Day 2 ends with a duck

Day 2 of our Fortune Bay trip began with a paddle up the Bay du Nord River and a walk about the resettled community of Bay du Nord before carrying on to East Bay where we intended to camp for the night.

By 12:00 we had already clocked 15 kms and we were ready for lunch.  We stopped on this small beach near East Bay Head where there was just enough room to set up our stoves.

We had been paddling along cliffs of conglomerate and at our lunch beach I had a chance for a closer inspection.  A cobble of granite in the conglomerate caught my attention.  It was interesting because it must have had a long journeyed history before ending up in the mix.

Granite is an intrusive igneous rock that cools over a long period in the earth kilometers underground.  As it cools slowly, identifiable crystals are formed.  Millions of years of erosion unroofed the granite intrusion to free it and deposit this rounded cobble in with the other bits in the matrix.  Now you know!

After a swing through the entrance to North West Brook in East Bay (sheesh!) we made our way to Parsons Cove.

We saw numerous eagles and I finally got one to sit still while I took it picture.  Click to enlarge and its at about 1:00 from the center of the snap.

Near North East Brook in Parsons Cove we filtered some water but before Hazen decided to take a cool down.

We looked around a bit to pick the best campsite.  Parsons Cove is very shallow and with the low tide we were a long way from tenting ground.  We carried the kayaks after taking most of the heavy stuff out.

My dome tent turned into an "A-frame".  With no rain in the forecast I left the repair to the next day.

All the while we were setting up camp a duck was impaled on a stick and suspended over the fire to sweat it out.

As darkness fell we had a few swallies by the fire right on the edge of the high tide mark.

Its not a fire until enough wood is added *lol*

As day 2 drew to a close the moon rose in the night sky casting moonbeams on the darkened sea.  It was a great day with lots of interest along our 27 kms paddled to get here.

How we got there.

Rigour mortis in Bay du Nord

After paddling back down the Bay du Nord River we were again on salt water.  We stopped to have a look around the resettled community of Bay du Nord.

Hundreds of isolated communities have been abandoned and the people resettled in larger, accessible towns.  Bay du Nord is the latest such community we visited.

All that is left of the former community of almost 200 people are concrete foundations and rotting wood.

The community had existed since before 1846 because the census of 1921 showed a Mary Farrell born there in that year.

The community crouched on a rocky, steep hillside.  We commented on how hard the struggle for survival must have been in a location that offered little in terms of cultivatable land.

The census of 1921 showed the population was 188 souls living in 39 households.  Some of the more numerous family names included Gould, Farrell, Rose, Davadage, Fitzpatrick, Hilliard and Lundrigan.

The church was usually situated on the most commanding site of the community.  The entire population contributed to the construction which must have siphoned off valuable time and resources needed to survive.

One James Cross had a family of nine children born every two years apart. 

If you look closely you may see the congregation walking up the steps to the church every Sunday morning

In 1935 there were still 189 of them.  The family listed as Davadage in 1921 was then listed as Davidge and James Cross with his wife and nine children had moved out of Bay du Nord.  Possibly necessitated by the demands of providing for such a large family in such a demanding location.

After climbing up the 10 steps parishoners stepped onto a landing before turning left and up two steps and into the church.  Where nourishment may have been slim for the body, spiritual nourishment was well nurtured.

The census for 1945 still listed 194 inhabitants.  I have no idea when the community was resettled but likely in the mid-60's as many of the others were.

I felt a certain amount of reverence for the people who lived here.  It must have taken a great deal of courage fraught with uncertainty.  We were here on a beautiful sunny day.  It would not have looked so inviting in the dead of winter.

We got back in our kayaks to make our way to Parsons Cove and our campsite for the night.

Up the river, with paddle

Saturday we took the ferry from Bay L'Argent to Pools Cove, paddled the short distance to Lake Cove and got ourselves in position to begin the trip proper.

We awoke Sunday on day 2 in the shadow of the hill under which we were camped but the sun lit up the hills beyond.  We broke camp and were on our way ...

... to explore the Bay du Nord River.  When we conceived the trip back in January Hazen wanted to paddle up this river that extends inland for miles and miles.  He had been here some 30 years ago so maybe there was a bit of nostalgia involved.  I know I feel that way.

As we made our way up the river I spotted a blue and gold plaque fixed to a rock along the shore.  I went over and with some difficulty snapped a picture because it was well above my head.  It indicated the river was designated a "Canadian heritage river" in 2005.  Its part of the Day du Nord Wilderness and Ecological Reserve.

About two and a half kilometers up the river it narrows and then opens up again and we were greeted by this placid scene.

Five and a half kilometers up we came to a set of falls that blocked our progress but it goes on for well over 20 kilometers.

Three people were busy fly fishing for salmon, without success said the angler.

I had to walk the kayak up the last stretch to get to the deeper water of the pool below the falls but managed to float back downstream avoiding rocks in the river.  When we got back out to the mouth of the river we had paddled or coasted 11 kilometers and at 11:00 am the day was just starting.

