Lost with Mike
  • Scoot
  • Paddle
  • Pedal
  • Moto
    • The South >
      • Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC
      • BRP and a visit to Charlotte, NC
      • South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)
      • Jaw-ja Trip #1 - Visiting my Nephew
      • Jaw-ja Trip #2 - Cousin's Wedding
      • "You rode 1300 miles for BBQ?!?" (2010)
    • Canada (eh) >
      • 2012 - Beards to Canada >
        • Day 1: Arlington, VA > Arlington, VT
        • Day 1-2 (Continued) Back to VA!!!
        • Day 3: Newburyport, NH > Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 4: Loafing around "The Neck"
        • Day 5: Sandy Cove, NS to Antigonish, NS
        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
        • Day 8: Port Aux Basques to Port Saunders
        • Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook
        • Day 10: Big Brook, NL to Trans Lab Hwy
        • Day 11: Trans Lab Hwy to Pinware River
        • Day 12: Pinware River, LAB to Norris Point, NL
        • Day 13: Norris Point to Blue Beach
        • Day 14: Blue Beach, NL to Port Aux Basques Ferry
        • Day 15: Sydney, NS to Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 16: Chillin on the Digby Neck
        • Day 17: Sandy Cove, NS to No. Sandwich, NH
        • Day 18: Sandiwch, NH to Arlington, VA (Home)
      • Algonquin Park 2013 >
        • Day 1: Home to New York
        • Day 2: Chataugay State Forest to Brent, ON
        • Day 3: Brent, ON to Nipissing River Portage at Nadine Lake
        • Day 4: Nipissing River @ Nadine Lake Portage to first island in Red Pine Bay
        • Day 5: Red Pine Bay to Hogan’s Lake
        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
        • Day 7: Catfish Lake to Cedar Lake to Fredonia, NY
        • Day 8: Fredonia, NY to Brookville, PA
        • Day 9: Brookville, PA to Alexandria, VA
      • Think I'll ride to Montreal this weekend...
      • Ontario on a Whim
    • Maryland >
      • How to Hit a Tree, By ME!
      • Ruckus Stealth Camping in MD
      • Ruck'n around Southern MD
      • White's Ferry and some Maryland Backroads
      • 1000mi right near da' beach (2010)
    • New York >
      • Cornell, Niagara Falls and PA Coal Country (2012)
      • Finger Lakes trip to NY (2011)
      • New York City Trip (2011)
    • Pennsylvania >
      • Early Spring in PA
      • Michaux Camping
      • From a Wedding to "Where-da-fugawi?"
      • Pennsylvania Leaf Peeping (2012)
      • First Big Trip to PA (2010)
    • Virginia >
      • From the Mountains to the Sea in Ol' Virginny'
      • What the Fog? (Northern Neck, VA - 2013)
      • Uncle Bucks Ride to Eat and Snowy SNP
      • Charlottesville Area Ride
      • Serious Helmet Time in VA (2011)
      • Ruck'n Across Virginia (2010)
      • Impromptu Camping with 'DC Rider' (2010)
    • West Virginia >
      • Rella-Vous and Skippii Rescue
      • New River Gorge Ghost Town Exploration (2011)
      • Five States from Laurel Fork (Spring 2013)
      • A Little Dirt, A Little Clouds, A lotta Fun, WV (2012)
      • GS and an NSX? (2012)
      • Seneca Rocks Camping Two-Up (2011)
      • Panniers Only Club at Seneca Rocks, WV (2010)
      • Laurel Fork Fall 2010 on the Honda Ruckus 50cc (2010)
      • Dog Days Rally and Rella's Gift (2010)
      • Pops and Richmonders in WV (2010)
      • Rocket Boys (2010)
      • New River Gorge and Rella's (2010)
    • Cross Country 2009 >
      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
      • Day 2: (Sept 4, 2010)
      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
  • Photos
  • Articles

Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook

I was up around 6 with the sun and quickly packed everything, thought about making a cup of coffee but decided to get moving. My hands were wet with dew from rolling the tent which made them a bit chilly inside my gloves for the first hour.

The scattered showers overnight left the humidity very high but temps in the upper 40's. It was a bit cool but smelled like fresh pine.
P1020817.JPG

IMG_1877.JPG

Just before hitting St. Barbe, a calf and a cow ran across the road in front of me. I scrambled to take out my camera while downshifting and steering away. This is the only photo that almost came off before they ran into the woods.

