Giving thanks at Gulch Pond

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  A good excuse to get away.  Six of us decided we would be giving thanks at Gulch Pond in Placentia Bay.

Dean picked me up at 6:30 am, in the dark, and then we met Brian, Hazen, Neville and Pete at the TCH Irving.  The sun came out but it was cool.  The roofs at Garden Cove still had frost on them as we loaded our kayaks on the slipway.

All packed up we gingerly got off of the slipway because there was a drop off to the water.  For some it was more of an adventure and a chance to show off a roll in a loaded kayak.

Just before 10:00 we were underway heading northwest to the top of Sound Island in the cool breeze.

At the north end of Sound Island we were almost in the channel going south with the Burin Peninsula on starboard and a chain of islands on port.

Neville and I had a look at Rattling Brook Falls, a sweet place to grab a swim but on a warmer day.

Continuing south we passed by Sound Island and reached the south end of Woody Island where we could look east between Woody Island on the left, Little Woody Island in the center and the north end of Bar Haven Island.

The leaves on the trees were starting to show the first tinges of yellow .

We made very good progress riding on the small waves that pushed us along.  La Plante Cove was a fine looking place to stop for lunch, so we did.  Neville and I got the stoves out.  The rest of the guys had a less work intensive lunch.

We didn't have far to go after lunch.  The sun warmed us when it came out and sparkled on the water on our trek south.

Dean and Brian reach the entrance to Gulch Pond after 21 kms.  Gulch Pond is a sizable pond accessed by a narrow channel from the sea, the entrance to which is best timed for slack water at high tide.  A falling tide will make for a workout to get up the tidal current flowing out of the pond.

We got out of the kayaks and tramped around looking for the best place to pitch the tents.  While it was sunny, it remained cool though once the tents were up they warmed quickly absorbing the warming rays of the sun.

We were at our home for the weekend and it felt good.

And, the breadcrumbs: