Tuesday | Aug. 18, 2015 @6:30pm
It’s been a long, tiring day. We woke up at 5:30am this morning hoping to hit the trails at a decent time before the heat of the day. I hadn’t slept a whole lot, since it was windy out and the tent was blowing around quite a bit. Turns out, two of the tent pegs were loose, that and it just gets crazy windy in Newfoundland.
We arrived at the gros morne mountain trail and set out on our way. The first part of the trail was a 4km stretch that was supposed to go 300m up. We took it easy and it actually wasn’t so bad. I felt quite good by the time we reached the platform by the mountain. Then the interesting stuff began. We would be making the final ascent through a crack/gully in the side of the mountain. It was filled with loose rock of all different sizes. It took a lot of energy to trudge our way upward and there were a lot of short breaks involved. As it got closer to the top it got steeper and the rocks would easily slide out from under us as we walked. Near the top there was a part where were were climbing through rocks until we were over the rim. From there it was a much more gradual uphill walk to where the sign was for the summit. We got some pictures and then rested. We saw a moose way off in the distance on top of the flat mountain.
The fog started to roll in while we rested. Pretty soon, we couldn’t see the edge anymore as everything was enveloped in fog. As we continued along the trail, we stopped and waited a few times but the fog didn’t seem to be lifting. So we continued on. The downhill part of the trail goes down the other side of the mountain on a much gentler slope, but that means you have to go around the mountain to meet back up with the main trail. The hike very quickly became a trudge, where we justed wanted to get back, but still had a long way to go. My knee was bugging me and it does so more on downhills, so it was rough. Still, we made it back without incident, although we were slow.
We then had to get gas in Rocky Harbour. Since there are no showers at our current campground, we went to another campground and borrowed their showers. Then I called the guy about getting my windshield replaced and we went out for dinner. Back at the campsite, I’m surprised at how quickly my feet have rebounded. Anyway, tomorrow will be a bit different since I’m getting the windshield replaced and we will be doing laundry…otherwise there is no plan.
The Narrow Twisty Road 
I couldn’t resist commenting. Well written!