(See on right)
P1020819.JPG

Reminder to stay alert. This is the reason I haven't been riding at night!:eek1

Aw I guess I'll stop in St. Barbe to check out the ferry schedule to Labrador and get a big breakfast. I checked out the schedule for tomorrow then walked next door to the motel restaurant for a cup of coffee and some eggs.

This mural was painted on the walls inside. I was the only diner.
IMG_1882.JPG

Man this was SOOOOO good.
IMG_1883.JPG

I charged some batteries while I ate, paid the bill and saddled up for the ride to the tip. My destination this morning was L'Anse Aux Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland. In two days I would have gone from the Northern tip of Nova Scotia to that of Newfoundland. That's fun.

Just before some long stretches of straight highway across the Taiga, I had a GSA tail. :freaky He followed me all the way to L'Anse Aux Meadows.
P1020822.JPG

The first thing you see when parking is this sculpture high on the hill overlooking the visitor center.
P1020833.JPG

UNESCO World Heritage Site as evidenced by the UN flag.
P1020834.JPG

P1020836.JPG

P1020838.JPG

P1020835.JPG

I attended the informational film in the dark movie theater. After spending a week on the bike, sitting in a dark theater and watching something on a screen felt incredibly foreign. I don't watch much TV at home anyway but it felt quite novel to go from riding and camping all the time to watching a film. I enjoyed it.

The artifacts found at the site are on display behind glass throughout the visitor center. This was one of the cloak pins discovered. It is 1000 years old!
P1020840.JPG

This butternut was also found preserved beneath the peat soil.
P1020841.JPG

P1020842.JPG

Walking the path down to the recreated settlement, a small cold creek flows through the low vegetation.
P1020845.JPG

P1020853.JPG

The remnants of an old workshop.
P1020848.JPG

P1020855.JPG

The recreated structure was a fraction of the size of the largest multi-room structure from 1000 years ago. It was still quite large and the construction impressive. I'd love to build a sod house one day.
P1020870.JPG

P1020856.JPG

Reinactors inside were chock full of information regarding Norse life and the settlement.
P1020858.JPG

P1020859.JPG

I had to take advantage of the opportunity to try on some berserking gear.
P1020861.JPG

P1020865.JPG

This replica dingy displayed the original methods of construction using wool, tar and various other naturally available materials.
P1020866.JPG

P1020867.JPG

A view looking back.
P1020878.JPG

I chatted with some French Canadian adventurers from Quebec currently serving in the Army in New Brunswick. One was riding a 990 and the other a KLR. They suggested I check out Burnt Cape and some ghost town that direction. I was very vague on the destinations but figured I had a whole day to explore and find a place to camp.
P1020886.JPG

The Dark Tickle is a nationally recognized jam, tea and herbal shop available throughout the province. I thought the name was a bit bizarre and sexual until I learned what a "Tickle" was.

The definitive answer comes from the Newfoundland English Dictionary. The word Tickle was first recorded in 1770.
"A narrow salt-water strait, as in an entrance to a harbour or between islands or other land masses, often difficult or treacherous to navigate because of narrowness, tides, etc; a 'settlement' adjoining such a passage;"

P1020891.JPG

From here I rode over to Cape Onion as far as I could get without falling into the water.
IMG_1886.JPG

The cliff is very steep :deal
P1020896.JPG

After taking a break and trying to push the bike backward uphill on moss, berries and spongy ground, I set off for Burnt Cape Ecological Preserve on the suggestion from the French Canadians. On the way back toward Burnt Cape I came across a couple walking in the road that suddenly stopped. I look around trying to figure out why they quit walking and notice a figure 100 meters down the roadway. It is the biggest male moose I have ever seen standing broadside to the roadway. He stood there for the better part of a minute while I chatted with the locals about this being the best traffic jam ever. Eventually he lumbered off into the bush and I carried on down the road.

Burnt Cape is a large area of exposed limestone with a naturally harsh climate that permits the growth of rare dwarf flora often found in arctic and alpine areas.

