Day 5 North Rim Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)

From the start of day 5, we accepted that we are behind and that we cannot catch up. We had to accept it if we were to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the days. Playing catchup was stressful for us. We were there to enjoy. As much as I felt the competitive need to finish the "entire" route, we had to set our priorities for what we have come for.

Our new plan was to hike to the end of the Western Brook Pond, hike down to the water, and take the boat to where we started. Then, we were to taxi back down south to the Gros Morne Mountain Trail head and hike north along the Long Range Traverse.

I THINK these are pitcher plants?

We got up, packed our tent, had a quick oatmeal breakfast with dried prunes, and we were off. In about 45 minutes, we were at the top of the hill on the other side of the lake that we slept by. It was a rainy day. Rain poured on and off and the black flies were having a feast on my thighs. It was an easy hike. The "trails" were more or less defined and we were thankful. We didn't see any tuckamore at this point. Rain seeped through my boots and my socks were soaked within 20 minutes. It was alright though as the hike was much easier. 

Our bags waiting for us by the main "trail."

Ji-Won initially refused to come to the edge of the cliff. She was sure that the section would break off and kill us all.

Few hours into our hike, we were able to locate ourselves on the map with ease. There were many defining features in the terrain. In no time, we were at the spot where Scott said to detour. Along the hike, there was a "special spot" that you can hike to go right to the edge of a cliff. We left our bags on the trail and walked towards this "special spot." When we got there, it was just as Scott had explained. You can literally walk right up to the edge of a cliff and look down into the Western Brook Pond. The view of the fjord was amazing.

At the edge of the cliff.

After we had our fun on the cliff, we walked back to where our bags were and headed southeast towards the end of the fjord. It was a very swampy area. With the rain pouring down, it was very wet all around. For me, stepping into mud and stepping into a puddle made no difference.

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The end of the Western Brooke Pond was amazing. This is where everyone took their money shot of the park. This is the spot where people hike up to from the water to start their hike south along the Long Range Traverse. As expected, we met some hikers starting their journey south. It was their day-1 and they were fresh.

We accepted the fact that we would not be able to hike the northern part of the Long Range Traverse in the morning. However, I could not stop myself from feeling a bit of regret. Having to fly all the way out to Newfoundland, hike for 5 days along the North Rim, and not being able to finish the entire park was a bummer. But as mentioned before, we were there to enjoy. Sometimes, things don't unfold as planned. I guess I did bite off more than I could chew. I would recommend 9 days to finish both trails at a leisurely pace. That will be my plan for my next trip to Gros Morne National Park next summer. Anyone interested?

The walk down to the water...