Leg 5A: Upper Gullies to Cronin's Point

October 10, 2013

We had to drive down a couple of CBS laneways before we found the one where we left off last time. It was Warford's Road, not Dawe's Hill as I had thought. If you think that CBS would be a quiet place on an October Thursday afternoon you would be very wrong. Every type of emergency vehicle was flying to Foxtrap when we were starting our hike and all of them were screaming toward Manuels at the end. Both incidents were collisions. We haven't heard if anyone was injured but I'll have the decency to refrain from complaining about being unable to reach Berg's ice cream store for our post-hike reward.

The first few km of this walk were noteworthy for a couple of reasons. The trail was in terrible shape -- washouts, poor drainage and dumped garbage.

The second observation is that there has been a surge in home construction in this area where many streets begin at the CBS highway and terminate at the T'Railway.  Some of the streets are old country lanes where building lots have been parceled off. In other cases new subdivisions have been created on large swaths of previously untouched land. Some of the houses abut the trailway. They range from the pedestrian to the striking.

Looking back, ocean on the right.

Several roads have no barrier whatsoever at the junction with the trail, allowing easy access for motorized vehicles. There are also instances where access is partially restricted, whether by the town or by the owners of adjoining properties we could not tell.

From Warford's Road to Cronin's Point there was evidence of heavy ATV use.  The obvious explanation would be that this is due to a combination of population density, close proximity and easy access.  

Offsetting the rough trail was the beach just meters from our track, the view toward Kelly's Island and the anchored offshore tankers and the Terra Nova drilling platform.  We passed a seniors' complex that currently has a wonderful ocean view. A school has a fenced yard bordering the trail and looking straight across Conception Bay. The back lot of a trailer sales company has dozens of trailers ready to turn amphibian and take to the water. 

The coastline was interrupted by a couple of inlets. Kelligrews Pond -- inside the crescent beach of Kelligrews Gut -- has a long, curving channel to the ocean.  On the inland side there is a small but lovely marshland.

Continued on next post as Leg 5B.