The road here was awesome hardpack limestone or just barren boulders curving along for a mile or two uphill. It was fun, a couple puddles, not very technical but fast and open with water on all sides.
P1020902.JPG

These carins must have been 6 feet tall
P1020910.JPG

Can you find the GS?
P1020906.JPG

After munching down a chocolate bar, I turned around and set out for Cape Norman ligthhouse outside Cook's Harbor. The limestone towers further down the coast were interesting and home to many saltwater creatures.
P1020913.JPG

DSC_0980.JPG

This is the only photo I have of the tall stacks of drying wood I have seen throughout the trip. The farther north I travel, the shorter these stacks become.
P1020917.JPG

The road to Ship Harbor is wide fast dirt and I make it to the dead end quickly, wave at some locals and head back toward Cook's Harbor. On my right are large open expanses of limestone, sand and low growing vegetation covered with vehicle tracks in all directions. It looks like a bloke on a dirtbike could have hours of fun out here.

I notice a dashed (gravel) road on my map leading to a dead end about 15 or 20k west. This must be that ghost town place the dudes told me about.
P1020918.JPG

Sleds like this are all over the place along the roadside for hauling cut firewood.
DSC_0981.JPG

While taking the above photo I hear a motorcycle, look up, and my two friends are turning right where I am. Hey dudes let's ride some dirt!
P1020921.JPG

I took off in front and very quickly left them far far behind. Travelling at 60-70mph on good gravel is comfortable for me depending on conditions and I was having a blast. I'd stop and wait for them every few kilometers and snap a few moving shots as they approached. One time when I stopped, I heard motors coming down the road in front of me. A few folks two up on ATV's approached and stopped. The bearded and tough old man looked me over "You're not from here are you? Are you lost?" "I'm working on it!" I replied just as my newfound friends came roaring down the road and stopped in a cloud of dust. We chatted about the town up ahead and found that the bridge was out and the road past there is in terrible shape. Thanks!

P1020675.JPG

Just before the ghost town we came across a very old shipwreck rusting away in the salt air.
P1020927.JPG

WE MATCH!
P1020924.JPG

DSC_0986.JPG

After riding around here we take the ATV path through a few big puddles on back to the main road. It shortly ends at a washed out bridge support.
P1020933.JPG

I bet we can get across that! I will check...
P1020929.JPG

Knee deep and slick rocks. This is a no-go.
P1020930.JPG

The moose don't seem to mind.
P1020934.JPG

The view of Big Brook from the vantage of an old dory weathering away.
P1020939.JPG

My friends decided to return back to their campsite in St. Barbe while I chose to scope out this town and stay here for the night.

Much of the belongings and items were still around the town and the small buildings dotting the open landscape.
P1020940.JPG

IMG_1889.JPG

This was the view inside the old schoolhouse
P1020944.JPG

P1020942.JPG

P1020943.JPG

An old swingset sits idle, the children long gone.
P1020946.JPG

I stank, therefore I bathe.
P1020945.JPG

DSC_1003.JPG

After bathing, I set up my tent in the foundation basement of an old home that had been removed. I hoped this would keep the strong winds down around the tent. Just as I was pulling out my sleeping bag, I heard an ATV approach. I stood up above the wall and waved as they road past. They pointed and drove straight down the grassy hill to where I was setting up camp. I talked to the weathered and somewhat suspicious gentleman whose wife kept her full face helmet on the entire conversation. He remembered when the town was still there not long ago, he had many friends who lived here, who moved on and knew people who had lived here until their death or they were moved out by the government. The foundation I was camped in was his friend's old house. It was transported down the road to Cook's Harbor years ago. He motioned toward a well kept shack near the road and said he knew the guy who owned it and visited rarely. I was welcome to set up my tent in the soft grass and use his fire ring and firewood. "Nobody would sleep in a basement!" he said as he keyed the starter and roared up the hill to meet his waiting friends.

DSC_0992.JPG

My view:
DSC_1000.JPG

Dude where's my roof!?
DSC_1013.JPG

P1020957.JPG

The reflection of the sunlight in these old windows and the warmth of the sun/salt beaten shack demanded a photo. I just wish I could have captured it better.
P1020959.JPG

DSC_1046.JPG

Unfortunate Cove
DSC_1050.JPG

DSC_1056.JPG

After the sun set, I made a small fire and burned all the semi-charred wood scattered about. Others had camped here before as evidenced by the makeshift fire rings on nearly everyside of a large clump of trees. Clearly this windbreak was used in various seasons as the wind shifted and more fire pits were needed.

