Cow Head
Monday, July 24, 2006
Today was another fabulous day, with light to moderate tailwinds and overcast skies.
With impending rain and thundershowers, I was invited to sleep in Adelaide and Otto House's home. I slept like a princess, too fatigued to think about anything.
Breakfast was hot, bakeapple sauce on homemade bread. The bakeapples were picked yesterday. Utterly divine. Adelaide, thank you.
I was on calm water before 8, having wheeled the fully loaded kayak downhill on its trusty trolley cart. Grey skies brooded. Inland, along the Long Range Mountains, mist and fog hovered over the flat peaks. I made good distance with a light tailwind starting to blow.
At Portland Creek, I started to see my first sand beaches. The backdrop behind Portland creek was majestic, dark, long mountains, with a bluish cast from the sullen sky, cloaked in mist. Steep, plunging cliffs dropped to u-shaped valleys.
At Arches Provincial Park, a large slab of limestone sits at water's edge on a cobble beach, with four distinct arches in the rock. A few tourists were milling around. It is situated just north of Gros Morne National Park. I'm entering true tourist country now.
I decided to continue past Parson's Pond. I'd paddled the 25 kilometers in 3.5 hours and it felt too early to stop with all the wind and waves urging me to continue.
By now, waves were building to about a meter. It was a fun, lively paddle and I continued to race southwards. The view of the mountains again was stunning inland from Parson's Pond, with a mystical quality as fog veiled the details.
At the northern perimeter of Gros Morne National Park, inaccessible by car, I found smooth limestone cliffs varved with streaks of vertical colours from water seepage reacting chemically with the rock. Streaks of black, muddy brown, yellowy beige and grey painted the rocks in vibrant hues. I ate wild raspberries.
I cut across Shallow Bay, well named as most of the bay was shallow enough for my paddle to touch. Now, I'm camped on the outside edge of Cow Head and the national park in the dunes.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
With impending rain and thundershowers, I was invited to sleep in Adelaide and Otto House's home. I slept like a princess, too fatigued to think about anything.
Breakfast was hot, bakeapple sauce on homemade bread. The bakeapples were picked yesterday. Utterly divine. Adelaide, thank you.
I was on calm water before 8, having wheeled the fully loaded kayak downhill on its trusty trolley cart. Grey skies brooded. Inland, along the Long Range Mountains, mist and fog hovered over the flat peaks. I made good distance with a light tailwind starting to blow.
At Portland Creek, I started to see my first sand beaches. The backdrop behind Portland creek was majestic, dark, long mountains, with a bluish cast from the sullen sky, cloaked in mist. Steep, plunging cliffs dropped to u-shaped valleys.
At Arches Provincial Park, a large slab of limestone sits at water's edge on a cobble beach, with four distinct arches in the rock. A few tourists were milling around. It is situated just north of Gros Morne National Park. I'm entering true tourist country now.
I decided to continue past Parson's Pond. I'd paddled the 25 kilometers in 3.5 hours and it felt too early to stop with all the wind and waves urging me to continue.
By now, waves were building to about a meter. It was a fun, lively paddle and I continued to race southwards. The view of the mountains again was stunning inland from Parson's Pond, with a mystical quality as fog veiled the details.
At the northern perimeter of Gros Morne National Park, inaccessible by car, I found smooth limestone cliffs varved with streaks of vertical colours from water seepage reacting chemically with the rock. Streaks of black, muddy brown, yellowy beige and grey painted the rocks in vibrant hues. I ate wild raspberries.
I cut across Shallow Bay, well named as most of the bay was shallow enough for my paddle to touch. Now, I'm camped on the outside edge of Cow Head and the national park in the dunes.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
2 Comments:
Two great days back to back! Lucky you, Wendy! You're really 'winging' it now.
Sounds like ya need to be snapping a few more pics at this spot! Can't wait to see your next show Wendy!...
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