Terra Nova & Damnable Trail

June 24 to 27: Driving to Terra Nova, we took the back road along the coast. When we planned the detour, we were intrigued by Deadman's Bay and the sandbank in the cove with the name Deadman Bay Gut. We had to get all the gory details about the place. Our expectations died with the man, we couldn't even stop to take a picture.

Less than an hour later, we came to the Town of C-W-T (Centreville, Wareham, Trinity). We found a place with the inviting name of Aunt Hannah's Cafe in Centreville. It was past one o'clock and we didn't have our 2nd coffee yet. The baked goods were delicious and the coffee was fresh. We were ready to tackle the rest of the drive.

Terra Nova National Park
We made it to the Terra Nova Campground around 4 PM and rushed to setup camp. Eating a late lunch first would have put an end to any further activities. So we packed a bag of potato chips and water to tackle the 30 minute hike to the top of Mill Cove Lookout. Somewhere along the way, we found a comfortable rock to sit down and enjoy the view, breeze and the chips. It was a good decision to hike up to the top. We could see the bridge over the Northeast Arm. The forecast called for rain and this may have been the only chance to get a nice view.

Damnable Trail
The day before, we stumbled across a sign of the Damnable Trail. Not sure what intrigued us more, the steep gravel road up to the gazeebo or the name of the trail. The small parking space is not meant for more than 3 cars. There is no way to turn with a longer vehicle up there. With the 4-wheel engaged, we crawled up the road. Any sudden acceleration would spin the tires. There is ample parking in the designated parking lots at the trail heads. Five trails make up the Damnable Trail system. We hiked the High Tide Trail and the Salvage Trail. Look for the bell, we rang three of them along the trail.

We were just leaving the Salvage Trail parking when we saw heavy fog patches blowing over the ridge. Fog is a good recipe for dramatic photographs. In with the reverse gear and back up to park the Jeep again. Jump out of the Jeep, get the camera and go up to the viewing platform. It was a spectacle, most of the fog crawled over the small islands. As we were told later, it was caused by cold water masses and warm wind. This is a sign that the Caplins are close and, with them, the Cod and Whales.

The High Tide Trail was next on our list and starts at Eastport Beach. We walked the first kilometer through the water, over the rocks and the sand and pebbles, until we found a comfortable rock to sit down and have our lunch. The sound of the waves and the gentle breeze convinced us to take it easy and relax. Some time later, we returned to the camp.