Prelude
This is a continuation of my East coast exploration from This page. Please read the previous part to get an idea of the whole story...
Canadian East coast trail is considered to be one of the beautiful coastal trails in the world. The 540 Km long trail offers some majestic wild beauties across the Atlantic coast. Summer is the best time to see the beauty, although winter has it's own charisma. The whole East coast trail is divided into 24 linked paths like 'Cobbler Path', 'North Head Trail', 'Sugarloaf Path'. etc. Actually some people cover the whole trail by hiking for over a month. People say, it's an unforgettable & heavenly experience that can be remembered for whole life. However, I didn't have much time, money & equipment to do that & had to satisfy myself with little (for the time being, I hope to go there again at some point :)).
I planned to hike along Sugarloaf Path, mainly because it's close to St. John's & people recommend it highly. It's about 9-10 Km of one way hiking, plus the distance from the city to the start of the trail. I think it's a hiking trail with moderate difficulty level - doable. If you can walk 20-25 Km a day through hilly areas, it's okay. Although you can buy maps from the local stores in St. John's, I relied on Google maps only. However, that works till the beginning of the trail. When you are in the trail, you can hardly get any help from Google map, you have to follow the signs in the trail (which I found easier).
My adrenaline wasn't maintaining any bound by getting excited with the activity of solo hiking through North Atlantic coastal area in Newfoundland - I was so much thrilled! After seeing the beautiful city of Halifax & St. John's, it was my last plan to finish the East coast trip.
10th June, 2015: A beautiful sunny morning. I had to start early so that I could come back before evening. Had a heavy breakfast with noodles & yogurt in the morning, took a shower. Stuffed my backpack with lot of food, chocolate bars & sufficient water (no water in the trail). Carried a few print outs of the trail map, & of course my diary & pen.
Started walking through Signal Hill Road, which is about 2-3 minutes of walking from the hostel. This road goes straight to Signal Hill, from where the East coast trail starts.
In a beautiful morning it was so nice to walk from the city to Signal Hill. Many people were coming back from morning walk, & they were greeting with 'Good Morning', or 'Hi' - people are really very polite here (I have also discussed about some other stuffs in the previous article).
It's about 2 Km from the city to Signal Hill. On the way, there are some nice viewpoints, from where the city looks beautiful.
I was just relaxing & enjoying the morning - no hurries, no distractions. Reached Signal Hill in half an hour. An abandoned light-house, with breathtaking views around. St. John's harbour was looking so picturesque from there! I liked the circular road - everything is like picture perfect.
Took some photos, had some chocolate bars & rested for a while. The deep blue water of Atlantic in a sunny morning along with little bit of chilling weather were more than perfect for a coastal hiking day!
The trail starts from just beside Signal Hill, towards North. You have to start walking towards uphill direction (the road which starts from the middle of the circular road). Sugarloaf Path starts actually after Quidi Vidi village.
The trail from Signal Hill to Quidi Vidi is pretty easy, it's about 2-3 Km of hiking & mostly consists of wooden steps. If you are lucky, you can see bald Eagle around, I saw one while coming back (I din't have a good camera to capture it although).
I was walking little bit slow & took about half an hour to reach Quidi Vidi. Actually the trail doesn't go straight to Quidi Vidi, & I was a bit confused. Asked a local & found my way. A small but nice village, with limited number of people. Before starting the hike I was feeling of having a cup of coffee, but couldn't find any coffee shop in the village! May be there is, but I couldn't find out. Just roamed around. You can visit the brewery if you want. I visited Quidi Vidi village plantation, there are some nice local art & craft stuffs. Most importantly, I filled my water bottle from there because there won't be any source of water in the trail. Crossed a little bridge & the trail starts from the other side.
The initial part of the trail goes straight towards the hill top, from where the village looks beautiful! It seems like someone has painted a fresh picture.
Then you start climbing down the mountain into the deeper of the trail, suddenly you will realize that you are entering into the wild, leaving the civilization behind... :)
The whole route is a sort of mixed hike. Sometimes you walk through dense forest, & sometimes you cross the huge cliffs just beside the ocean. Keeping the Atlantic to your right hand side, you have to walk. Even if you are in the forest, the ocean will be peeping through the trees & you will be listening the splashing sound of water throughout the whole hike. Also you have to watch every step very carefully, getting a twisted ankle might ruin your whole trip.
Spectacular beauties around. Deep blue sea, clear azure over your head, no trace of artificiality around, & you are hiking towards the unknown. Believe me, it's a heavenly feeling. Standing on the viewpoints over a cliff by looking at the blue ocean, I rediscovered what freedom, solitude & happiness are. On my way I met a few hikers, & some were with their dogs too! I will rate the difficulty level of the route as moderate. Sometimes you have to climb uphill slopes & there is about few hundred meters of elevation gain. Depending on your speed, it will take about 3-5 hours one way. I was moving in moderate speed, was taking small breaks to have chocolate bar & water.
