Category Archive

On April 15, IATNL/Cabox Geopark Director Paul Wylezol and friends Delano Pittman, Katie Broadhurst, Caroline Swan and Jamie Harnum took advantage of a beautiful late winter/early spring day to take a snowmobile ride on Cabox Geopark’s Blow Me Down Mountains, following the route of the IATNL Blow Me Down Mountain Trail. In the north, the trail starts near Frenchman’s Cove on Route 450 (Captain Cook’s Trail) on the south side of the Bay of Islands. From there the trail passes the Hummock foothills before entering Blow Me Down Brook Gulch (ie., Valley) at the “Sands”, the long sandy slope were the brook makes a right angle turn west and bisects the Blow Me Down Ophiolite Massif.

On March 15, Cabox Representatives and IATNL Directors Paul Wylezol and Arne Helgeland visited the Appalachian Trail Basecamp in Amicalola Falls State Park near the southern terminus of the AT at Springer Mountain, Georgia.  The basecamp is also located near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains and is the starting point for south to northbound treks of the Appalachian Trail from nearby Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin in Maine, then onward along IAT North America through northern Maine, New Brunswick, Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, PEI and Nova Scotia to Cabox Geopark, then on to Crow Head on the tip of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula.

There was a good turnout Thursday, February 27, for Cabox Aspiring Geopark’s presentation at the ACAP Humber Arm lunchtime meeting at the Forestry Centre on MUN’s Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.  Cabox Chairperson Paul Wylezol presented on the UNESCO Global Geopark program and Western Newfoundland’s Cabox project, from its history and development to the application process.

It was an awe-inspiring evening for participants of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador’s (HNL’s) Fun Night at Marble Mountain on Wednesday, February 26! In addition to the torchlight parade, many of those in attendance got to try out Cabox VR, the Cabox Aspiring Geopark component of the Drifting Apart project’s GeoVR program. Geopark Vice Chair Rob Thomas walked people through several iconic viewpoints of the Humber Valley and Bay of Islands Ophiolites in virtual reality.

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. Darren Charters, director of community, engineering, development and planning for the city, said they will continue to collaborate with partners, including the public, tourism industry, provincial and federal governments and other communities around the Bay of Islands. The report lists 31 strategic recommendations and tactics, including Cabox Geopark, but Charters identified five broader areas of focus for the city and its partners.

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 breathtaking ocean views, majestic rolling mountains and vast, remote landscape.”

In 2019, Memorial University of Newfoundland Adjunct Professor and Lecturer 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 Geopark Chairperson Paul Wylezol, followed by an October article entitled ‘Exploring a Famous Ophiolite: A Guide to the Bay of Islands Igneous Complex in Gros Morne National Park, Western Newfoundland’ for Geoscience Canada, of which he is scientific editor. Andy, who is also a geological advisor for Cabox Geopark and the International Appalachian Trail, also accompanied Paul and fellow Cabox/IATNL director Arne Helgeland on a May 2019 geological tour of the IAT and Lochaber Geopark in Scotland.

Cabox Geopark is one step closer to coming to fruition. After a Corner Brook council meeting on Nov 18, the project now has the support of every community in the Bay of Islands region. The city council approved and accepted the Strategic Tourism Areas and Regions Plan (STAR) report, a strategic tourism development plan for the Bay of Islands, Corner Brook and lower Humber Valley Area. The plan included support of the development of the Cabox Geopark. The Geopark will educate visitors on the unique plate tectonics and geological history of the Bay of Islands ophiolites.

On November 13, 2019, IAT Co-Chairs Paul Wylezol of Newfoundland and Don Hudson of Maine 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. The meeting was a follow-up to IAT Ulster Ireland’s Outdoor Economy Forum held in June with the participation of the IAT, AMC and ATC.

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 bunk beds, new vinyl flooring, indoor plumbing, and the reconstruction of the damaged seawall.