East Coast Trail

We went for a couple of hikes this week along the East Coast Trail and they were spectacular. I've known about the trail for awhile and have read rave reviews online but I had no idea how incredible they were until we went out. The trail runs along the eastern shore of the Avalon Peninsula for 265km. It's broken up into 24 segments of different lengths and difficulties.

The first hike we did went from Logy Bay to Quidi Vidi village. We picked this trail based on the length and degree of difficulty. What we forgot to check was the elevation chart. The trail itself was 9km which wasn't bad, but the changes in elevation nearly killed us. We went from sea level up to 169m (550 feet) back down to sea level and then back up to 150m (500 feet) and then back down to sea level again with lots of fluctuations in between. It was worth it though.

Luckily the hike ended in Quidi Vidi which is the home of Quidi Vidi brewery so I was able to quench my thirst with an Iceberg beer.

The next hike we went on, we checked the elevation carefully on the map. I was looking for a trail where the contour lines were far apart. Of course, it's Newfoundland so there are no flat trails but the one from Cape Spear to North Head was pretty good. The total hike was longer at 11km but it took us less time and we felt a lot better at the end of it. We were watching Minke whales for the entire hike. Of course, I couldn't get them to pose long enough for me to get a picture. The terrain was a little different, it was wide open with meadows full of wild flowers, including Newfoundland pitcher plants. There was also a great breeze off the water. This has been the hottest summer on record in Newfoundland and the breeze really helped. 

db