The first day of spring was two days ago, so that means the spring hiking season has begun! It’s still snowshoe season for the most part on the trails of Newfoundland, at least, especially in the woods. Given that it was going to be a bit breezy for Saturday’s hike, I decided to hike a section of the trail that had significant amounts of inland/wooded hiking, Tinkers Point Path. The trail was snow-covered and required snowshoes, but it was in such great shape that I’m sure it could mostly be negotiated in boots. At some point this winter a group of hikers traversed this path and beat down a spectacular track with their snowshoes; so good that for most of the Path it reminded me of the groomed snowmobile trails around St. Anthony on the Northern Peninsula!
The first section of the trail starts a little rough (I assume it gets a lot of use) but quickly settles into the “groomed trail” that covers 90% of the distance between Mobile and Tors Cove. The first bit, with the fence on one side and the coast on the other, has one spot that requires hikers take care; hug the fence and you’ll be fine. Exiting the woods for the first time, Marshy areas are starting to open up. The snowshoe trail in spots crosses areas that are becoming wet, so be careful. That said, sticking to it for the most part is safest: I deviated from it only a couple of times, and paid for it when I went through into a wet spot on the hike back.
Plenty of snow remains in the woods, but open areas such as Tinkers Point and Vales Meadow are pretty much free of snow aside from the established path where the snow was compacted. Speaking of Tinkers Point, the seas were very rough today, and crashed spectacularly against the rocks just off Tinkers Point. The section of the trail between Vales Meadow and the inland trek towards Tors Cove was very noisy with crashing waves. In a couple of places, a mini spout effect was created as water shot straight up against a barrier. Check out my pics!
I turned around at The Cribbies as per my agreement with Heather: I was not to snowshoe over the trail as it passes behind the fish plant in Tors Cove, a section with a precipitous drop. The Cribbies is close enough to the trailhead, I suppose!
I saw signs of wildlife, many gulls, a few small birds including juncos, and two bald eagles, one at either end of the Path. I got snowed on as a brief flurry passed over, but the weather was nice for most of the hike, with the sun coming out for the return trip. It was warm enough that I kept my jacket packed and my gloves off. I highly recommend this trail as a relatively easy spring snowshoeing adventure! Check out the pics below, and in the Tinkers Point Path page’s gallery!
