[photos by Alison Dyer, 2008]Paddling buddy Peter A has to have an annual pilgrimage to Woody Island and Rattling Brook Falls (and pool) in Placentia Bay. Which sits perfectly well with me. Last weekend, with larch and maple showing off particularly nice shades of ochre and amber, and winds all but ceasing on the Avalon, 5 of us launched from Garden Cove for the 22km or less return paddle.
We headed around the eastern side of Sound Island, once home to a community of a few hundred people, now dotted with a few cabins in coves. No sightings of otters but out in the Bay a dory, with two fisherman jigging on the last day this year's recreational cod fishery, was backdropped by a gargantuan oil tanker parked and smoking near Merasheen Island.
We grabbed lunch on a tiny sun-split beach - Peter and Liz snoozed on shale while Janaki and Lev scrounged for smokey ripe partridgeberries on the spongy ground above.
A quick paddle to Woody Island to nod to Loyola's 'Woody Island Resort', then on and over to Rattling Brook. At this time of year a mere trickle. Still, the deep pool above enticed the dry-suited members of the party (note: heads and hands are above the frigid waters).
No caribou sightings either this time, just a few eagles. Still, the perfect paddling conditions and fall colours made the day simply memorable.
4 comments:
Good to see you out paddling about in/on the water again and blogging about it! Cheers!
hi michael - i can't tell you how good it feels to be back on the water... if only for a short time until the big freeze sets in. a
Hello Alison, nice to see sun and autumn colours. Over here in Scotland, it is all wind and rain!
Hi Douglas, our fall must be payback for a hideous summer (wind and rain)! Still, I'll be looking for sun & colours in Scotland (via your blog) during our 5 months of icesnowsleetfreezingrainhailslush. A
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