21 Days in Newfoundland - Day 16,17 and 18 Gros Morne National Park, Tablelands, Green Gardens Trail, South East Brook Falls, Blow Me Down Prrovincial Park, Bottle Cove, Cedar Cove

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For my last full day at Gros Morne I tackled two of the more popular trails - Tablelands and Green Gardens. The tablelands is very unique given the geology of the area. Barren of much vegetation due to the toxicity of the rocks, it is an example of the earth's mantle being shoved up due to the shifting of the various geological plates. In fact, most of the area was once in the centre of the earth. The Tablelands Trail is a four km trail ending at a canyon. The trail is actually in a plateau, and all along the trail you see the tableland mountains with their characteristic tan colour. Next up was the 8.8 km hike to the Green Gardens.This is a demanding hike, up and down at least three "hills", before reaching the coast and access to the beach, sea stacks and sea caves.The trail was very wet given the recent rain adding to the challenges of the trail. All in all I was hiking for 4:15 min, with a half hour set aside to beachcomb and admire the coastal scenery. It was one of the more challenging trails which of course added to the thrill of finishing it. The following day, as I was leaving Gros Morne for the Bay of Islands, north of Corner Brook, I visited South East Brook Falls, with a short 10 min hike leading you to a waterfall. I was on my way to Blow Me Down Provincial Park. I wanted to climb the Governer's Staircase. Unfortunately, the park was closed for the season. I did spend 30 minutes roaming around the park but did not come across the staircase. Rather than walk around aimlessly, I cut my losses and decided to find the trailheads for my two hikes the following day - Bottle Cove and Cedar Cove. My second day in the Bay of Islands started with a short hike to Copper MIne waterfall. A five minute walk to a 100 foot or so waterfall. Then off to my two other hikes. First up was Bottle Cove. An easy one km trail to a peninsula where one could see Bottle Cove from afar as well as the typical rocky Newfoundland coast. Here a monument was erected commemorating Capt Cooks initial visit. My last hike of the day was Cedar Cove. A linear (not a loop), 1.8 km hike through the woods to Cedar Cove. As my lack of luck would have it, half way there it started to rain. Donning my raincoat I made it to the cove only to experience winds like no other. The wind and the rain made for a miserable walk to the cove. It was raining so hard I took three pictures and retreated to the shelter of the forest, without actually making it to the actual cove. Luckily, that was the last hike of the day so I dried off on my drive back to Corner Brook.

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