Conquering Gros Morne Mountain: (by Norm)

August 18th - Day 56

Sign prominently displayed at beginning of trailhead 

When we had checked into the Visitors Center at Gros Morne National Park, we were informed of a popular hike up to the top of Gros Morne Mountain.  It is a 10 mile round trip adventure that takes 6-8 hours.  Alison was very encouraging of me taking the hike without her so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.  It is strongly suggested that you bring lots of water as well as layers of clothing including raingear.

I started out around 9:30; it was around 70 so I was wearing a short sleeve hiking shirt.  After about an hour of hiking through the woods, I approached the base of the mountain.  Occasional rocks on the path gave way to endless boulders.  Soon I was at the base and the path took a major change.  There was no longer a worn dirt path going around boulders.  This became a trail of loose rock and shale with no vegetation in sight.  After a couple of hundred yards of this, the trail turned upwards.

Who stole the path?

Up to this point I had passed several small groups (my age or older of course).  Now the younger ones began to scramble past me.  I had been using hiking poles, but they were no longer helpful because the slope was becoming so severe I needed to grab onto any available large boulders to keep from sliding in the loose rubble.  The path was no longer discernible – only occasional glimpses of rock patches that seemed to be more worn than others.  Not that it really mattered; I could see some hikers further ahead of me, so I knew the general direction to head.  There was no benefit to staying on the trail (if you knew where it was) because the under footing was unstable no matter where you stepped. There was a very steep stretch several hundred yards long where I had to stop and catch my breath every hundred feet or so.  Because it was so steep, I thought I was approaching the summit.  Not so fast!  It just leveled off a bit, took a turn and kept on going.  It was still nice and sunny so I didn’t mind, except the wind started to pick up.

The view down the slope

I knew I was approaching the summit because there were now some brightly painted trail markers directing you to a specific area.  I could feel the temperature dropping and I noticed fog ahead.  Very quickly as I neared the summit the temperature had dropped to 55 and the wind had picked up to about 25-30 mph.  Time to put on another layer.  As I stood by the summit marker, I was in heavy fog and could not see the back side of the mountaintop.  So much for the breathtaking views and great photo ops!!!  There were several people huddled together in a couple of rock wind shelters, so I had one of them take my picture and continued on my way down the back side of the mountain for the return trip.  After about a quarter mile I began to descend and got back down below the fog.  I was treated to some great views and decided it was a good time to stop for lunch.  Once I stopped walking, I began to feel the cold winds so it was time for another layer.

The never ending staircase

After eating lunch and snacking on some wild berries that were around me, I returned to the trail.  I suddenly came upon the longest staircase I had ever seen.  It had to be almost a hundred steps with no stops or turns along the way.  I don’t have very good knees so this was not too appealing.  No turning back now so down I went – slow and steady.  After another half hour or so, the wind had died off and the temperature had risen.  Time to start taking off the layers.  The return trip is actually longer than the ascent so I just marched on.  This was a much more typical hiking trail with short shrubbery on the sides of a well-worn path.  For the most part I was hiking alone but every once in a while some younger couple would quickly pass me.  One couple was actually jogging along the path that was strewn with boulders.  Show offs!!!  My leg muscles started to cramp so I had to stop and rest a few times. 

 I wasn’t sure how much longer I had to go, so when Alison called to see how I was doing I told her that I thought I’d be done by around 2:00.  Wishful thinking.  A short while later I passed a sign saying I had 4 km to go.  Quick math suggested I would be done by around 2:45.  Wrong again.  Hiking over and around rocks and boulders isn’t the same as a walk around the block.  I eventually ended this journey at 3:30, glad to see Alison sitting by the trailside waiting for me.  Back to camp, stretch out on the lounge chair and have a well deserved beer.  All in all, glad I did it, but disappointed in the time at the summit.  That’s hiking.  You never know what you’re going to get for views once you venture up.

Notice the steepness of the ascent - 2650 feet to the top

3D model showing just how steep his climb was!  'way to go Norm!  He's stronger than he looks!