Happy Equinox,
Hard to believe that summer is over and we're heading for the darker part of the year. I've always wanted the longest day of the year to be in August, not June. That way, the loss of light would begin at the end of summer rather than in its midst. But given the calendar was set long before I showed up, I'll just have to cope.
Last Saturday morning, we awoke in a lovely campsite about 30 metres above waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway in Gros Morne National Park. We finished our Long Range Traverse a few days early so we decided to add a hike to the Green Gardens to our agenda. We also awoke to gunshots. Very strange for any morning in the backcountry but even more strange for a national park. Two guys in a dory were shooting towards the headland from their small boat. Curious. Then we noticed that there were white dots on the hillside. Sheep! We'd seen their tracks the days before (as well as their poop) and now we saw them scurrying for their lives down the way. (Locals grazed their sheep there for centuries before the park existed). The hunters/herders didn't seem to hit any of them with their 20 odd shots but we wondering if they were just trying to harass or herd them. Later in the day, the wardens thought it was as equally strange as we did but could offer no explanation.
The evening before we had a driftwood campfire on the beach. It looked at first like an "ordinary" sunset of great ball of fire easing into the ocean would be served up but then with just minutes to go, clouds seemed to roar into place. With their sculpture like shapes adorning the horizon, the sky was soon ablaze in a wash of deep orange and red. It was probably one of the top five sunsets I've seen in my life. We felt so lucky to be sitting on the beach basking in the glow of our fire and then to have our entire existence painted in the dancing light of that fire was incredible.
After waiting fourteen years to make it happen, the Long Range Traverse was incredible. The hike out of the back of the gorge was a bit like a rock version of the Khumbu Icefall. We surmounting the waterfall we had to haul ourselves up using branches to leverage ourselves up the very steep slope. Up, over, around, with a few tight squeezes through some fallen boulders delivered us to one of the most photographed iconic views of Gros Morne National Park. You can check out this view and other pictures from our trip here: Gros Morne Picture Album
We camped at the top of the waterfall and wonder at the visual splendor that surrounded us. The wind was cold and cutting so we cooked up dinner and tucked ourselves into our new MEC Gemini ES tent. On my trip to Ontario earlier in the summer, we'd discovered that our old tent was leaky and not a strong enough shelter for the potential conditions of the Long Range. It turned out to be a fine tent except for the door zippers, which drive me crazy and it sure looked good nestled above the waterfall in a rocky nook.
The next day brought more clear weather and we headed up for the top of the gorge. The navigation was easier than expected and we moved along quite quickly and ended the day at Hardings Pond. That part of the Long Range houses the source of the Humber River so I'm currently enthralled with the possibility of travelling the Humber from source to sea. A moose came with the new neighbourhood and we enjoyed watching him graze through the early evening.
The third day brought the toughest navigation because it required the crossing of two barren plateaus where it was hard to pick out the shapes of individual ponds. Other than that, I was surprised that the navigation wasn't more challenging. We'd prepped well by bringing maps of different scales and kept a close tab on where we were and where we had to head to not be led astray but the multitude of game trails. We didn't even have to bash through much tuckamore. The last day began with a river crossing to ford the creek that drains Green Island Pond. It was a cold start to the day, our only grey, rainy and cold one, but I love the picture of Marian halfway across the stream. I had fun calling her my "Hardcore Mountain Woman."
It was a foggy, low cloud day but we could still move by following the footpath left by others. It's startling the impact that our collective footsteps can have. The Traverse in open from July through September and by September, there really is a "trail" of sorts. We'd brought along a GPS but were proud that we never needed to use it to fix our location. I think of off-trail/backcountry navigation as moving from moments where you absolutely know where you are through times where you don't know exactly where you are (some might define this as lost) to times where you know exactly again. It takes some experience to be tolerant with that state of unknowing.
I saw a connection to my life with this idea…there are times when I know that I am exactly on track–that my beliefs, actions, and passions are all in alignment and other times where I'm not sure what my path is. I've gotten better at hanging out in the less grounded state and trusting that clarity about path and purpose will eventually reveal themselves and I don't have the push the timing/decision-making along. Though with the passing of my birthday this year, I seem to be more aware than ever that the life list might not all fit in so I want to choose carefully what I direct my life force/energy towards. I feeling like I'm in one of those "between knowing" spaces right now.
The fog and clouds rose just as we were getting close to Gros Morne mountain and I got to experience somewhat of the view that I missed out last September when Marian and I climbed it in a driving rain. We descended the steep gully that led to Ferry Gulch, lunched, and headed down. We stopped by the Visitor's Centre and got stoked about heading fro Green Gardens the next day.
Both before and after the trip, we enjoyed the hospitality of our Gros Morne "base camp", The Ocean View Hotel. Once again Todd Wight and his staff succeeded in making us feel welcome and the luxury of packing in and packing out in such luxury was delightful. Todd even bailed me out when I'd screwed up the dates in our reservation! Thanks Todd!
I've entered a video in the MEC Video contest called "Cinnamon Roll Meditation." It's about baking cinnamon rolls in the backcountry. The video needs to finish in the top five in its category to go onto the final round. The grand prize is $2500 worth of MEC gear…that would go along way towards equipping several upcoming expeditions (whatever they turn out to be). Please vote for my video here: http://bit.ly/9kkyLo MEC promises not to abuse your email and voting closes October 6th.
Thanks in advance and have a good week,
TA
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TA Loeffler Ph.D., Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7
TA's Website: www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-864-8670
Fax: 709-864-3979
Office: PE 2011A
Email Office: taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home: taloeffler@gmail.com
Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb
Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart
Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
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