Woke up to the sound of heavy rainfall.  The thought crossed my mind to just roll over and go back to sleep, but I ignored it and got up to check my gear.  Picnic table was pretty much washed out:

But everything else was good.  Boots and shoes were dry, nothing was wet inside the tent. I figured I had a few options – go check out the Western Brook ferry tour, or boot up the Viking Trail.  Since visibility didn’t look too bad, I thought it would be worth checking out the ferry – after all, I did keep bumping into people that say that it’s one of the highlights and well worth the money.

From the trail head, it was a touch grey.   Still very pretty, but the chatter on the trail was that it was usually cancelled for 2 reasons – for or not enough people.

Worst part of it all was carrying my gear with the rain jacket.  I was sweating enough that I thought I would get less wet just walking in the rain carrying everything.  Probably not true, but I did it anyway.

2.6km hike down to the water revealed that visibility really wasn’t that bad.  Unfortunately, the crowd was a bit sparse.   Considering the rain in the morning, I suppose it wasn’t surprising almost half the reservations bailed on the trip.

So… The 10am ferry was cancelled.  Hiked down for nothing and now my morning was a bit of a mess.  Without a better plan, I figured I’d shoot up the Viking Trail anyway.  4 each way should be enough time to get there and back before dark.

Stopping off at Port Au Choix:

 

Getting fairly cold and starting to get wet.   A giant rooftop sign said “restaurant” and I pulled in to grab a bite to eat.  It really wasn’t very good.   Seafood chowder:

And Viking Cod sandwich.  This wasn’t half bad – Kind of like a very good Filet o Fish.

Getting back on the bike, I had realized my rain gloves had blown off the bike.  Spent a few minutes searching for them under the cars beside me.  I went to Port au Choix Visitor Centre and had a nice chat with a family there.  The boys were excited about the trip an the bike.  Definitely an emotional pick me up in the wet.

Went off down the bumpy gravel road to take a picture at the lighthouse:

Gassed up on my way back to the Viking Trail.  Having only partially learned my lesson, I secured my rain gloves and went inside to pay.   Coming back out, I realized I had lost my right glove.  After a few times wandering between the bike and the cashier, I caught it in the corner of my eye, tumbling across the pavement.  Strong winds!

The highway traffic wasn’t great.  Cars and trucks kicking up spray was much more stressful than normal.  Even following them for their lights wasn’t worth it.  Passing them wasn’t exactly great either – there was enough water that they would kick up blinding spray.

With the wind coming crosswise, it was getting past my rain coat zipper and leaking to the riding jacket.  I didn’t have the inner liner in, so eventually the nylon soaked through and I could feel a wet line along my torso and down into the crotch.  Day was winding down, so the closer I got to St Anthony’s the faster I went.   Good thing the PR3’s are excellent tires, but as I got trapped behind a bunch of ‘slower’ cars (ie, going the speed limit), I realized I needed to back off and just give up on getting back to Gros Morne.

Settling in to follow the cars, with the speed adrenaline turned off, I could feel the chill working it’s way into my bones.  I filled up in St. Anthony’s and asked the attendants for suggestions on where to stay.  First option was full up – definitely not something that gave me warm fuzzy feelings.

I did find a hotel with room.  Didn’t even ask the price – they only had a “Deluxe” room available.  Took it and grabbed a shower.   Fired up the heater and the blow dryer to dry out as much as possible.   After a around of drying, I went back out to grab a bite to eat near the lighthouse.

Seafood Chowder

Bacalao Cakes

Very good meal out at Iceberg Alley.  Not a good year for iceberg watching – pretty much no activity.   The previous year, they had stuff floating by for most of the summer.

Would have been gorgeous in the sun:

So:  Didn’t get to take the Western Brook ferry, didn’t return from the Viking Trail and had to pay for two places to stay.  You’d think this is as bad as it gets.