Pirate's Haven Epiblogue: The Trans-Canada Trail

Monday, May 22, 2023

We thought we were done with Robinsons, Newfoundland.  But, at the meet-and-greet we attended at our campground Saturday night, we learned that a walk back along the ATV trail in our campground would bring us to the Trans-Canada Trail (also part of the International Appalachian Trail) -- otherwise known as "The Great Trail."  Well, we had to walk it.

So, despite having run out of days to hike, we decided to walk the route with our coffees this morning before breakfast.  Anything that led us to The Great Trail had to be good:

We walked up to the height of land, near some chalets built by the campground on the cliff above the Robinsons River, and looked down.  We could see the old railroad trestle that now carries the Trans-Canada Trail across the river:

The campground property extended much further than we expected.  It was well-signed and, as we looked back, we saw signs that would lead us back to our RV campsite:

This campground is fairly remote -- located in the small community known variously as "Robinsons" (see our last blog entry for origins of the name) or "Red Brook" ("Ruisseau Rouge" in French), but with lots of forest around it.  David and Ruby encountered a moose in their morning forest walk, and, as we strolled down toward the river, we spotted this snowshoe hare watching us warily as we passed:

Before long, we reached the trail and the trestle across the Robinson River:

Looking back up from where we walked, we could see three of the little chalets, or cabins, maintained by the campground up on the cliff:

The Robinsons River empties into the Gulf of Labrador, and the beach where we walk next to its mouth was just downstream of us in the photo below: 

Looking upstream, we saw gorgeous riffles which might be productive of trout, or might display Atlantic Salmon working their way up the river toward their spawning grounds:

 

We turned back at the far end of the trestle.  As we started back across, we were treated to the sight of two merganser ducks, plying their way up and down the stream, looking for food:

 

All in all, the walk was a fitting epilogue to our stay in Robinsons.  We worked our way back to the RV and started packing up for our move to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, our next stop.