Evergreen canopy near Robin Hood Bay.
It is so amazing to have views like this so close
We decided to go from South to North on this section of the trail, leaving Cape Spear as our finish. Maddox Cove/Petty Harbour is a small community that holds a population of under 1000. It mainly relies on tourism now since the cod moratorium in 1992. Regardless of the history it is a beautiful location to begin a hike. This portion of the East Coast Trail is roughly 12 km over easy/moderate terrain. The temperature for us was -6 degrees celsius, but it felt much colder when you factored in the 60 km winds coming off the ocean.
Not the most ideal conditions to start.
Brook cutting through the trail.
Looking back at Maddox Cove/Petty Harbour just over 1 km in.
While continuing our walk it sounded like thunder below our feet. We made our way closer to the water and there was a small cave going under the land that we were walking on. The waves were crashing in the cave, slamming rocks around inside, and coming back out to reset and do it all over again.
It looks like someone cut out a piece of the land to make this almost flat cliff face.
This was one of the only steep climbs on the trail, and it isn’t really much compared to some of the others on the East Coast Trail.
Hiking in the winter has plenty of advantages. Not only is there absolutely nobody else on the trail, but you get to see things like this.
More frozen trees.
Typical Newfoundland weather. Blizzard one minute and sunshine the next.
This crevasse is about 3 feet to jump over but goes down about 20 feet from what we could see.
Attempt to capture a few waves.
The end of the trail is very open and Cape Spear is in sight.
Cape Spear lighthouse.
High winds = High waves
Near Empty Basket Cove on the East Coast Trail. A massive rock looking out towards the Atlantic. I’ll do another post about the trail later this week.
The East Coast Trail in Newfoundland is comprised of 540 km of hiking along the Rock’s stunning coastline. The East Coast trail was recently mentioned by National Geographic as one of their Top 10 adventure destinations for 2012. The greatest part about this trail is that it is completely free to trek through. Just respect the land, and leave nothing on the trail. We intend to hike all portions of the trail in 2012. Our first selected hike is the Sugarloaf trail (Logy Bay - Quidi Vidi). It is just under 9 km long.
Here is a link to the article posted by National Geographic:
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-adventure-destinations-2012/#/newfoundland-cape-spear_45469_600x450.jpg
This post will outline some highlights of the Sugarloaf trail.
Starting near the Ocean Sciences Centre at the end of Marine Drive. This is the very beginning of this particular part of the trail. It literally takes less than 10 steps out of your car to get the feel for some of the spectacular views you will witness.
Hiking uphill through the trees to reach another great view
Waves crashing off the cliffs a few hundred feet below.
Sun beginning to set at Robin Hood Bay
Plenty of eagles to be seen here. Unfortunately the highest zoom I had was 200mm
.
The sun setting made a great opportunity for photos, but much more difficult to see and follow the trail in February. 
Sun peaking through the canopy created by the evergreens.
Not too far from Quidi Vidi.
One last look at the ocean before the battery on the Nikon went. Next time I’ll have to make sure it is completely charged prior to heading out!
The next part of the trail we will cover is from North America’s most eastern point: Cape Spear to Maddox Cove. The trail is 11.5km over moderate terrain. This time my camera will be completely charged.
