Days 45 - 47
June 27, 28, 29
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| Land's End, where the Appalacian mountains fall into the sea |
On the day we arrived at Forillon we decided to
make the most of our time in the park by biking through the interior from north to south on a riverside trail and then entering the South gate and proceeding to the Cap Bon Ami campground. The trail we traveled was definitely bear country, and I was nervously looking over my shoulder for bears the entire time. We didn’t see bears, but we saw a mama grouse with a bunch of chicks. It actually felt like summer as we rode in the hot sun.
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| A grouse and her chicks causiously crossed in front of us |
Approaching the park from the South required a steep climb up the main road. It took awhile. Once we got to the entry gate and I flashed our Canada Parks pass, the attendant felt compelled to emphasize how very very steep the road to the campground was going to be. She even pulled out a topographical map to illustrate her point. She seemed delighted to be giving me this news. That road was so steep we could hardly push our bikes and our feet were actually slipping out from under us on the asphalt. I am not exaggerating here. It was ridiculous and we quickly decided whatever other hiking we were going to do would have to originate at a trailhead we could walk to from our campsite. There was not any way we would climb that hill a second time.
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| Riding (walking) up the steep hills leading into Forillion |
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| The evening views from Cape Bon Ami were beautiful |
Camp Bon Ami is a tenting only campground and it had a super nice common room which came in handy when the rain moved in. There were also steel bear boxes so we could store our food there and sleep in peace.
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| A great indoor space to shelter from the wind and rain |
We hiked up to the top of a mountain to look out from the observation tower.
And we hiked across the peninsula after that.
It was a clear, sunny day and rain was predicted for that evening through the next day.
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| Time to relax in the famous Red Chairs provided by Canada National Parks to commemorate their 150th anniversary. |
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| Sunset glow on the cliffs where the sea birds are numerous. This is a short walk from our campsite. |
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| A view to the west from the observation tower reveals our tent in the campsite (see the next photo below for an enlarged view showing our tent in the lower center of the photo) |
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| Our orange tent is a beacon |
We spent a lot of time watching the seabirds. I added kittiwake, northern gannet, black-backed gull, razorbill, and black guillemot to my life list. Tom saw a harlequin duck, but I never could see it clearly. We watched the northern gannets diving into the water from great heights. They fold their wings and dive straight down. Fast. They sort of look like lawn darts crashing into the sea again and again. Here is a link from BBC.see the Gannets diving
We spent a rainy evening cooking in the common building and a windy, rainy night in our tent. So far, the tent keeps us dry and warm when it rains and all our gear easily fits under the vestibule area of the tent.
On the day we left the park, we made our way out to Land’s End AKA Cap Gaspé. Despite the weather prediction for rain, we had another bright and sunshiny day. We got to coast down that hill we climbed to the campground and then headed out the peninsula toward Cap Gaspé. We saw a fin whale, lots of grey seals and harbor seals, and finally a bear!
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| This little lighthouse stands at Cap Gaspe |
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| The black bear crossing the road |
Despite not having a car, I feel like we saw all the environments in Forillon and quite a lot of wildlife. It is a beautiful park and was very uncrowded. I think there were more park employees than visitors.
Days 48 and 49
June 30 and July 1 - Canada Day
June 30 and July 1 - Canada Day
Gaspé, the town.
We have camped out for five nights and we are tired from climbing hills so we decide to rest at a “gite” which is just a bed and breakfast with a fancy French name. It is a basic place and therefore affordable. But, the breakfasts are really good and the owner is a cool woman who used to work as an environmental scientist. She did seasonal stream surveys and worked with salmon in B.C. for many years. She and I bond over various biology topics.
Gaspé is the birthplace of Canada and there are lots of historic markers and informational signs to read and a nice boardwalk all along the bay. There is a microbrewery which we need to visit, to keep up with our new goal, but it’s up on a bluff on the way out of town, so we decide to try the beer whenever we pass it.
Day 50
July 2 -
July 2 -
undisclosed location because we are back to stealth camping
We got a very late start out of Gaspé because Tom left his prescription glacier glasses in a shop yesterday and today everything is closed for Canada Day. Luckily, The shop owner posted a sign on the door written in both French and English saying something like, “if you left your glasses here yesterday, email me and I will get them back to you.” It takes her until after 2 pm to check her email, so we leave Gaspé at about 3:00 and ride toward Percé. We have a long way to go.
After riding three miles it’s time to try the Cap Gaspé beers. I am very goal oriented.
The riding is going well and we stop to make some supper at a beautiful roadside park. As soon as I see this park, I know where we are camping tonight. It is beautiful! We are directly across the bay from Cap Gaspé and the gannets are diving for their fish supper. We put the tent up on a bed of Canada Mayflowers and watch the sun go down. It is very quiet except for the waves below.
our tent is wearing its invisibility cloak
This is a very scenic spot for cooking. That is Land's End in the background.
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