One objective of the trip had been met.

The breadcrumbs (in blue) for the river paddle.

Fortune Bay adventure - The start

THE trip of 2014 was an excursion along the coast of the north end of Fortune Bay.  The plan was to take the ferry from Bay L'Argent to Pools Cove and paddle the coastline back.

Dean, Hazen, Neville and I arrived at Bay L'Argent shrouded in fog to wait for the arrival of the ferry.

With the kayaks loaded on the foredeck and other passengers aboard, the ferry set off for its first port of call at Rencontre East.

Under way we went to pay our passage.  Hazen and I took advantage of the seniors discount of $4.96 for the three hour trip.  Dean and Neville shelled out the large sun of $9.36.  But, the other guys were also charged $2.50 for their kayaks which I somehow managed to avoid.  Crazy prices!

The four of us stayed on the foredeck hoping to catch a glimpse of the coastline we'd be paddling back along and ...

... do a best imitation of Leoanrdo's "I am the king of the world" scene from Titanic.

As the ferry steamed west the fog started to dissipate and the sun shone on Rencontre East as we arrived to disembark a few passengers and freight.

In the distance lay Pools Cove in what is in essence a cul-du-sac.

An hour and fifteen minutes after departing Rencontre East we arrived under clear sunny skies in Pools Cove where we ...

... promptly carried the kayaks a short distance to the slipway for loading and ...

... departure.

We were finally on our way after a couple of hours in the cars and four hours on the ferry.  The ferry arrived in Pools Cove at 4:15 and an hour later we were afloat.  The later put-in meant we'd have a very short paddle the first day to our campsite at Lake Cove.

Pools Cove lays very close to the Dover Fault which separates the Avalon and Gander geologic zones.  Titanic forces were at work as the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana (Avalon) closed the proto-Atlantic Iapetus Ocean (Gander) to collide with Laurentia.  Part of that story is told here in this conglomerate of boulders and various sized cobbles.  I love this stuff!

As we made our way towards Lake Cove we passed some salmon cages.  We'd see lots more as the area is a busy aquaculture center.  I stopped at one cage to see 15 cms long salmon jumping in and out of the water.

A short paddle of 4.6 kms saw us at Lake Cove where we set up camp.  We had a beautiful view looking back down the bay.

As we cooked supper we were plagued with black flies which brought out the bug jackets.  They were a pest but didn't dampen our spirits.

As night fell we had our customary fire.  There wasn't much beach to work with so we put the fire right at the top edge of the high tide mark hoping we'd have enough time to enjoy it.

It was a longish day of of multiple steps but we were in position to begin our adventure in Fortune Bay.

Here are the breadcrumbs.  We didn't need many to mark the trail on the first day.

Off to Fortune Bay

We are off to Fortune Bay for this year's trip.  Off to spend a week paddling along rocky coastlines with interesting geology.

Off to isolated beaches.

Off to explore abandoned communities.

Off to establish our own temporary communities.

Off to run away from it all.

Be back in a week or so with more memories to share.

Arthur gives us a bounce

Hurricane Arthur was down graded to a post-tropical storm when it hit us.  Five of us decided we'd try to catch some surf rides in the 20 - 30 knot winds.  After a few surf rides Brian jumped out of his boat which proved incentive for some of the rest of us to also get wet.

I left my camera home but Dean brought his and shot some video of the action so I'll throw it over to his blog.

Mystery mounds at Goat Cove

On Sunday Dean and Derrick noted a couple of white mounds at Goat Cove as we passed.  I didn't notice.

Tuesday, was a hot, calm day and after working in the garden in the morning I was anxious for the cooler salt water.  I put-in at St. Philips and decided to check out Goat Cove before heading south to Topsail Beach.  I reached Goat Cove but the mystery mounds were not discernible.  A closer inspection confirmed their presence but under some type of camouflage material.

The sky and sea appeared to blend into one blue vista.

Rocks seemed to hover as if in a mirage.

The water was crystal clear while in the distance Bell Island separated sea from sky.

It was hot.  The only relief was an occasional roll or ...

... a cool shower under a running torrent.  This cool down at a small landing no more than 2 meters wide.  Refreshing.

As I continued on my way something in the water broke the mirror like surface.  I stopped.  As it came closer I saw it was a seal, swimming on its back.  Once it caught sight of me it rolled over and disappeared under water.

The one seagull that didn't feel threatened by me watched me closely but did not take to wing.

This plant looked like something that would grow in salt water but it was clinging to the rocky cliff some 3 meters up.  Some good hand holds and I was able to climb up for a close up.  Amazing where life will take hold.

I was almost back a St. Philips where I stopped to look out at Conception Bay in this small alcove with its stony guard.

It was July 1st.  The year is half over but the bulk of the year's paddling lies ahead and I'm already looking on the north side of 500 kms.