Hiking Joe Batt's Point Trail to the Great Auk!

So, this is the Great Auk -- the object of our morning hike:

 

 

From Atlas Obscura:

For thousands of years the great auk lived along the North Atlantic coasts, congregating on remote islands where there were plentiful fish to hunt. Sadly, these large seabirds were also hunted, by humans, until the entire population was wiped out.

The great auks grew up to 30 inches tall, and though they were flightless, they were powerful swimmers. Sailors often compared the black-and-white birds to penguins, though they are not actually closely related.

The auks were revered by Native Americans, but they were hunted by European colonists as a food source and for their coveted down feathers. Demand was so high the seabird was nearly extinct by the 18th century. The last great auk was sighted in 1852.

A chilling sculpture of the vanished bird now sits on Fogo Island in Newfoundland. The memorial was created by artist Todd McGrain as part of his Lost Bird Project. The project includes sculptures of several extinct avian species, placed in the last location they were known to live.

The Great Auk Sculpture faces another similar sculpture in Iceland. That sculpture, also created by McGrain, in turn points toward the Icelandic island of Eldey, the site of the last known great auk breeding colony.

To get to the Great Auk, one catches the Joe Batt's Point Trail from the back of the Etheridge's Point Park in the town of Joe Batt's Arm on Fogo Island, Newfoundland:

 

 

It's easy to get distracted as you start the hike, for reasons small and large.  On the small side, boulders in the park have been colorfully decorated, marking our path:

 

 

On the large side, Fogo Island Inn dominates the scenery in the part of town across the arm:

 

 

Fogo Island Inn was designed by Newfoundland-born, Norway-based architect, Todd Saunders. The 43,000 square-foot Inn is perched on stilts and hugs the North Atlantic coastline, affording all 29 rooms with floor-to-ceiling views of sea and sky.  It is an initiative of Shorefast, a Canadian charity founded in 2004 by Zita, Anthony, and Alan Cobb. Shorefast is dedicated to helping to secure a resilient economic future for Fogo Island, Change Islands, and similar rural communities worldwide. All surpluses from the operation of Fogo Island Inn are reinvested in the community of Fogo Island, through the projects and programs of Shorefast.

This trail offers something for everyone.  First, there are stony beaches for those inclined to beachcomb -- for sea glass or otherwise:

 

 

Second, some beautiful community vegetable gardens lie alongside the trail.  We met some of the gardeners as we passed:

 

 

Third, one of the Shorefast art studios sits alongside the trail.  The Shorefast Foundation, which developed the Fogo Island Inn, and the Fogo Island Arts Corporation commissioned Todd Saunders to design a series of six artists’ studios on various Fogo Island locations, as part of its effort to preserve Fogo Islanders’ traditions and rejuvenate Fogo Island through the arts and culture.  Fogo Island Arts’ international residency program provides opportunities for artists from a wide range of disciplines to live and work on Fogo Island for periods ranging from two to four months. Artists-in-residence are provided with accommodation and studio space, as well as a weekly stipend to offset the costs of materials, shipping, and day-to-day living expenses. Most travel expenses are also covered. Artists-in-residence must give one public presentation, performance, workshop, or lead a similar event during their residency.

 

The Long Studio is a marvel of modern design --

 

 

-- changing its shape as you pass it:

 

 

A fourth offering of the trail includes beautiful vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and Joe Batt's Arm:

 

 

There is a reason that Fogo Island was dubbed a corner of the Flat Earth (see our prior blog entry).  The mossy, peaty tundra and blocky old stone ground down or dropped by ancient glaciers make you feel like you have, indeed, reached the northern edge of the world:

 

 

We encountered about a dozen hikers on our 5-mile walk.  Most were locals, but two other couples were tourists like ourselves, one couple hailing from South Carolina and the other from Ottawa.  The trail is punctuated by small rocky coves with rocky cliffs dropping straight into the water:

 

 

Along the trail, we encountered one residence, a green 1-story house, that clearly is kept up but did not appear occupied. 

 

 

Our research failed to tell us what it is, but we surmised that it either is used as an additional studio for artists in residence in this area, or perhaps is used as housing for archaeologists when they are doing research on sites showing habitation by early people.  In 2003, archaeologists discovered over a dozen meticulously crafted stone tools made by the Groswater peoples.  The Groswater Paleo-Eskimo culture existed in Newfoundland and Labrador from 800 BC to 200 BC. They were of Arctic origin and migrated south, and are believed to have been replaced by or developed into the Dorset culture around 2000 years ago. The culture is named after Groswater Bay, a bay in central Labrador, where evidence of the culture was found.  Remains of animals found in Groswater sites imply a reliance on sea mammals, especially the Harp seal.   Area residents have long noted an abundance of harp seals here in winter and early spring.  This site was probably a camp where people worked on their tools to get ready for hunting, rather than a site where they lived.

Having educated ourselves about the ancient history of this area, we did not take long before we reached the Great Auk...and he had bergy company!

 

 

We lingered long enough to get some photos, and to spot a lighthouse on Brookes Point, to the east of where we were at Joe Batt's Point:

 

 

The inlet of Joe Batts Arm is so full of rocks that it has been a threat to navigation throughout European occupation.  In 1905, a wooden lighthouse was established on Brookes Point, at the eastern side of the entrance to Joe Batts Arm. It was in use through at least 1960. In 2021, a square, skeletal tower, with a red-and-white rectangular daymark, replaced the old wooden lighthouse. 

 

It appeared we could have reached the lighthouse by the "Brook's Point" Trail from near the Great Auk:

 

 

Randomly, someone had hung a HUGE lobster claw from the sign.  David compared it's size to his hand and was pretty sure he could wear the lobster claw as a mitten:

 

 

But enough silliness.  Our morning was wearing away and we wanted to get back to town for lunch.

We turned back the way we came.  The return involved more socializing with other hikers and fewer photos that the walk out.  We stopped for lunch at The Storehouse Restaurant, which is affiliated with the Fogo Island Inn, and then stopped at one more walk -- the Shoal Bay Trail, which leads out to the Tower Studio, another work by the Shorefast Foundation and Fogo Island Arts:

 

 

In contrast to Long Studio, which rests horizontally on a rocky ledge, Tower Studio stands upright in a muskeg-like environment, on a rocky prominence in Shoal Bay.  Each perspective of the studio --

 

 

-- gives it an appearance different from the others:

 

 

This second walk was short -- only about a mile-and-a-half.  It was level and easy and let us digest our lunch and enjoy the 83F sunny weather without too strenuous a workout.

And, as we walked, ponder the mystery of the Great Auk:

It looks like we're getting some summer here in Newfoundland -- finally!  We changed to shorts and sandals when we got home and are spending the afternoon catching up on things before dinner and a Newfie concert.