Newfoundland exploration will remain incomplete if you don't go for at least a short hike in the East coast trail. Seriously! I think that I have seen a very small part of Labrador islands, I have to go there again to explore more...
The hiking route is not unique I guess. As I remember, I took different paths while going & coming back, for some parts of the route. Just make sure that you are following the proper signs. If you are lucky, you might be able to see some floating icebergs. Some people are too lucky to see whales. However, I didn't. Doesn't matter, the breathtaking views around will make you spell bound for sure. If the weather is clear, you can see the Cape Spear lighthouse too.
Some people say that solo journey can be boring, especially during hiking. But I never felt that. Rather being alone, I was feeling so close to nature.
Some parts of the cliffs really can be good for rock climbing practice. I wish if I had proper equipment & a climbing partner!
I think I was so lucky to get the beautiful weather. As my time was limited, I had the window of only a single day - & I could utilize it to the fullest! You will never be able to see such spectacular scenery when it's raining or foggy. If you plan to hike in the month of June, make sure that you carry at least one warm garment - beside the ocean, it can be really cold. It was a windy day too. While I was drinking water, the wind was making whistling sound through the orifice of my water bottle. IT WAS A PERFECT DAY!!!
After hiking for a few hours, I reached at a point which I should describe as one of the finest places I have even been in my life. I don't know if it has any official name, but it was a heavenly beauty.
The whole area was covered by rugged boulders, mostly reddish. The huge cliffs were hanging on the ocean, which you have to climb down for reaching at the waterfront. The splashing sound of the water was so loud that I could barely hear my own voice. And of course the squawky sea-gulls around. It's like a virgin place, where no one has been down before. In fact there was nobody in the vicinity, & I was the only human in the midst of hundreds of sea-gulls - INTO THE WILD.
I don't know how can I write down my feelings of witnessing that place. Actually I was a bit puzzled on what should I do. Should I do something crazy like getting naked & jumping into the water? Or I should take only photographs & walk around the whole area? Then I realized that I have limited time, if I do something crazy & then get into trouble, I will never be able to reach St. John's by the end of the day, will miss my flight, & I don't have enough money to get a flight ticket. F***! Life sucks!!! :P
I chose an option in between. I can climb down the risky rugged cliffs & stand just beside the splashing water, touch the ocean surface. However, it was really very risky due to the sharp & slippery rocks. I had to be very very careful. At one place I couldn't find a proper way down, there was a narrow chimney like opening going straight downwards. Relying on my climbing skills, I managed to descend. It was marvelous! What a colour of the water! Bluish-greenish-reddish type...
As nobody was around, I was recording selfie videos with different weird activities, made one addressing my mother (she liked that actually!), & also while climbing down :P
Suddenly I saw someone from far wearing a red jacket, with a binocular in hand. Climbed up, went forward & met Nadya. She is a University professor & is hiking back to St. John's. She is a birdwatcher too, showed me some unique activities of specific birds through her binocular. Good that she was there, took a photograph of mine (I was tired to have selfies :P). By that time I was very hungry, made two ham-burgers & finished my lunch by sitting on a cliff. Can you find a better place for having lunch? Definitely not! :)
We hiked back together to St. John's. Talked a lot about travelling & stuffs. She has been in over 30 countries so far & travelling is a part of her life too.
Returned back to Signal Hill in a few hours via Quidi Vidi. Actually I returned back sooner than I expected. Said good bye to Nadya, she had to get back earlier. Then I sat on a cliff facing the Atlantic & wrote down about the day in my diary. The warmth of the last rays of the Sun was giving little bit of comfort. Ate some fruits & started going back to St. John's.
I didn't take the same path to St. John's from Signal Hill. Rather I decided to explore the "Battery" area (thanks to Nadya for recommending it). Beautiful neighbourhood on the slope of Signal Hill with beautiful colourful houses. The houses on the steep slopes of the hill looks picturesque.
The mouth-like opening of the harbour looked majestic from Battery area at the end of the day...
The hike from Signal Hill to St. John's through Battery area needs to climb down several hundreds of staircases. Make sure that your legs are not tired. But you should not miss that part, it's worth.
Came back to the hostel by evening. I was really tired. Spent my last evening in St. John's with Kris & Brad. They will also be leaving tomorrow for 21 days coastal hiking. We chatted for several hours in the hostel room, spent a memorable evening to finish my trip.
