Challenge Accepted: Backpacking the Northern & Long Range Traverse in Gros Morne National Park

This week, we’re moving our adventures from the ocean to the mountains: it’s time for a backpacking trip in Gros Morne National Park! With Akiva in tow, our plan is to backpack the combined Northern and Long Range Traverse. This challenging route is largely off trail, and covers about 46 miles of ground with 10,000’ of elevation gain along the way. We packed for six days, though we expect the trip to take closer to four or five. Day 1, we planned to cover good ground and make our way from the trailhead to the Long Pond Campsite. It’s about a 12-mile day with significant elevation gain, as we’ll be climbing up to the tablelands from sea level. The trail started off casual, but led to a stream crossing pretty much right away. We switched into our “super technical” water Crocs and made our way through the frigid, knee-deep water to the other side of the river. Akiva was not a fan. After the stream crossing, it was time to go up. And up. And up, up, up, up, up. Robin was a big fan. We dodged plenty of mud. We stepped in plenty more. We teetered on downed trees. We bushwhacked through tuckamore. We hung out with a few ptarmigan. And some caribou. And a caribou skull. About halfway through our first day, the rain came. And, as the rain came, the trail became harder and harder to follow. After a bit of a trail-finding detour, we made it to our first campsite where we dried off, warmed up, and filled our bellies with some high-calorie backpacking meals. We woke up to the beautiful sun peeking through the trees, drying our wet, wet gear. We splayed our gear out and had a slow morning, giving the sun as much time as possible to dry out our soggy stuff. We only had about 6 miles of ground to cover, so there was no huge rush to get to hiking. Blue skies and friendly temps made our second day one we’ll never forget. Around every corner we were privy to a breathtaking landscape unlike anything we’d ever seen before. Even with some rugged tuckamore to navigate, nothing could bring our spirits down. Navigating was a challenge, of course. We were grateful for modern technology (but don’t worry, we also have a map and a compass…and we know how to use them ;-). Discerning between the “real trail” and random caribou trails was not always straightforward! Our second campsite was second to none—and the stars!! Wow! Day 3 was another beautiful day. We got an early start, scrambled around Gilly Pond, and headed down trail towards the fjord—which was right around the corner. Just…wow. At the fjord, we connected with the Long Range Traverse, which sees more traffic and is much easier to follow. The terrain was also significantly less technical (but significantly more muddy). Mud was the theme of the day. Our shoes were muddy, Akiva was muddy, our souls were muddy… We put in a monster day. 15 miles to get from Gilly Pond to Green Island Pond…but the push was well worth it. We pulled a double because we knew some really nasty, wet weather was on its way…and staying out of it was our goal. Day 4…we stayed in our tent all day, all cuddly, warm, dry, and well-caffeinated. The weather raged. We were very, very happy to be holed up in our tent. For about 36 hours. On day 5, we woke up to dry skies…but wet everything else. The forecast also changed, calling for a bit more wet weather instead of the cold-but-sunny weather we were expecting. We poured the rainwater out from our shoes, headed out for the day, and pretty much immediately got hailed on. From hail to high winds to sunshine, day 5 was a rollercoaster of emotion. We decided to skip the summit of Gros Morne due to the wind and weather, but we have plenty of time to come back to bag that peak. At that point, we were ready for a hot shower, a hot cup of coffee, and a few rest days. -------------------------- Episode #365 Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting, here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com