of the stairs it leads to a couple of pathways into the open. This leads down to some rocky pathways. Watch your step here, as they are sandy, making it easy to slip. If you look ahead you might notice a shape in the rocks. If you don't notice anything check out a post I wrote about this.

 The Sugarloaf trail has paths that are shaded, colourful and peaceful. There are moments when you feel like your in another  world  when you walk the paths. Hopefully you will too, if you have not already done so. 

Interesting Rock Formations on the East Coast Trail (Sugarloaf Path)

 A picture is a thousand words according to an old saying. I agree with that to a certain extent. Pictures are wonderful to relive past moments, but actually experiencing these moments cannot be replaced by pictures. I took many pictures the day I walked the sugarloaf path. You can see more of them on my post of the old trees, WW2 Oberservation post and Quidi Vidi Village. The pictures themselves are not quite the same as walking the trail. 

 I try to capture certain features of a trail to show others how interesting the trail can be.  Below is a collection of photos I took of interesting rock formations along the sugarloaf path on the east coast trail. 

 I always love to see these along the trail. Obviously this is man made. When I see this I find it comforting to see that others are enjoying the trail.

 Here is a rock along the path that looked almost man made. There weren't any other rocks nearby and trees all around. Which made this rock stand out. In person, the rock seemed more level and smooth. Which goes back to my point that sometimes pictures are just not the same.

 Above is a collection of some formations along the coast. I am sure they were formed from the ocean eroding the rocks over time. Some of them were so smooth it almost looked man made. You could use some of them to dock a boat. It is amazing to see how nature can form such interesting features of rocks.

 Speaking of natures way of forming rocks, check out the above photo. What do you see? 

 What I see is a face on the rock in the centre. Now if you let your imagination run wild and look below the head you will see a body. It almost looks sphinx like. Maybe its just me. Let me know what you see. I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did. 

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!