Notre Dame Bay, Day 5

Day 5 of our 6-day paddling trip was outstanding. We started from our magical campsite at Julies Harbour (no sign of the rumoured ghost) and ended at Triton East after paddling 33 kms.

Here is our Julies Harbour camp. A great spot (sheltered, level and lots of freshwater) with lots of history to explore.

This is the view paddling out of Julies Harbour and into Badger Bay. We paddled south by Gull Island and into Wild Bight.

On the southeast side of Wild Bight, we found Pissamare Falls (above), a dramatic waterfall on Badger Bay Brook. This was the scenic highlight of our trip. We decided to stop and hike up the falls for lunch.

The view was breath-taking.

We continued paddling north up the east side of Badger Bay under ideal conditions. We found several good beaches suitable for breaks. We stopped at Locks Harbour, which was another good camping spot (but lacking a stream). The photo above shows Isabelle at the mouth of Badger Bay, with White Point on the right and Triton Island on the left. We paddled north to Triton Island and took a short break on a cobble beach on the north side of Great Denier Island. We paddled on across Grand Dismal Cove (no place to land). When we came around Ragged Point and turned west, we found half a dozen huge icebergs directly in our path.

The icebergs were sculpted into wild spires and drydocks. They were slowly breaking up and in places the water was full of frazzle ice, crackling and fizzing as it melted.

We kept a safe distance from the unstable bergs.

As we passed this berg, a loud crack rang out. The berg wobbled slowly in the water, sending off big waves. A huge bergy bit floated to the surface, broken off underwater. We paddled hard in the opposite direction, half expecting the iceberg to roll.

We paddled by Big Triton Island and into Little Triton Harbour. The old community of Triton East offered a sheltered landing spot and good camping behind the cabins. A brief rain shower started just as we finished pitching our tent.

What a memorable day! A huge waterfall, awesome icebergs, sun, rain ... a bit of everything. After all the paddling, we gobbled down supper and slept like logs.

Day 4, Notre Dame Bay

On Day 4 of our trip (4 July 07) we started out from Stag Cove, just south of Sunday Cove Island, and we paddled 21 kms to Julies Harbour in Badger Bay (click on map & photos to enlarge).

We packed up our tent on the wharf and headed out.

Here's Isabelle paddling towards Haywards Head in ideal conditions.

We entered Charley's Cove (2 kms northeast of Robert's Arm), and I heard the high-pitched call of a bald eagle. After scanning the cliff in the cove, we spotted the eagle nest in the photo.

We then crossed to Hayward Gull Island and onwards through Flat Rock Tickle (which separates Pilley's Island from the mainland). A moderate head wind came up late in the morning, just to keep things interesting. We stopped for lunch on Raft Island (next to Pretty Island). As with many of the afternoons on our trip, the clouds darkened and we could see isolated showers nearby.

We crossed Sops Arm and paddled around Burton's Head, passed south of Duck Island, and entered Badger Bay.

We headed southwest along the shoreline in Badger Bay. Crossing the first cove, we discovered this osprey nest. An adult osprey flew in, carrying a fish in its talons.

We arrived at our campsite in Julies Harbour in mid-afternoon. This spot was recommended to us by several paddlers. What a memorable spot! A long gravel spit (shown above) protects the harbour. The wreck of an old Bombardier snow machine sat rusting in the sun. Two streams provided an abundance of freshwater. There were dozens of houses here a hundred years ago, as this was once a bustling fishing community. An old road led into the forest, past an abandoned cemetary. One cabin was set back in the woods. The siding had been ripped off it in several places by black bears. We found fresh bear scat in a couple of spots closeby. We quickly decided to pitch our tent across the harbour on the spit. Taking advantage of the afternoon sun, we had a quick bath beside a stream, filled our water bottles, and feasted on supper. A day to savour.

Notre Dame Bay, Day 3

On Day 3, we paddled 34 kilometres from Little Bay Islands to south to Sunday Cove. (Click on the map and photos to see larger views.)

We awoke to glass calm in North Harbour on Little Bay Islands. We had a favourable weather forecast, so we decided to complete our circuit of Little Bay Islands, and then head south.

As we paddled out of North Harbour, we passed these icebergs. So big, they took our breath away. We continued north around Northern Head and then west along the rugged north side of Little Bay Islands. The swell was bigger on this exposed coastline. We rounded Burnt Head and paddled south.

At Western Cove, we found this excellent campsite with a wonderful view.

Here's another great campsite at Murcell Cove on the west side of Little Bay Islands.

Paddling south down the west side of Little Bay Islands was an enjoyable mix of rugged headlands and coves.

Leaving Little Bay Islands at Hynes Point, we steered southwest into an archipelago of small islands. We decided to land on Red Island above for a short break to stretch our legs.

The view to the north from Red Island was captivating with the fog shrouding the islands and ridges towards Beachside.

Here is the ferry "Inch Arran" that runs from Shoal Arm to Little Bay Islands. You can see the fog bank in the background. The ferry passed by Red Island on the way to Little Bay Islands, while we were taking a break.

We left Red Island and paddled south into Halls Bay. We followed the west shore of Halls Bay towards Saltwater Pond Bay.

Here's an interesting rock we passed along the way. Indian Beach offered a good campsite.

Here's the view looking south into Halls Bay, with Sunday Cove Island on the left and Indian Beach on the right. We had a beautiful sunny day with little wind. We took another break at Saltwater Pond Bay. Then we crossed Halls Bay, going south to Sunday Cove Island.

