August 6-8, Appalachian explorer Lew Coty from Vermont, USA undertook a 3-day trek across the Bay of Islands north uplands in search of a St Gregory’s Arc hiking route from the southern end of the Gregory Mountains across the North Arm Hills to the IATNL basecamp at Stowbridges. He was joined during the first half of the trek by IATNL Chairperson Paul Wylezol who broke off midway to explore Lower Crabbs Brook.

For one week in July, long-distance hiker Geoff Rose of Ontario took on the challenges and rewards of Western Newfoundland’s UltramaTrex, a 6-8 day trek across the ultramafic sections of the four Bay of Islands Ophiolite Massifs, from Tablelands in the north, across the North Arm Hills, Bay of Islands, Blow Me Down Mountains and Lewis Hills to the south. “It was a photographer’s dream!” he said.

From June 2 to 7, representatives of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT), Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Appalachian Trail Museum gathered in Ulster Ireland for an Outdoor Economy Forum to discuss common issues and assist IAT Ulster Ireland develop a world-class trail network.

From May 28 to June 2, representatives from IAT Newfoundland and Maine visited Scotland on a 10th anniversary IAT Europe tour which ended in Northern Ireland on June 7 after an Outdoor Economy Forum that also included representatives from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Museum, and Appalachian Mountain Club based in Boston, Mass.

On May 2-3, the International Appalachian Trail held a 25th Anniversary Meeting at Shin Pond Village in Northern Maine. The meeting was attended by IAT North America representatives from Maine, New Brunswick, Quebec and Newfoundland, as well as long-distance hikers Nimblewill Nomad (M.J. “Eb” Eberhart), Mother Nature’s Son (John Calhoun) and Ed Talone.

Cabox Aspiring Geopark’s UltramaTrex long-distance hiking route across the ultramafic sections of the four Bay of Islands Ophiolite Massifs is nearing completion and good to go for the brave of heart! The 145 kilometer (90 mile) trek is divided into 4 stages that can be completed individually, in groups of two (north and south of the Bay of Islands), or in a single 6-8 day trek. The Geopark and UltramaTrex are projects of the IATNL.

Appalachian Hiker Lew Coty from Vermont is one of the most experienced explorers of Western Newfoundland’s backcountry wilderness, having hiked most of the Bay of Islands Ophiolites and Long Range Inlier. One area that stands out for Lew is Bakers Brook Pond, the most inaccessible of Gros Morne National Park’s inland fiords. He recently recounted his most memorable trek into the watershed, a circumnativation that included many of its pristine views. This is his story in his own words.

With the recent installation of Hank Williams’ Tectonic Lithofacies Map of the Appalachian Orogen at the Saltbox Restaurant and Geopark Information Center in Benoit’s Cove, Cabox Geopark has completed Year Two of its 5-year signage strategy. A wide variety of indoor and outdoor signs and interpretive panels have been installed at key locations around the Aspiring Geopark that were created at the IATNL print shop in the Goodhouse Building in Corner Brook.

On December 15, Cabox Aspiring Geopark, a project of the IATNL, commemorated the 40th Anniversary of the Tectonic Lithofacies Map of the Appalachian Orogen. The map was compiled by renowned Newfoundland Geologist Harold “Hank” Williams, with assistance from his graduate student Jim Hibbard who continued to update and digitize the map at North Carolina State University where he was Professor Emeritus until his recent retirement.

On October 26, Cabox Geopark and the soon to be Saltbox Restaurant in Benoit’s Cove launched the first Cabox Geopark Information Center. Located approximately halfway along Route 450 on the south side of the Bay of Islands, the center will provide natural heritage and outdoor adventure information to both residents and tourists.

On the morning of June 23, IATNL members Ulrica Murley Pye, Sharon MacDonald Lahey, Delano Pittman and Paul Wylezol set off up Winterhouse Gulch on the northeast side of the Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park on a mission to identify and gps track the route for Stage One of the 4-stage UltramaTrex, a 7-9 day trek across the ultramafic sections of the four Bay of Islands Ophiolite Massifs.

On February 25, representatives of the IATNL and OBIEC traveled to Iceland to attend the final meeting of the 3-year EU funded Drifting Apart project. Paul Wylezol and Arne Helgeland were joined by Alan Shepherd at the 2-day meeting held just outside of Reykjavik. They were representing Cabox Aspiring Geopark spanning the Bay of Islands Ophiolites from Lewis Hills to Tablelands and east to the Ancient Continental Slope of the lower Humber Valley.

On Saturday, September 30, the IAT held its annual North America Council Meeting at Joggins Fossil Centre, Nova Scotia, part of Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site. The meeting included chapter updates, website and social media, mapping, international gatherings, and fundraising. The gathering began the night before with dinner and refreshments at the Pump House Brewery in Moncton, New Brunswick.

On September 3, 2017, Loren Butler and his buddy Doug Harrison combined two hobbies and made a S.O.T.A. trek to the Cabox on Lewis Hills, the highest point on the island of Newfoundland. Summits On The Air is an amateur radio activity geared for the more adventurous radio enthusiasts who carry radio equipment to a summit and “activate” it by making contacts. Follow along on Loren and Doug’s adventure to the Roof of Newf.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy held the workshop and business component of its 2017 Biennial Conference at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, between August 4 and 5. The IAT was well-represented by a North American contingent, including IAT Maine Board Members Dick Anderson, Don Hudson, Earl Raymond, and Herb Hartman, as well as Poul Jorgensen from New Brunswick and Paul Wylezol from Newfoundland.

During summer 2017, the International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland & Labrador in conjunction with Cabox Aspiring Geopark is commemorating the 250th Anniversary of British navigator, surveyor, cartographer and explorer James Cook’s survey of Western Newfoundland and his fifth and final year of Newfoundland surveys. Commemorations include three new indoor exhibits and the re-designation of two trails on the south side of the Bay of Islands.

On November 28, the 4th general meeting of Cabox Aspiring Geopark was held at the Atrium of Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland in Corner Brook. In addition to updates on the past year’s developments and a preview of next year’s Canada 150/Cook 250 celebration, Grenfell History Professor Olaf Janzen gave a presentation on James Cook in Newfoundland.

In the autumn of 2015, Thor Hansen of Steady Brook donated his old cabin on the north side of the lower Humber Valley to the International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland & Labrador to rennovate into a basecamp for hikers of the IATNL Humber Valley Trail. Work began in the Spring of 2016, and by Fall the little camp was already looking rejuvenated.

On August 1, 2016, Appalachian hiker and explorer Lew Coty from Vermont, U.S.A. set out from Route 430 (Viking Trail) at Southeast Hill in Gros Morne National Park on a two-day trek to Gros Morne Mountain. Follow Lew in his own words as he hikes up Burridge’s Gulch and heads north across the Long Range Mountains on one of his many perennial solo treks of Newfoundland’s Appalachian Mountains.

From October 12 to 15, a small group of Greenland youth from the Ummannaq Peninsula and their Danish leader Rene Kristensen were in Western Newfoundland to hike sections of the IATNL. They were joined by French film maker Marc Buriot and arrived from St. John`s where they attended an Inuit Studies Conference and screened local Greenland films, including INUK.