11th June: My flight was at noon. Kris & Brad left around 5 AM & didn't forget to tell a goodbye by waking me up. After a few hours, I packed my stuffs, had a heavy breakfast & reached airport by connecting public buses. Wrote a postcard for a friend from the airport, came back to Toronto via Halifax, followed by another flight to my city.
A memorable East coast backpacking trip. I've met so many nice people, made some good friends on my way & witnessed some super amazing scenic beauties, probably I will remember all these things for the rest of my life. After all life is all about experiences & sweet memories, and what else can be more pleasurable than exploring an unknown city, hiking through Atlantic coast, seeing hump-back whales from few feet distance, enjoying your freedom & solitude by solo travelling? :)
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I will share the video link here sometimes...
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| Picturesque East coast trail across Atlantic... |
I planned to hike along Sugarloaf Path, mainly because it's close to St. John's & people recommend it highly. It's about 9-10 Km of one way hiking, plus the distance from the city to the start of the trail. I think it's a hiking trail with moderate difficulty level - doable. If you can walk 20-25 Km a day through hilly areas, it's okay. Although you can buy maps from the local stores in St. John's, I relied on Google maps only. However, that works till the beginning of the trail. When you are in the trail, you can hardly get any help from Google map, you have to follow the signs in the trail (which I found easier).
 |
| The route I followed from Signal Hill to the end of Sugarloaf path, it's about 25 Km in total |
10th June, 2015: A beautiful sunny morning. I had to start early so that I could come back before evening. Had a heavy breakfast with noodles & yogurt in the morning, took a shower. Stuffed my backpack with lot of food, chocolate bars & sufficient water (no water in the trail). Carried a few print outs of the trail map, & of course my diary & pen.
Started walking through Signal Hill Road, which is about 2-3 minutes of walking from the hostel. This road goes straight to Signal Hill, from where the East coast trail starts.
 |
| Signal Hill Road |
It's about 2 Km from the city to Signal Hill. On the way, there are some nice viewpoints, from where the city looks beautiful.
 |
| The harbour city of St. John's |
 |
| Signal Hill |
The trail starts from just beside Signal Hill, towards North. You have to start walking towards uphill direction (the road which starts from the middle of the circular road). Sugarloaf Path starts actually after Quidi Vidi village.
The trail from Signal Hill to Quidi Vidi is pretty easy, it's about 2-3 Km of hiking & mostly consists of wooden steps. If you are lucky, you can see bald Eagle around, I saw one while coming back (I din't have a good camera to capture it although).
I was walking little bit slow & took about half an hour to reach Quidi Vidi. Actually the trail doesn't go straight to Quidi Vidi, & I was a bit confused. Asked a local & found my way. A small but nice village, with limited number of people. Before starting the hike I was feeling of having a cup of coffee, but couldn't find any coffee shop in the village! May be there is, but I couldn't find out. Just roamed around. You can visit the brewery if you want. I visited Quidi Vidi village plantation, there are some nice local art & craft stuffs. Most importantly, I filled my water bottle from there because there won't be any source of water in the trail. Crossed a little bridge & the trail starts from the other side.
The initial part of the trail goes straight towards the hill top, from where the village looks beautiful! It seems like someone has painted a fresh picture.
 |
| Quidi Vidi village from hill top - P I C T U R E S Q U E |
The whole route is a sort of mixed hike. Sometimes you walk through dense forest, & sometimes you cross the huge cliffs just beside the ocean. Keeping the Atlantic to your right hand side, you have to walk. Even if you are in the forest, the ocean will be peeping through the trees & you will be listening the splashing sound of water throughout the whole hike. Also you have to watch every step very carefully, getting a twisted ankle might ruin your whole trip.
Spectacular beauties around. Deep blue sea, clear azure over your head, no trace of artificiality around, & you are hiking towards the unknown. Believe me, it's a heavenly feeling. Standing on the viewpoints over a cliff by looking at the blue ocean, I rediscovered what freedom, solitude & happiness are. On my way I met a few hikers, & some were with their dogs too! I will rate the difficulty level of the route as moderate. Sometimes you have to climb uphill slopes & there is about few hundred meters of elevation gain. Depending on your speed, it will take about 3-5 hours one way. I was moving in moderate speed, was taking small breaks to have chocolate bar & water.
 |
| Imagine yourself on top of a cliff, from where you get this view vertically hundred feet down... do we really need anything else from life, when nature has so many things to offer! |
The hiking route is not unique I guess. As I remember, I took different paths while going & coming back, for some parts of the route. Just make sure that you are following the proper signs. If you are lucky, you might be able to see some floating icebergs. Some people are too lucky to see whales. However, I didn't. Doesn't matter, the breathtaking views around will make you spell bound for sure. If the weather is clear, you can see the Cape Spear lighthouse too.
