Stiles Cove Path – Pouch Cove to Flatrock on the East Coast Trail
This past Sunday, Mike Edmonds and myself decided it was perfect weather for an all day hike. For the sake of time, we picked the Pouch Cove to Flatrock portion of the East Coast Trail.
Our hike took us about 7 hours, with about 90minutes off trail shooting photos or taking in one of the many marked viewpoints along the trail. I’m really looking forward to doing this trail again and maybe camping a night to catch sunrise in the morning. For no reason in particular we skipped several viewpoints and actually exited the trail before the last leg around the head in Flatrock, so there are several reasons to return. The views on this trail alone made the 7 hours go by very quickly.
East Coast Trail section: Pouch Cove to Flatrock
Time taken to complete: 7~hours (80% completion, several stops)
Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 – Very easy walking, some gentle uphill/downhill sections. Bring food for two (just in case) but water you can limit to 1 liter or less if you don’t mind drinking fresh brook water.
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- Firstly, if you’ve never walked even but a few steps on any section of the East Coast Trail you’ve been doing yourself an injustice. Frankly, the ECT is one of the coolest things in Newfoundland and as it grows, it’s sure to become a gem of Canada’s east (if not already). The neat thing about the ECT up around the North East Avalon is it’s proximity to the city and ease of access. There are many section of trail which after just 10 minutes of walking will reward you with some of the most astounding coastal views.
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- Our day started at about 11am and after parking at the church in Pouch Cove and making our way to the path next to the post office we were greeted immediately with a nice view of the coast line that makes up the southern shore that is Pouch Cove. Another 15 minutes hiking and we were up over the hill and the town was out of sight.
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- We also had several squirrel friends visit us from time to time on the trail.
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- Mike is from Ontario originally so I took every opportunity I had to ensure I got a snap of him in this foreign land.
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- While I was shooting with my panoramic film body I told Mike he could play with my digital.
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- Not wanting to slow our progress down too much, as we had about 20km to cover that day, I didn’t spend much time setting up to shoot a proper photograph too often. However, while Mike was busy taking in the view I decided it was a good location to make the effort and shot some nice scenic photographs.
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- We also bumped into a nice man named Pat who told us he was the official custodian of the trail. A professor at MUN and from England originally he’s lived here my lifetime plus and walks ‘his’ (my words) trail almost daily with his very exuberant dog who did not like my camera lens. His dog was a real character and like all dogs on the ECT was having the time of his life.
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- As well we bumped into some people drawing. I went on about how cool it was — that there were three people out drawing sketches of the coast line — for the next 3kms. I don’t think Mike had the same level of appreciation that I did for my fellow artists, but he humored me anyway.
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- I was rather jealous of them to be honest. It seemed rather relaxing. They were not too happy to have direct pictures taken (probably something to do with the man and pot laws, who knows) but I did get a couple snaps when they weren’t looking.
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- And this is what she was drawing.
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- I advised Mike that Murdering Gulch is where we take the mainlanders to do away with them when Ottawa pisses us Newfoundlanders off. He wasn’t keen to my sense of humor.
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- The nice thing about all parts of Newfoundland is that if you’re either bit adventurous there are many a private beach hidden away like this one, with a secret path down to the shoreline and the waterfall.
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- Finally, nearing the end of our hike I managed to get another moment to set up for some proper photos while Mike napped on the wooden bridge behind but not before making use of my camera again!
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- One last black and white before the day is out.