The forecast is 47 degrees, over an inch of rain and windy. We have one of the highlights of the trip today, traveling by boat on Western Brook Pond. How could a boat tour on a pond called Western Brook be a highlight. It's a freshwater fjord with almost vertical rock walls 2000 plus feet high. Waterfalls tumble down the sides. It is a top tier attraction and I get to see it in the rain and try to get photos in the rain.
Just a short distance from St Paul, Newfoundland, along the highway known locally as the Viking Trail, is the trailhead for this tour. We park in the trailhead parking lot which is plenty big enough today but looks woefully undersized for the height of the tourist season. After parking, it is a 1.8 mile walk on a gravel road to get to the boat.
We walk in an out of Tuckamore forests which are also known as krummholz forests. They are typically Balsam fir and Black spruce trees which are stunted, twisted and almost laying down on their side from the strong coastal winds. Although most of this area is taiga, dense boreal forest, this area had what looks like tundra, vast areas where deep rooted vegetation like trees can't grow.
One of those tuckamore trees
Interspersed were wetlands with blooming Marsh marigolds fully in bloom.
We are not quite completely soaked by the time we arrive at the boat dock. There are 3 boats here. We board the largest for our tour. This landlocked "pond" as they call it, is a couple of miles from a road. The two smaller boats were dragged across the wetlands on a sled to minimize damage. The large boat was airlifted by helicopter in pieces and reassembled on site.
All the inside seats are taken by the time we board so it is going to be a wet trip. I place myself in the very front of the ship outside. It turns out to be the least windy spot outside. I was able to remain there for about an hour. Finally, when someone asked a question, I found that I had difficulty forming words and realized I needed to warm up. I headed to a more sheltered place, still outside but warmer. There I remained.
The vertical walls were stunning. There was still snow melting and tumbling down as waterfalls. We saw a hanging valley which was likely carved while the pond still was a glacier. We saw a rockslide which occurred July 28 2016 while a tour boat was nearby. The rocks did not cause huge waves but the sound was deafening.
Fresh water and very old rock
Upper center is a formation called the Tinman.
We turned around at this waterfall to return to base. The waterfall has lots of spray and is called Pissing Mare Falls.
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