Some people say that solo journey can be boring, especially during hiking. But I never felt that. Rather being alone, I was feeling so close to nature.
Some parts of the cliffs really can be good for rock climbing practice. I wish if I had proper equipment & a climbing partner!
I think I was so lucky to get the beautiful weather. As my time was limited, I had the window of only a single day - & I could utilize it to the fullest! You will never be able to see such spectacular scenery when it's raining or foggy. If you plan to hike in the month of June, make sure that you carry at least one warm garment - beside the ocean, it can be really cold. It was a windy day too. While I was drinking water, the wind was making whistling sound through the orifice of my water bottle. IT WAS A PERFECT DAY!!!
After hiking for a few hours, I reached at a point which I should describe as one of the finest places I have even been in my life. I don't know if it has any official name, but it was a heavenly beauty.
The whole area was covered by rugged boulders, mostly reddish. The huge cliffs were hanging on the ocean, which you have to climb down for reaching at the waterfront. The splashing sound of the water was so loud that I could barely hear my own voice. And of course the squawky sea-gulls around. It's like a virgin place, where no one has been down before. In fact there was nobody in the vicinity, & I was the only human in the midst of hundreds of sea-gulls - INTO THE WILD.
I don't know how can I write down my feelings of witnessing that place. Actually I was a bit puzzled on what should I do. Should I do something crazy like getting naked & jumping into the water? Or I should take only photographs & walk around the whole area? Then I realized that I have limited time, if I do something crazy & then get into trouble, I will never be able to reach St. John's by the end of the day, will miss my flight, & I don't have enough money to get a flight ticket. F***! Life sucks!!! :P
I chose an option in between. I can climb down the risky rugged cliffs & stand just beside the splashing water, touch the ocean surface. However, it was really very risky due to the sharp & slippery rocks. I had to be very very careful. At one place I couldn't find a proper way down, there was a narrow chimney like opening going straight downwards. Relying on my climbing skills, I managed to descend. It was marvelous! What a colour of the water! Bluish-greenish-reddish type...
As nobody was around, I was recording selfie videos with different weird activities, made one addressing my mother (she liked that actually!), & also while climbing down :P
Suddenly I saw someone from far wearing a red jacket, with a binocular in hand. Climbed up, went forward & met Nadya. She is a University professor & is hiking back to St. John's. She is a birdwatcher too, showed me some unique activities of specific birds through her binocular. Good that she was there, took a photograph of mine (I was tired to have selfies :P). By that time I was very hungry, made two ham-burgers & finished my lunch by sitting on a cliff. Can you find a better place for having lunch? Definitely not! :)
 |
| Posing from a rugged rock beside the ocean with a ham-burger in my hand... actually that was the best place I had lunch ever.. |
Returned back to Signal Hill in a few hours via Quidi Vidi. Actually I returned back sooner than I expected. Said good bye to Nadya, she had to get back earlier. Then I sat on a cliff facing the Atlantic & wrote down about the day in my diary. The warmth of the last rays of the Sun was giving little bit of comfort. Ate some fruits & started going back to St. John's.
I didn't take the same path to St. John's from Signal Hill. Rather I decided to explore the "Battery" area (thanks to Nadya for recommending it). Beautiful neighbourhood on the slope of Signal Hill with beautiful colourful houses. The houses on the steep slopes of the hill looks picturesque.
The mouth-like opening of the harbour looked majestic from Battery area at the end of the day...
The hike from Signal Hill to St. John's through Battery area needs to climb down several hundreds of staircases. Make sure that your legs are not tired. But you should not miss that part, it's worth.
Came back to the hostel by evening. I was really tired. Spent my last evening in St. John's with Kris & Brad. They will also be leaving tomorrow for 21 days coastal hiking. We chatted for several hours in the hostel room, spent a memorable evening to finish my trip.
11th June: My flight was at noon. Kris & Brad left around 5 AM & didn't forget to tell a goodbye by waking me up. After a few hours, I packed my stuffs, had a heavy breakfast & reached airport by connecting public buses. Wrote a postcard for a friend from the airport, came back to Toronto via Halifax, followed by another flight to my city.
A memorable East coast backpacking trip. I've met so many nice people, made some good friends on my way & witnessed some super amazing scenic beauties, probably I will remember all these things for the rest of my life. After all life is all about experiences & sweet memories, and what else can be more pleasurable than exploring an unknown city, hiking through Atlantic coast, seeing hump-back whales from few feet distance, enjoying your freedom & solitude by solo travelling? :)
-------------------------
I will share the video link here sometimes...
-------------------------
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