Last Hike in Newfoundland - The Argentia Backlands Trail

Today we decided to hike the Argentia Backlands Trail.

Argentia is a commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia on the southwest coast of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula.  It boasts an unique triangular shaped headland which reaches northward out into Placentia Bay, creating a natural harbour.  Originally settled by the French in the 1630's as Petit Plaisance, it retained the English version of its name, Little Placentia, following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The name "Argentia" (or "Land of Silver") began to be applied to it in 1895 due to the presence of silver ore on the east side of the harbour.

Naval Station Argentia was a military base established by the United States here during World War II.  In the construction of the base, over 400 families -- many of them farmers -- were displaced with insufficient compensation for their loss of irreplaceable farmland.  Most of the displaced people moved to nearby Placentia and Freshwater.

Naval Station Argentia was decommissioned in 1972, the land transferred back to the Canadian government in 1975, and ultimately returned to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, which controls it now.  Most of the base buildings were demolished, leaving little but the roads and concrete bunkers and gun emplacements.  However, due to asbestos and other hazardous materials left in the buildings and ground, extensive remediation was required.  Many of the remaining bunkers still have large amounts of friable asbestos and are unsafe to enter.  

Be that as it may, visitors will note evidence of many "boil-ups" outside the doors of the bunkers, the decoration of the structures with paint by casual folk artists, and the many roads that are still clear of vegetation due to extensive use by ATV's for recreation and woodcutting.  The result is a network of ATV trails -- suitable for walking -- and quirky concrete sculptures that surprise the hiker at many turns.

While the trail is lightly advertised, do not expect any formal trailhead signage, because there is none.  A little research can be useful ahead of time; Google Maps notes the location of two of the bunkers, and those are as good places as any to start exploring this unique landscape.

The Sunset RV Park office has a very good map of the area, including the former base, and it shows the basic layout of the original roads which can be walked (WARNING:  IGNORE THE "TRAIL STARTS HERE" LEGEND - IT APPLIES TO A DIFFERENT TRAIL):

However, now, a larger network of ATV trails weaves through the area, so it is important to use a GPS or otherwise be alert to where you are, in order to avoid getting confused.

The best place to start, to avoid backtracking unnecessarily, as at the so-called "Underground Bunker," just off Charter Avenue and Highway 100, below the Sunset RV Park, at 47.276127, -53.986584 (in the area circled in red in the map above), where there is a small parking area in front of large boulders.  Follow the trail through and beyond the boulders and you will start to find things:

We hiked in mid-September, and, while the berry season has generally passed here in Newfoundland, we nevertheless found many raspberries and blueberries along the trail.  It did not appear that the locals pick these, so a hike earlier in the season might be very "fruitful."

Don't be afraid to leave the main track and explore side trails.  They will usually please you with something interesting.  Kathy wanted to turn off trail and, as we climbed a small hill, found this stack or ventilation pipe erupting from the "hill" that was probably the underground bunker itself:

At the end of another side trail, we came upon an unexpected viewpoint overlooking the Port of Argentia and the Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal:

Continuing along the main trail, we came to a clearing with a firepit (those boil-ups, you know), and, to the left, the colorfully painted entrance to the underground bunker:

The artwork itself is worth the visit.  The entrance is open with no warning about the dangers.  The air inside may be unsafe due to friable asbestos, mold and the like.

We entered a little way, and were rewarded with these colorfully painted walls as intriguing as the hieroglyphs on the tunnels of the Great Pyramid:

We had been led to believe that there was only one underground bunker, so we were satisfied with this particular bunker visit.  We were working our way back out to the main road when we ran across a second bunker entrance.  It may have led into the same bunker, but we were not able to determine if that was true.  This entrance was blocked and warnings were posted:

To reach the rest of the trail network, you need to walk up the road into and through the Sunset RV Park campground (DO NOT follow the road sign suggesting a left-branching road to the trail - it will take you to the "other" trail shown on the map above).  If you have a GPS or cell phone with mapping, one of the first bunkers to be found uphill from here is at 47.274994, -53.977003, and you should head along established roads (paved or graveled) in that general direction.

But don't hesitate to explore side roads and trails along the way.  One side road revealed this old electric pole that still boasted its porcelain insulators:

Lo and behold, another surprise vista overlooking the northern part of the port facility below:

Climbing "Bunker Hill," we eventually arrived at the coordinated noted above, which actually denote an intersection of trails.  A little beyond it we found our first hillside bunker.  It is one of many on this hillside.  They appear to have been dug into the hill and then covered with dirt and sod to disguise their locations:

We continued ambling along the trail network, generally climbing north and east, in a direction away from Highway 100 and the port, and eventually ran into another bunker --

-- and another:

By this time, it was apparent that our trail/road was gently climbing and curving around toward the back of "Bunker Hill."  Locals appear to have tried to improve the trail ambience with occasional benches:

We just kept discovering more bunkers:

This was starting to get monotonous -- but the setting of each bunker was different.  Most could be at least peered into and were empty.  Standing at the doorways and speaking produced a dramatic echo from inside each bunker.

The top of one bunker was accessible from below.  We climbed the slope to the top and noticed what looked like an air shaft opening.  Most of the bunkers seem to have these.

It was easy to peer down this air shaft.  It appeared that debris or a collapsed wall blocked the bottom of the shaft.  Some obliging hiker decorated the bottom of the shaft with a beverage can:

This one ranks as the most unusual bunker entrance.  As we approached, we thought it might be a huge culvert, but, on inspection, it resembled more a quonset hut opening into a huge bunker under the hillside.  It might have been possible to enter deeper into this one, but we decided to play it safe and pass on that opportunity.

Don't miss the opportunity to climb as high as you wish.  It will offer views south, across the campground and Highway 100 toward the Atlantic Ocean (Castle Hill National Historic Site is off to the left in the photo below).

This hike can be as long or as short as you desire or weather or time permit.  For us, it may be particularly special because it is our last hike in Newfoundland before we catch the Argentia ferry to Nova Scotia and work our way home to Pennsylvania.  We'll have to hunker down near Halifax while Hurricane Lee blows over us.  We hope and expect that it will weaken significantly before hitting The Rock or Labrador.  We'll save a few thoughts for our Newfoundland friends and think sadly about the houses and lives lost in Channel-Port aux Basques a year ago from Hurricane Fiona.

Thank you, Newfoundland and Labrador, for hosting our visit this season.  We've been here in May, chasing after trails, icebergs, lighthouses and corny old Newfie music.  We've enjoyed every minute of it -- even those Grey Foggy Days.