Though it was a little warm for hiking, the occasional cloud and ocean breeze made for a pleasant 12-hour 23km trek into the remote western Blow Me Down Mountains on August 11. The goal was to find an access to/from the mountains below Round Hill and The Haystacks (the highest peaks on the Blow Me…

On the morning of July 23, IATNL directors Paul Wylezol and Delano Pittman set off in pickup truck down a gravel road just south of Trout River, heading to the remote resettled community of Chimney Cove on the gulf coast about midway between Trout River and the Bay of Islands. They were on a mission…

On May 21, IATNL Directors Paul Wylezol and Delano Pittman took advantage of a beautiful day during an ideal time of year to make an exploratory bushwhacking trek up a prominent ridge in the lower Humber Valley to find a new scenic route to Arne’s Lookout, 1.6 kms (1 mile) west of Man In The…

On March 15, IATNL Directors Arne Helgeland and Paul Wylezol visited the Appalachian Trail Basecamp in Amicalola Falls State Park near the southern terminus of the AT at Springer Mountain, Georgia. The basecamp is the starting point for south to northbound treks of the Appalachian Trail from nearby Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin in Maine,…

City of Corner Brook staff are stressing the importance of a collaborative tourism approach with the completion of the STAR (Strategic Tourism for Areas and Regions) Report. The report, a tourism plan developed for the Corner Brook/Bay of Islands/Lower Humber Valley region, was released publicly Nov. 18.

On September 5, 2020, nearly 200 trail runners will descend on the Humber Valley to participate in Newfoundland’s first 100-kilometer ultramarathon trail race or shorter 50km race, both including the entire length of the IATNL Humber Valley Trail from Ballam Bridge to Humber Village. The region’s first ultramarathon, STEEP ULTRA, will enable runners to “experience…

In 2019, MUN Adjunct Professor Dr. Andy Kerr set his sights on the Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex, beginning with a July trek of the Blow Me Down Mountains with Cabox Aspiring Geopark Chairperson Paul Wylezol, followed by an October article entitled Exploring a Famous Ophiolite: A Guide to the Bay of Islands Igneous Complex…

Cabox Geopark is one step closer to coming to fruition. After a Corner Brook city council meeting on Nov 18, the project now has the support of every community in the Bay of Islands region. The council approved and accepted the Strategic Tourism Areas and Regions Plan (STAR) report, a strategic tourism development plan for…

On November 13, IAT Co-Chairs Don Hudson of Maine and Paul Wylezol from Newfoundland joined Ulster Ireland mayors Michaela Boyle (Derry City and Strabane) and Nicholas Crossan (Donegal County) at a meeting with Appalachian Mountain Club President John Judge and Conservation and Recreation Director Heather Clish at their new headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.

During 2019, the IATNL made significant strides in completing its Cabox Geopark basecamp at Stone Brook (aka Stowbridges) in North Arm, Bay of Islands. The two-storey former fisherman’s house will serve as a start/end point for 2-3 day treks across the North Arm Hills to/from Trout River. This year’s work included the installation of new…

In 2019 the IATNL added new signage to the Humber Valley Trail, including directional signage and memorial interpretive panels at both Scott’s Lookout on the west side of Wild Cove Valley and Barry’s Lookout above Humber Village. The latter two were designed in the James Cook inspired style of the new trailhead sign at Ballam…

For many years now, Vermont maple syrup farmer and Appalachian hiker Lew Coty has travelled to Western Newfoundland in August to spend a month exploring the Long Range Mountains, the most northerly of North America’s Appalachian Mountain range. In 2019, in addition to making a Gregory Mountain trek with IATNL/CABOX director Paul Wylezol and a…