On April 14 during the mildest spring in many years, IATNL Directors Paul Wylezol and Delano Pittman took advantage of a blue sky day to make the first spring trek of the new IATNL/Cabox Geopark Elephant Trail on the south side of Trout River Pond, which will be completed to the top of the Elephant’s back by early Summer 2021.
The 10-hour 23-kilometer trek began approximately 2kms past Trout River Campground on Chimney Cove gravel access road, where an ATV trail makes a right angle intersection and follows the Gros Morne National Park boundary southeast to within 1 kilometer of the foot of the Elephant.
From there Paul and Delano turned off onto the Elephant Trail and were soon crossing Narrows Brook
and heading up the base of the hill to a small pond in a valley at 300 meters elevation.
Once around the pond, the trail route ascends through mixed forest and patches of snow
until it passes the treeline and climbs onto the mountaintop barrens.
In early spring hikers will find large patches of snow here and there, though all are generally easy to cross.
Once on top of the Elephant’s Back, it wasn’t long before Paul and Delano were walking across the Gros Morne National Park boundary and onto the 470 meter (1,550 feet) high Elephant’s Head to take in the fantastic view of Trout River Pond and Table Mountain Ophiolite Massif, aka Tablelands.
For more on the story, go to the Cabox Geopark website.