Here's Isabelle in front of an odd two-floor cabin on a small island near Sunday Cove Tickle. We paddled through the Tickle and on to Nippers Harbour, in search of a campsite. Unfortunately Nippers Harbour was muddy and mostly salt marsh. No suitable campsite there. We continued on to Stag Cove. Again good campsites were at a premium.

In a pinch, we decided to camp on this dock. There was no cabin here, but there was a first-class outhouse and stream. Another unusual but comfortable campsite. After a long day and 34 kilometres of paddling, we did not complain. A hot supper, a quick bath beside the stream and we were quickly off to sleep with the water lapping gently on the dock.

Back from northern Labrador

Sorry for the delay since the last posting. I was up in northern Labrador doing wildlife research since mid-July.

I was monitoring the effects of PCB pollution from a military radar site on seabirds breeding in Saglek Bay (220 kms north of the town of Nain). The Department of National Defence cleaned up the PCB-contaminated soil around the radar site about 7 years ago. I was working this summer with a larger scientific team assessing the effectiveness of the clean-up in reducing PCB levels in the terrestrial and marine ecosystems nearby.

One day we were working on a small seabird island and one of the crew came running up, saying there was a polar bear swimming towards the island. We packed up our gear in hurry and jumped in our Zodiac. We drove the boat back and forth and encouraged the bear to swim back to where it came from. A co-worker Tom Sheldon took the photo above when the bear climbed out of the sea.

An amazing animal! So big and powerful, yet so agile. It ran up the hill and then paused to look at us. Then it ambled off slowly in the other direction.

Saglek Bay is the southern boundary of the new Torngat Mountains National Park. The Park has an incredible abundance of polar and black bears, caribou, seabirds, arctic char, seals, whales and much more. One of the seabird islands we worked on had a pair of immature peregrine falcons regularly hunting the black guillemots we were studying. It was facinating to watch the falcons swoop down after the guillemots. They often missed, but we found several guillemot carcasses that the peregrines had killed.

I will get back to posting about my paddling adventures soon.

Day 2 in Notre Dame Bay: Part 2

The icebergs were incredible. Here is the view from our campsite on the second night. Impressive!

After crossing to Little Bay Islands, here Isabelle enters the harbour of the only village on the island.

Here is one of the older houses near the entrance of the harbour.

No danger of missing this house when you paddle around the harbour!

We continued north to North Harbour. We had to paddle past this iceberg to enter the harbour.

North Harbour is totally protected from the wind and sea. Here is our campsite for Day 2. A great spot. A stream and picnic table were located in the background of this photo.

Day 2 in Notre Dame Bay: Part 1

On Day 2, we paddled from Pilley's Island to Oil Islands and then on to Little Bay Islands, for a total of 24.5 kms.

Here's the cabin we stayed in at Fox Cove on Pilley's Island. Boats are packed and we're ready to head out for Day 2.

As we paddled around the north end of Pilley's Island we entered Long Island Tickle. Long Island is on the right.

I discovered this old wooden trough or slide coming down the side of a cliff on the north side of Pilley's Island. I asked a nearby lobster fisherman what it was and he said it was a slide for loading firewood cut on top of the cliff into a boat.

From the Tickle, we paddled north to Oil Islands, where we stopped for lunch. Harvey Rice and Colin Hiscock had both suggested it was worth a visit. The cobble area had a dozen food pits dug into the rock by Beothuks. The views up and down the bay from this narrow bar were outstanding.

Here's the view to the north with Little Bay Islands on the left and the Baie Verte peninsula in the background.

The crossing from Oil Islands to Little Bay Islands is 5 km. Conditions were ideal for us.

There were 7 icebergs visible across Note Dame Bay on this crossing.

For those of you away from Newfoundland, this is the best year for icebergs since I moved here in 2000. The abundance of icebergs varies a lot from year to year. Northeast winds in spring help bring the icebergs (floating down from Greenland) closer to the Newfoundland coastline. Without those winds, the icebergs follow the Labrador current out around the Grand Banks, never getting close to shore.

I'll post the rest of the photos from Day 2 soon.

Six-day paddling trip in Notre Dame Bay

Last week, Isabelle and I took off for a six-day sea kayak trip in the Triton area of western Notre Dame Bay (see the blue box on the above map). I highly recommend this area for Level 2 paddling trips. The many islands and channels offer protected water in any wind. You can adapt your route depending on the forecast.

On Day 1, we launched in the mid-afternoon at Pilley's Island and paddled under the causeway to Triton Island, and then on up Pilley's Tickle in a moderate to strong headwind. We called it quits at Fox Cove and camped out in a small woodcutter's cabin, which was unlocked (Thanks!). Freshwater was available from a stream just a few steps behind the cabin. It was a short day because of the late put-in (just 10.3 km). Below is Isabelle at the put-in as we packed the boats.

The village of Pilley's Island in the afternoon sun.

Paddling up Pilley's Tickle in the rising wind. The area had several mussel aquaculture operations (the yellow and blue floats in the photos below).

More mussel growing operations and Nogood Island behind Isabelle. The island didn't look so bad to us?! The iceberg in the background posed a risk to the mussel lines.

The next post will feature some of the highlights we encountered on Day 2. This part of Notre Dame Bay has many interesting natural and culture sites worth visiting.