We
planned a day to hike the 5-mile Alexander Murray Trail.
The
weather was rainy most of the day, but predicted to stop late in the day, so we
did laundry and hunkered down during the day in our comfy trailer. Unfortunately,
this also meant that Barbara, a slow hiker, wouldn't have time to do it.
At
5pm it was still raining and still predicted to stop, so Bill headed out. The
trail is shaped like a lollipop and at the split, the rain finally stopped.
This
well designed trail goes through pretty woods, along 2 streams, past 3
waterfalls, and 1,100 feet up to the top of a mountain. A lot of effort went
into making it – lots of boardwalks and stairs with about 2,200 steps. How did
they get all the wood there?
A
side trail descends to the first waterfall – Corner Brook Falls
in Corner Brook Gorge.
When
Bill reached the summit, the sun started to peak through the clouds. You can
even see Bill’s shadow! He could see Green
Bay where we were yesterday, but couldn’t see the
iceberg.
The
trail passes a well-situated viewpoint for the second waterfall – Rowsell's Falls.
The
third waterfall, Bill’s favorite, was Gull Brook Falls.
This
trail is aptly named after a 19th century geological surveyor who
described the region saying
To anyone in search of the picturesque, this great inlet has many rare attractions…The sharply cut outline of the distant mountains which form the background, combine to give a succession of landscape an artist might revel in, and seems to charm the tourist or adventurer.
And,
yes, we the tourists are charmed by the area.