I smoked a pipe and looked up at the stars. The surf crashed 20 feet away, the wind howled and I couldn't have been happier. I sipped some whisky then doused the fire and fell deeply asleep.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Scoot
  • Paddle
  • Pedal
  • Moto
    • The South >
      • Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC
      • BRP and a visit to Charlotte, NC
      • South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)
      • Jaw-ja Trip #1 - Visiting my Nephew
      • Jaw-ja Trip #2 - Cousin's Wedding
      • "You rode 1300 miles for BBQ?!?" (2010)
    • Canada (eh) >
      • 2012 - Beards to Canada >
        • Day 1: Arlington, VA > Arlington, VT
        • Day 1-2 (Continued) Back to VA!!!
        • Day 3: Newburyport, NH > Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 4: Loafing around "The Neck"
        • Day 5: Sandy Cove, NS to Antigonish, NS
        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
        • Day 8: Port Aux Basques to Port Saunders
        • Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook
        • Day 10: Big Brook, NL to Trans Lab Hwy
        • Day 11: Trans Lab Hwy to Pinware River
        • Day 12: Pinware River, LAB to Norris Point, NL
        • Day 13: Norris Point to Blue Beach
        • Day 14: Blue Beach, NL to Port Aux Basques Ferry
        • Day 15: Sydney, NS to Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 16: Chillin on the Digby Neck
        • Day 17: Sandy Cove, NS to No. Sandwich, NH
        • Day 18: Sandiwch, NH to Arlington, VA (Home)
      • Algonquin Park 2013 >
        • Day 1: Home to New York
        • Day 2: Chataugay State Forest to Brent, ON
        • Day 3: Brent, ON to Nipissing River Portage at Nadine Lake
        • Day 4: Nipissing River @ Nadine Lake Portage to first island in Red Pine Bay
        • Day 5: Red Pine Bay to Hogan’s Lake
        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
        • Day 7: Catfish Lake to Cedar Lake to Fredonia, NY
        • Day 8: Fredonia, NY to Brookville, PA
        • Day 9: Brookville, PA to Alexandria, VA
      • Think I'll ride to Montreal this weekend...
      • Ontario on a Whim
    • Maryland >
      • How to Hit a Tree, By ME!
      • Ruckus Stealth Camping in MD
      • Ruck'n around Southern MD
      • White's Ferry and some Maryland Backroads
      • 1000mi right near da' beach (2010)
    • New York >
      • Cornell, Niagara Falls and PA Coal Country (2012)
      • Finger Lakes trip to NY (2011)
      • New York City Trip (2011)
    • Pennsylvania >
      • Early Spring in PA
      • Michaux Camping
      • From a Wedding to "Where-da-fugawi?"
      • Pennsylvania Leaf Peeping (2012)
      • First Big Trip to PA (2010)
    • Virginia >
      • From the Mountains to the Sea in Ol' Virginny'
      • What the Fog? (Northern Neck, VA - 2013)
      • Uncle Bucks Ride to Eat and Snowy SNP
      • Charlottesville Area Ride
      • Serious Helmet Time in VA (2011)
      • Ruck'n Across Virginia (2010)
      • Impromptu Camping with 'DC Rider' (2010)
    • West Virginia >
      • Rella-Vous and Skippii Rescue
      • New River Gorge Ghost Town Exploration (2011)
      • Five States from Laurel Fork (Spring 2013)
      • A Little Dirt, A Little Clouds, A lotta Fun, WV (2012)
      • GS and an NSX? (2012)
      • Seneca Rocks Camping Two-Up (2011)
      • Panniers Only Club at Seneca Rocks, WV (2010)
      • Laurel Fork Fall 2010 on the Honda Ruckus 50cc (2010)
      • Dog Days Rally and Rella's Gift (2010)
      • Pops and Richmonders in WV (2010)
      • Rocket Boys (2010)
      • New River Gorge and Rella's (2010)
    • Cross Country 2009 >
      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
      • Day 2: (Sept 4, 2010)
      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
  • Photos
  • Articles