Mid Septmeber here on the west coast is still at times like summer. One Saturday morning my Mountain Biking buddy and I decided that we were going to take the day, head into Gros Morne and drop into Chimney Cove. Chimney Cove is a resettled community located approximately 15k outside the Town of Trout River. It is completely accessible by mountain bike, side by side or quad in summer and snowmobile in winter. You could technically get a vehicle in so far but i wouldn't recommend.
For parking you are able to park at the Trout River Campground or on the woods road located just outside the park. If you require bathroom facilities the park staff may be nice enough to let you avail of them. I will say that showers were necessary when we returned to camp. Three river crossings in September along with the mud and dirt that early fall brings left us in quite the state but ill get to that a little later.
It was a beautiful morning. Shorts and T-shirt kind of day, sun splitting the rocks! Great day for a drive through the park. First thing, Caribou! BAM.
For parking you are able to park at the Trout River Campground or on the woods road located just outside the park. If you require bathroom facilities the park staff may be nice enough to let you avail of them. I will say that showers were necessary when we returned to camp. Three river crossings in September along with the mud and dirt that early fall brings left us in quite the state but ill get to that a little later.
It was a beautiful morning. Shorts and T-shirt kind of day, sun splitting the rocks! Great day for a drive through the park. First thing, Caribou! BAM.
I absolutely love seeing caribou in my travels. This particular morning we were graced with a beautiful calf and a cow right along the roadside near the Tablelands. Naturally we stopped and lingered for a while to get some photos before carrying on. The morning had started off right, I knew then that this day was going to be of epic proportions.
We offloaded at the park and got ready to head out. Along the road we had saw several signs of black bear, massive patties of dog berries were a clear sign that the bears residing in the area frequently used this roadway. The droppings were also a sign that the bears were eating a lot of these berries and passing them whole meaning that their bodies are not able to break down the berries and extract any nutrition from them.
The views along the trail in were rewarding enough. Gros Morne never disappoints.
At 8.7Kms in we started our decent down into the valley. The road was littered with some big rocks so choosing a clear line was essential to not wiping out.
Guess who wiped out?
Me.
Thankfully the spill was not bad. A skinned elbow and a bruise on the keister never hurt anybody. ( it was almost a week later before I noticed the bruise and had NO idea where it came from. Meanwhile I thought I'd hurt my hip....)