Glenn
Dunning is a member of New England Outdoor Writers Association
(NEOWA) and contributes monthly to Outdoors Magazine
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Outdoors Magazine, October 2007 issue, Traveling Outdoorsman col. Submitted by: Glenn Dunning |
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On The Road Again; Next Stop Newfoundland! |
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| This fall I'm spending 3 weeks in Eastern Canada's Maritime Provinces, most of that time on the island of Newfoundland. It is not my first trip and hopefully not my last but because I was there 4 years ago the anticipation of going back is all the more exciting. Affectionately referred to as The Rock, by the half million or so inhabitants, Newfoundland is profoundly different from any other province. While my travels have taken me all over the North American continent, there is a uniqueness of character about this moose hunting mecca that qualifies it as a truly special destination. For starters, it is an island and it is a big island. Nearly 42,000 square miles completely surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean. Newfoundland is the eastern most land mass on the continent and has its own time zone (1 ½ hours earlier than Eastern Standard Time). It stands guard over the entrance of the Bay of St. Lawrence and hosted Norsemen settlements 500 years before Columbus accidentally happened upon America's east coast. And there are other notable bragging rights; the capital, St. John's, is the oldest English speaking city on this side of the Atlantic and George Street, in the heart of that old city, is famous for having more pubs per square foot than any other street in North America. But for me and thousands of others who will venture over 1,000 miles of land and sea to reach its rocky shores, Newfoundland's allure is in its awesome landscape, incredible moose, caribou and bear hunting opportunities along with a population of perhaps the friendliest people in the world. It's not an easy place to get to; I will leave central Vermont, drive 10 hours due east crossing the US/Canadian border into New Brunswick at the Houlton, Maine. I can't go past Lindsay's Sporting Camps in Millville without stopping for at least one meal cooked by Charles' Mom, Sharon - known for being one of the outfitting industry's best cooks. From there it's another day's drive to reach the ferry dock at North Sidney, Nova Scotia. Logistically, I want to arrive at the northern tip of Cape Breton around 10 at night to catch the midnight crossing. The ferry can take as little as 5-6 hours on calm seas but I've found that 7-8 hours is more typical. The big boat, which holds well over 100 cars, campers and trailer trucks, features restaurants, arcades and a bar but the most important feature as far as I'm concerned, are the sleeping cabins and dorms that allow you to catch up on some rest while still making way. Through the night the boat lumbers across Cabot Strait and by the time you wake up in the morning and make your way to the open upper deck, Newfoundland's southern coast and the docks at Port aux Basques are close at hand and often framed by the morning sun's illumination of the Long Range Mountains rising up beyond the shore. Even the names of the mountains, villages and lakes beckon a feeling of enchantment and I will ride the rim of this mountain range from the time I de-board the ferry until I reach my first stop in the village of Main Brook 400 miles north up Newfoundland's west coast. For those with familiarity of the island, this is known as the northern peninsula and features some of the province's most incredible topography and scenery but is more famous for its exceptional hunting opportunities. There are over 120,000 moose in Newfoundland and nearly as many woodland caribou. I don't know how many black bear they figure live there but there's a lot and some of the biggest bears in Eastern Canada come from here. Most of Newfoundland is "crown land" which means it is public land controlled by the government but owned by no-one and accessible to all. In some areas you will see locals hunting but they seldom venture far from the roads and in areas like the northern peninsula where access to hunting territories requires an all terrain vehicle at the least and as often as not a floatplane, hunting pressure is a non-issue. I will be visiting 5 different outfitters over my first week, ending up at RiverRun Outfitting in Lewisporte on September 30. Here I will hook up with my niece's husband, Jim, from Tampa for a week of mucking through the swamps and tuckamore in search of bulls, hopefully with paddles over 40 inches. Stay tuned, our good fortune or bad luck will be reported here in a future issue but for today it's all about anticipation and preparation so I better get back to packing my gear. |
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