On Friday, June 25, after 2.5 years of intermittent work, the International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland & Labrador (IATNL) launched the Elephant Trail on the south side of Trout River Pond with a group hike of 14 people. The trail is at the northern end of the 3-day North Arm Traverse, with the southern end located at the IATNL Basecamp at Stowbridges on the north side of North Arm, Bay of Islands.
Cabox Awarded CGF Grant
On June 14, 2021, Cabox Aspiring Geopark received news that it had been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Canadian Geological Foundation’s Jérôme H. Remick III Endowment Trust Fund to produce an animated video and accompanying rock kit to help educate local school children about the geological heritage of Western Newfoundland, and in particular Cabox Aspiring Geopark. The video will star child characters Bobby and Harry, based loosely on real-life geologists Robert Stevens and Harold “Hank” Williams who in the 1960s, 70s and 80s helped decipher the geological history and composition of the Humber Arm Allochthon.
Across the Blow Me Downs to Knights Brook Falls
With early spring in the lowlands and late winter in the highlands, IATNL/Cabox Chairperson Paul Wylezol set off to cross the eastern end of Blow Me Down Ophiolite Massif to check out a series of waterfalls on Knights Brook, where the crystal-clear stream emerges from the mountains and turns south to follow its course through 7kms of foothills to the eastern end of Serpentine Lake. In 2021 spring arrived a month early in Western Newfoundland, which permitted this April 25 trek. Temperatures ranged from 8 to 10C at the base of the mountains and in the valleys, but hovered between 2 and 4C on top, where a 20-30km breeze across large swaths of snowpack added a ‘still winter’ chill.
Spring Up and Over the Elephant
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.
Aspiring Geoparks Attend CGN Workshop
On Wednesday, April 7, the Canadian Geoparks Network held its first Aspiring Geoparks Workshop for 2021. The 1-hour zoom event was organized by Pierre Verpaelst, CGN Aspiring Geoparks Liaison, and was focused on community engagement. Representatives from each of the five Canadian Global Geoparks gave a presentation to representatives from the six Canadian Aspiring Geoparks, including Cabox in Newfoundland and Labrador, Charlevoix in Quebec, Temiskaming, Rift Valley and Big Impact in Ontario, and Sea to Sky Fire and Ice in British Columbia.
Grenfell Campus and CNA Partner on Cabox Collaborative
On October 22, representatives of Cabox Aspiring Geopark, Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Grenfell Campus, and College of the North Atlantic’s Corner Brook Campus gathered at Corner Brook’s Rotary Arts Center (RAC) for the first official meeting of the newly formed Cabox Collaborative. The group first met August 20 over lunch at the Saltbox Restaurant in Benoit’s Cove to discuss ways in which the Aspiring Geopark and academic institutions might cooperate.
MUN Geologist Dr. Andy Kerr Identifies Cabox Geosites
During the month of October, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) Adjunct Professor Dr. Andy Kerr toured the lower Humber Valley, Bay of Islands and Trout River regions with the goal of identifying geological geosites within Cabox Aspiring Geopark. For the past 3-4 years, Dr. Kerr has been assisting Cabox by contributing to its geological storyline, including for the EU-funded Drifting Apart project.
A Blow Me Down Trek
On September 16, IATNL directors Paul Wylezol and Delano Pittman set off from Benoit’s Cove on a trek across the Blow Me Down Mountains to fine tune some Cabox Geopark hiking routes and identify points of interest. After a 3km drive up Webcon forestry access road, then a ford of Clark’s Brook, Paul and Delano scrambled up over a peridotite scree field on their way to the top of the mountains. Once on top, the landscape changes considerably to low rolling serpentine barrens with occasional patches of low grass and puddle strewn wetlands.
Mapping a New Route Along Simms Gulch’s East Rim
As one of the most spectacular and remote canyons on the island of Newfoundland, Simms Gulch on the south side of the Blow Me Down Mountains requires inclusion on any diehard adventurer’s bucket list. Located above the northwest corner of Serpentine Lake, it is accessed by gravel logging road after a 1.5 hour drive from either the Trans Canada Highway or town of Mount Moriah on the south side of the Bay of Islands. In the 1960s this pristine wilderness area, along with the northeast corner of the Lewis Hills, was held in reserve for a major provincial park.
Cabox Approved for ACOA and TCII Funding
On September 8, Cabox Aspiring Geopark received notice that its formal request for federal and provincial funding to help implement its 2020-2021 development priorities was approved. The assistance is “to undertake Phase 1 of establishing a world-class geo-tourism product, a Geopark, in the Bay of Islands region of Western Newfoundland. In particular, Cabox Geopark Inc. will engage consultants to: identify, organize, and map significant geological sites in the Corner Brook and Bay of Islands regions; develop a GIS database website; develop a Content Management System (CMS) to enable Cabox to expand its NewfoundlandVR programming for education and tourism