Way back when, Cobbler Path was my real intro to the ECT. When it was still about bird and whale watching for me, Heather and I would come out to Torbay Point on a regular basis. The scenery on the rest of the trail, as it turns out, is pretty much just as good, and it got me wanting to see the rest of the ECT. It was nice to get back out on this trail for the first time in a couple of years and see it all again!

First stop, Torbay Point… as many times as I’ve hiked this trail, I’ve never been to the end, so that’s where I started the day. The sun was beating down and I walked down as far as the tip, checking out the massive rock formation at the end. What a spot for whale watching, by the way. The view of the coast in either direction from out there is just breathtaking.

Heading in from Torbay Point, with the hot sun shining and no real schedule, the plan was to take my time, not put too much strain on my knees and my ankle (there are a few hills on this trail), and get some nice pictures. Took it slow, ate berries, enjoyed the weather and the views. By the time I got to Red Cliff, the sun was mostly obscured by clouds, which made the hiking even better, if not the pics. I focused on the graffiti at this point (gallery below).

There was a lot of traffic on the trail today (hikers, dog walkers, berry pickers, etc.) which was really good to see. The views on this trail, despite its short length, compete with any other trail on the ECT in my humble opinion. Not to be missed are the aforementioned Torbay Point and the area around Cobbler’s Brook. Some pics below, discussion and pics beyond this gallery, too!

Fine day for a jaunt on Cobbler Path! (Just an FYI dog walkers, there’s a garbage can literally right here, bring your bags out instead of leaving them at trailside, eh?)

Looking down at the end of Torbay Point.

Looking up from the end of Torbay Point.

Now that is a trailside view.

From atop the first climb, looking down at Torbay Point.

The view of the coast to the south from Cobbler’s Brook.

Looking north from Cobbler’s Brook.

The character of the trail has definitely changed for the worse in this section. Nice mansions bys.

The berrypicking near the mansions is pretty great!

A look down from the abrupt end of the trail towards Sugarloaf Path, the Marine Lab, and that silly castle.

When I got back to Torbay Point, I had to snap one more pic! What a spot.

I didn’t want to include the graffiti in the trail pics because it was almost a separate focus for today. I really like graffiti, let me start with that. It’s art that straddles the line a lot of the time between vandalism and decoration/expression. I guess art is supposed to arouse emotions, even negative ones, so there’s that. For me, though, it’s a positive. The location is typically my only issue: I don’t like active businesses being tagged, or historical properties, for example. But the properties in question here are decrepit and unmaintained, and the art being created here improves the spaces IMHO.  Had a chance to chat with a couple of artists who did some nice pieces today. Check out my gallery below!

One of the pieces on the back of the most northerly group of buildings on Red Cliff.

The interiors of the buildings are decrepit but striking.

Side of the same building.

One of my favorite pieces.

Interior of same building, looking pretty incredible.

A new piece. Very cool! Southerly building group.

Again, a pretty awesome interior space with cool art.

Some fresh, colorful pieces on the inside of one of the buildings.

The interior of a building. These spaces are very cool.