Hiking in the Thomas Howe Demonstration Forest

 Saturday, August 5, 2023

Hi Blog!

After yesterday's paddling and last night's performance of Come From Away, we were eager to get out and stretch our legs. To the east of Gander, we learned that the Thomas Howe Demonstration Forest has a series of hiking trails. After downloading a trail map, we were interested in hiking the 5 km Edgar Baird Trail which would lead us down to the shore of Gander Lake and then along the edge of the lake with several beach access points. At the far end of the trail is the Silent Witness Memorial, which we were curious to learn about. 

Every good adventure starts with a trailhead selfie:

The Demonstration Forest was named after Thomas Howe, Newfoundland's first Chief Woods Ranger who spent his life managing and protecting the forests of Newfoundland. The area around Gander Lake was almost completely logged off by 1912. By the 1930s, construction began on the Gander International Airport. Over 20 square miles were set aside for the airport and flyway. The Demonstration Forest is located inside the Gander International Airport Control Zone between Gander Lake and the Trans-Canada Highway. 

We had a little trouble finding the trailhead we were looking for. The trail map we downloaded did not match the map posted in the parking lot. A new observation platform was built where we thought our trailhead should be. Nevertheless, we decided to follow the Snowshoe Trail, which would lead us to our goal:  the Edgar Baird Trail. The Snowshoe Trail followed an old logging road.

The idea behind a demonstration forest is to find ways to balance the harvesting and growth of healthy forests, promoting sustainability. These sites are being used as testing grounds for new watershed restoration methods and scientific research to gain insight into forest ecosystems and management. Utilizing what's learned, forest supervisors can ensure that forests stay healthy for years to come.

It wasn't long before we intersected with the Edgar Baird Trail:

As we noted before, there is not a lot of obvious wildlife in Newfoundland. The country is huge and undeveloped. So we were quite surprised to see dozens of frogs during our hike. It turns out that Newfoundland has four different frog species, including American Toad, Mink Frog, Green Frog and Wood Frog. Pictured below is one of the American Toads we encountered. They spend their days eating a variety of small insects including ants, beetles, moths, and earthworms. 

As the trail made its way down to the lakeshore, some improvised railings were added to help folks down the steep sections.

The white sign in the photo below indicated that Gander Lake was straight ahead. However, to get to the lakeshore we would have had to descend a steep cliff with only a very thin old rope to help us back up. No thanks! We decided to follow the red sign to the beach.

The Demonstration Forest is maintained by the Thomas Howe Forest Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit volunteer organization. In addition to railings in the steep sections, there were also wooden bridges over small stream crossings.

The beach we reached was three times as big as the beach we had lunch on when we kayaked the other day:

With all the summer plant growth, we worried whether we would find the entrance to the trail if we explored very far. So, Kathy built an Inuksuk at our trailhead to mark our entrance:

After our stroll on the beach, we decided a short rest was in order.

As we continued on, we came upon the remnants of an old cabin. While it looked old, we noticed it once had a shingled roof and carpet. Whether this was once an old settlers cabin, a winter warming hut or an office for one of the many logging camps along the lake, we will never know.

The trail through the forest ended at a gravel road leading from the highway to a beach and boat launch. As today was Saturday, there were several people exercising their puppies on the beach. We decided this was the perfect spot for lunch. We sat on a bench in the shade, watching the puppies play fetch with their owners. Several pups saw us and stopped by to say hello. Nothing cools a hot hiker quicker than a wet puppy shaking with excitement!

After lunch, we walked up the gravel beach access road toward the Silent Witness Memorial. As we hiked, Dave noticed something in the weeds on the side of the road. Upon further investigation we discovered it was a stuffed squirrel dog toy complete with fart-sounding squeaker! Meet the newest member of our managerie, Gander Ground Squirrel!

While we knew the Demonstration Forest was part of the Gander International Airport, it still came as a surprise to see how low the planes flew overhead.

At the top of a hill looking out over the forest to the lake stand three statues known as the Silent Witness:  two children, and a soldier standing between them holding their hands, honoring the servicemen who died in the crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285.

 

The flight was carrying U.S. soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne then Gander, on the morning of December 12, 1985.  On its takeoff from Gander, the plane stalled, crashed, and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 256 passengers and crew. A thin layer of ice on the forward edge of the wings caused them to drag and stall , forcing the plane to fall from the sky.

The memorial was very touching -- even more so because it was created and maintained by Newfoundlanders. There are so many stories of how Newfoundlanders went out of their way to help shipwrecked and stranded folks. You can tell they just wish they could have done more.

We left the memorial in search of an old forest road to take us back into the Demonstration Forest. There was a surprising amount of traffic on the gravel road, partly due to the beach, but also carrying folks visiting the memorial.

The dry dusty road made for the perfect landing spot for these beautiful butterflies. We saw several of them before we found one willing to sit still for a photo:

We did find the old forest road we needed to take, but we were a little nervous about following it. It looked just like the maze in Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire. In the photo below, Kathy is pretty certain the path will close up before we get to the end.

Needless to say, we did make it to the end. We picked up the Martin Trail and worked our way back to the parking area. Along the Martin Trail were several "hysterical" markers which talked about forest succession and so-called "spruce beetle blight," which actually attacks balsam fir, rather than spruce. There was also information on the local Mi'kmaq people who live in the area.

Being so close to the Gander Airport, we were not surprised to see evidence of another plane crash. During World War II, Gander was a major refueling stop for U.S. Military planes heading to Europe. On December 29, 1943, a B-17 bomber took off from Gander heading to Wales. All ten crew members were killed. Because there were several planes lost during World War II, a separate memorial was not erected. However, next to the airport is a large memorial known at the Commonwealth War Graves.

Accordingly to our map, there was supposed to be a pond next to the trail at this point of our hike. However, when we arrived, we found a grassy field with a marker talking about pond succession.

We finished our hike without incident and returned to RV to give Ruby the Adventure Cat an afternoon walk. Once she was walked and treats were handed out, we drove down to Cobb's Pond Rotary Park for Ribfest 2023! We started by having a cold one while we listened to some young Newfoundland musicians. Newfies love their music and encourage young folks to explore their passions. It is rare to find a venue devoted to young artists in the U.S.

After Happy Hour, we braved the line for ribs. There were two vendors to choose from: Texas Rangers and Crabby's BBQ. Both served from big rig trailers and had tables set out in front with all the BBQ trophies they have won over the years. We ended up getting in line for Crabby's. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone delicious! They were so good, in fact, that we went back and ordered a full rack of ribs to take home and hide in the freezer for some later time when we get tired of eating cod!

It may be a couple days before we blog again. We are moving to Arnold's Cove on Sunday, but the weather is looking pretty wet. So, until then, stay thirsty my friends.