Thanks given, going home

The third and last day of our Thanksgiving holiday weekend trip broke with bright sunshine again.  The night was cold but not as cold as the previous night.  As everyone arose we set about cooking breakfast and packing up for the return home.

Exiting Gulch Pond we were headed northerly between the Burin Peninsula on the left and Bar Haven Island on the right.

The trees were really beginning to show their fall colours and the dogberry trees were laden with bright red berries.

We crossed over to Bar Haven Island so we could check out ...

... Carroll Point for a possible future camp site.  Lobster traps were stacked up for the year and there was level ground but a better choice may be at the nearby Baker Cove.

At one point Hazen called out to me there was a bald eagle right over my head.  The majestic bird looked down over its domain and didn't move.  Normally, during nesting season, it would fly away trying to steer us away from its nest.

At the north end and west side of Bar Haven we made for the south and east side of Woody Island.  At the north end of Woody Island we stopped on this beach in Back Cove for lunch.  There were very few rocks on the beach because one Randy Lieb had picked them all up to use in the ...

... construction of this fine house.  That was in the early '70s around the same time Canadian singer Valdy tried to set up a commune on the island.  Building the house and outbuildings must have been a ton of work.  Lieb raised some livestock, did some gardening and fishing before just up and leaving the place.  Most peculiar!

In fact, it looked like he was in such a hurry he left with one boot.

At Gilberts Point we huddled up for the final leg of our paddle back to Garden Cove.  We had a short rest before turning to the northwest and into a little breeze.

A few whitecaps formed but it wasn't a lot of work making our way into Garden Cove in the distance.  Pete seemed slower so I hung back.  He was slower for good reason.

When he got the kayak on the slipway and started to unload it he found the rear hatch flooded.  Seems the nut on the skeg cable had backed off and let water in.  She must have been a dog to paddle.  Luckily it was near the end of the trip and not at the outset.

This is how the trip ends, unloading the kayaks.

The six of us stopped for a coffee nearby before driving the 150 kms back home.  It was a most enjoyable trip to wrap up the kayak camping season.  We had three cool but gloriously sunny days.  Going forward it will get progressively colder to the point where it becomes more of a chore to camp.  I don't mind; I had three great trips this year.

Thanks to Brian, Dean, Hazen, Neville and Pete for sharing the trip.

And, the breadcrumbs from the final day: