Hiking Harbour Breton's Coast Trail to Mile Pond

Here we are -- last day in Harbour Breton, Newfoundland, on the Connaigre Peninsula.  We decided today should be less ambitious because we wanted to check out the local heritage site, Sunny Cottage, and also handle some chores.  Nevertheless, this was a six-mile (10 km) hike along the Coastal Trail from our campsite in Deadman's Cove RV Park to Mile Pond, around the lake's boardwalk, and back again.

The day started cloudy, but it was already getting unexpectedly sunny as we started our hike:

 

 

From where we started our hikes along the cliffs above Deadman's Cove, we could see Brunette Island, which has a unique history:

 

 

According to a local gentleman we met as we hiked, a fishing community was established on the island in the 1800s, and at one time there were about 300 residents living on Brunette Island. In 1865 a 30-foot high lighthouse was built on the island.  The entire island was resettled to towns on the main coast of Newfoundland in the 1950s.  In 1964, an experimental attempt to introduce bison to Newfoundland was made, using Brunette Island as a test site; the attempt did not prove successful.  The rocky landscape and sheer cliffs on the island were significantly different from the wide plains to which the bison were adapted, and many of them died.  Eventually, many of the bison were hunted and the experiment ended in failure. 

Our hike also led us past Gull Island (in the background in the photo below), which provides a nesting ground for gulls and terns, and also contains an archaeological site:

 

 

The far side of Gull Island presented itself as Western Cove.  At the far end we spotted Black Island.  We decided to hike down to the beach and combed Western Cove for sea glass -- to no avail.  The beach was rich with beautiful quartz conglomerate stones -- polished as smooth as if they had been put into a mechanical polisher.  But there was no sea glass.

 

 

At the far end of Western Cove, we climbed again and hiked for a way along the cliff, only to find another steep trail down to a drainage, with a stair climb on the opposite side:

 

 

While there isn't much wildlife in this section of Newfoundland, the diversity of plant life is remarkable.  We found some of the most dramatic black spruce cones we have seen anywhere:

 

 

Another stairway led up from the beach and, as we reached the top, we turned to admire the view:

 

 

Eventually, we reached Mile Pond, which sits in the northerly sector of Harbour Breton next to Highway 360 that winds its way up the Connaigre Peninsula from Harbour Breton to Bishop's Falls.  The hike around Mile Pond is about 1.8 km or a little over one mile.  

 

 Someone has graced Mile Pond with a series of fairy rocks, painted with various themes.  We published an epiblog with photos of those fairy rock ensembles, along with a brief problog about our visit to Sunny Cottage in Harbour Breton before our hike.

 

We stopped on the far side for lunch and gazed at a panoramic view of the lake and surrounding hills:

 

 

After lunch, we continued around the lake, enjoying some bucolic views of the lake, lily pads on the surface, and the uniquely Connaigre-shaped hills in the background:

 

 

As we returned along the near shore of Mile Pond, Kathy spotted a ripe blueberry.  First blueberry of the season!  She popped her bounty into her mouth before David could even ask for a taste.  Oh, well, to the victor go the spoils.

 

 

We also found plentiful ripe bakeapple berries, which, while Kathy loves them, David thinks they have a mite to musty a taste.  Nevertheless, they are a Newfie staple, so we love them:

 

 

Leaving Mile Pond, we headed back up the boardwalk toward the cliff.  It appeared that the boardwalk continued into infinity:

 

 

As we reached the southern end of Western Cove, Kathy suggested that we finish the hike with a final, goodbye walk along the beaches of Western Cove and Deadman's Cove.  And so we did:

All in all, this six mile hike was rich in scenery and other bounty.  The day was gorgeous, the light bountiful, and the sea scents rich.  We returned to our campsite invigorated and happy that we had sampled what might be Connaigre Peninsula's greatest treasure -- its seascapes, meadows and mountains. So, until our next blog, which will be from Gander, may your glass be full and your spirit fuller!