13 September 2019, Friday
It is still cold, cloudy and damp this morning so we find a Coffee Matters shop not too far away from Butter Pot at which to eat breakfast and we then drive down Route 10 looking for trail access to the Beaches Path section of the East Coast Trail. I picked this particular trail because it runs along the protected south side of a peninsula jutting eastward into the Atlantic. The winds are brisk today and out of the north. The hardest part of today’s hike is finding the trail access point. Our hiking book says to park at Mobile Central High School and find the trail across Route 10, but we see no trail signs there. We drive about a kilometer further south and finally find a trail sign. Turning onto a little gravel road we find several no parking signs. O manages to wiggle Vincent off to the side of the road before the no parking warnings. We hop out and proceed along the trail which takes us down a dirt path, onto a paved road with houses along the bay, and right back to Route 10 at the High School. From here we turn down what looked like a gravel driveway and finally find the East Coast Trail sign at the end of the road.
Once we find the path the hike goes smoothly. We pass through an area with houses, and then the trail enters woods and climbs along a beautiful meadow. There are coastal views along the way, including a nice view of Herring Cove from a side path. We are, indeed, protected from the wind here. O and I walk through tuckamore, a stunted dense growth of trees which provides excellent cover for birds and other animals. Here we spot boreal chickadees and a partridge. Out on the water there are loons, ducks, yellowlegs, and gulls. When we reach the point the wind picks up. We return along the trail, stopping for a snack in a less windy area. By 4 pm we are back at Vincent.
On our drive to the trailhead this morning we passed The Captain’s Table, a restaurant with excellent reviews online. We decide to stop here for an early supper. The hostess leads us to our table. Right next to us, the German couple is seated. This is our fourth random meeting. We all laugh together, including the waitress who points out that Newfoundland is really a small place where it’s easy to make friends. The Germans tell us about their hike today over a suspension bridge near La Manche Village. Perhaps we’ll try that trail on Saturday or Sunday. Dinner is excellent and the homemade chocolate mocha cheese cake is perfect. We drive over the bogs back to Butter Pot through beautiful evening sunshine.