"Viajar a pie" is Spanish for "Travelling on foot"

Category: Newfoundland

Newfoundland IAT Trail Diaries

  • Newfoundland IAT Section 1: Lewis Hills & Blow-me-Down Mountains
    The first section of my hike on the Newfoundland IAT goes across two mountain groups: the Lewis Hills and the Blow-me-Down Mountains. Wild and remote country in western Newfoundland.
  • Newfoundland IAT Section 2: North Arm Hills
    The second section of my IAT trip goes across the North Arm Hills, a group of mountains north of the Bay of Islands in Western Newfoundland. This story accounts for days 6 to 8 in the trip and starts in a Corner Brook town hotel.
  • Newfoundland IAT Section 3: Bonne Bay
    This section was a necessary transition in both space and time. I needed to get myself from Trout River to Rocky Harbour, Western Newfoundland and sort out some logistics along the way.
  • Newfoundland IAT Section 4: Northern & Long Range Traverse
    The Northern Traverse and the Long Range Traverse are the two flagship wilderness routes in the Gros Morne National Park. They're a great way of experiencing the highlands of the Long Range Mountains in a sort of controlled environment while keeping the wilderness flavor.
  • St. John’s
    What can you do for a full day in St. John's when you can barely walk? St. John's is a lovely town with super nice summer weather. If airline schedules mean I have to spend a day here, It'll be a great time no matter what.

 

Newfoundland IAT

WhereNewfoundland
WhenJuly/August
Distance415 km / 258 miles
Length16 days

Western Brook Pond

Newfoundland IAT Credits

This one goes to those characters that deserve a mention after all the help, the concern and the good vibes I got from them. Roughly in order of appearance as the story went:

Newfoundland IAT Resources

There’s not much information on this route on the net, nothing in print as far as I’m aware. These below are the best resources I found along the way. The information is up to date at the time of writing (March 2018)

St. John’s

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland

I fly into St. John’s in the very early morning, then fly home late at night. What can you do for a full day in St. John’s when you can barely walk1?

St. John’s is a lovely town with super nice summer weather. If airline schedules mean I have to spend a day here, it’ll be a great time no matter what.

St. John’s harbour

Newfoundland IAT Section 4: Northern & Long Range Traverse

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland

The Northern Traverse and the Long Range Traverse are the two flagship wilderness routes in the Gros Morne National Park. They’re a great way of experiencing the highlands of the Long Range Mountains in a sort of controlled environment while keeping the wilderness flavor. The area is high enough for the vegetation to be passable so all you need is an access trail from the lowlands, then you’re good to go.

This section is bound to be the grand finale for my Newfoundland trip. It will include the now popular Long Range Traverse, that I already hiked in my previous visit in 2003, and the Northern (formerly North Rim) Traverse. I have a limit of 5 full hiking days that will account for days 12 to 16 of my trip.

Newfoundland IAT Section 3: Bonne Bay

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland

This section was a necessary transition in both space and time. I didn’t want my trip to become a series of unconnected multi-day hikes, I wanted my trip to be a real A to B. I could accept the exception of the Bay of Islands gap, even if half of it was an overland detour rather than a water crossing but I kept to my compromise of hiking every bit that was on my intended line of travel and was not over water.

Now I needed to get myself from Trout River to Rocky Harbour, Western Newfoundland.

To Rocky Harbour

Newfoundland IAT Section 2: North Arm Hills

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland

The second section of my IAT trip goes across the North Arm Hills, a group of mountains north of the Bay of Islands in Western Newfoundland.

Newfoundland IAT Section 1: Lewis Hills & Blow-me-Down Mountains

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland

The first section of my hike on the Newfoundland IAT1 goes across two mountain groups: the Lewis Hills and the Blow-me-Down Mountains. Wild and remote country in western Newfoundland.

Newfoundland IAT, Gear Review

This was bound to be the typical trip gear review article until something unexpected happened: I lost nearly all my gear on the flight into Newfoundland. I couldn’t do gear review articles without gear so I set out, got a whole new kit on the spot and I went hiking with it. Then, this otherwise typical review article got somewhat wicked and probably a lot more interesting.

Chart from lighterpack.com

Newfoundland IAT, a personal take

Newfoundland is a very special place that I want to try to portray as best as I can from the perspective of my trips there. Before I dive into gear technicalities or the depths of trail diaries, I want to put together some impressions and thoughts. This is a very personal account of my experience while hiking in Newfoundland, the Long Range Mountains and the International Appalachian Trail. It’s all here: the good, the bad and the beauty.

When plans go wrong, make new ones

In July-August 2017 I had a finely tuned plan to hike the International Appalachian Trail in Newfoundland. It was devised as a rather open, do-as-you-go idea from the moment I’d set foot on the trail but carefully designed to minimize travel time to the trail head. It all went down the drain when the St. John’s airport belt stopped and my pack didn’t show up. Then a whole new trip began.

Boarding everybody but not everything

Newfoundland IAT Overview

If you’ve ever wondered what kind of a place Newfoundland is for hiking and backpacking, you can find here some general info on the island and insights into the Long Range Mountains and the International Appalachian Trail as it goes along.

Climbing out of canyons on the Newfoundland IAT

Newfoundland IAT Highlights

This is an initial, quick summary of what this trip has meant for me.

Hiking in Newfoundland

Newfoundland IAT Gear Preview

I’ll be hiking in Newfoundland in the summer of 2017. If you’d ever wonder which gear a lightweight, long distance backpacker would take to a place like Newfoundland, you can see my version here.

Newfoundland 2017 Route Plan

My intended route will be based on the International Appalachian Trail / Sentier International des Appalaches (IAT/SIA) as it goes along the western flank of Newfoundland all the way from Port aux Basques in the south to L’Anse aux Meadows at the northern tip of the western Peninsula. I plan to take the high level alternative wherever there is one as well as some other highland traverses that are not part of the IAT/SIA official selection.

Newfoundland 2017

During the summer of 2017 I’ll be hiking in Newfoundland over the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) starting from the southern end in Port Aux Basques and going as far north as I can.

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