Kathleen's Window: Forillon National Park and Crossing the St. Lawrence River

Sunday, August 25, 2013

We are sitting in the ferry line to travel from Trois Pistoles on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River to Les Escoumins on the northern shore. The ferry leaves at 4 PM, and then we hope to get into a campground just off the dock, and spend a few days exploring the Saguenay Fjord National Park.

We left the municipal park we camped in, halfway along the southern shore of the Gaspe' Peninsula, on Thursday morning. We drove through more touristy towns until we reached Perce' at the end. It was the most touristy of all! Loaded with motels, restaurants, campgrounds and people, we continued on. The main attraction of Perce' is the rock out in the water with the piercing or hole in it. There is also a national park on Bonaventure Island that requires a boat tour. Neither interested us.

Perce' Rock

We drove on to the town of Gaspe' and then into Forillon National Park which is on a large peninsula jutting into the sea. Land's End is as far as you can go on the Gaspe'. We were assigned a site in the northern sector campground, in a nicely wooded area. There were only a few insects flying around. Yes? Did we finally outrun the mosquitoes and blackflies?

Friday was sunny and in the 70's, with a cool breeze, and the haze and heat from the day before had washed away in the overnight rain. Greg took a short walk on the beach by the campground and found a fault! He confirmed it later at the interpretation center. We took the short introductory walk along the boardwalk by the water, and then drove to the southern sector of the park to hike out to Cap Gaspe' or Land's End.

This rock is real!

Fireweed seed pods

Asters

Cap Gaspe

The beach at our camp at Cap des Rosiers.

Limestone and shale cliffs

Two normal faults bounding a small down-dropped block (graben)

Limestone and shale beds

Thrust fault with upper block moving to the right

Thrust fault continuing up the cliff face

It was a beautiful hike along the coast and the Baie de Gaspe'. At the end of the hike we found a lighthouse where we ate our lunch. Then we descended down the cliffs to a platform over the surf to look for whales. We saw a bald eagle and some grey seals swimming, and some interesting geology. At a rest stop on the way up the steep slope we were greeted by a Quebec couple. “Bonjour, blah, blah, blah Quebec?” I replied, “Bonjour! Je parle Anglais.” He at least tried to talk to us. The day before, we were in a liquor store. A man came from the back and rattled off something rapid in French. I replied, “Je parle Anglais.” He just said, “Oh, non!”, and turned heel and left. Another man, I think asked me if we were finding everything. I said, “Oui!” and pointed to Greg in the back of the store. Later the cashier's English was only, “Bye-bye.”

Rose Hips were everywhere along the trail

In the grocery store, we again experienced the cashier rattling something off in French, me replying, “Je parle Anglais”, and that was the end of any effort on her part. As Greg said, all we need to do is speak VISA and we do okay with stores!

We climbed back to the top of the promontory and descended by way of the International Appalachian Trail which starts/ends at the lighthouse. It is an extension of the Appalachian Trail, as it used to stop at Mt. Katadhin in Maine. Now it continues on through New Brunswick and Quebec. After some more ups and downs, to get back to the rig, we drove to La Chutes Trail for another kilometer of hiking to see the waterfalls and a grove of maple trees that started growing there 5,000 years ago when the earth was warmer. They have survived, but interestingly, are the first trees to start turning color in the fall. They've already begun turning red.

Interbedded limestone and shale. The softer shale erodes faster undercutting the harder limestone.

The bike trail to Cap Gaspe

Many coves indented the coastline

Cap Gaspe Light

The headland below the light

Looking toward Cap Gaspe from the deck near the bottom of the cliff.

Gray Seal

At the End or Beginning of the International Appalachian Trail

Hiking the first few miles of the Appalachian Trail

Maple leaves starting to turn

Looking up the south side of Cap Gaspe

La Chutes

Old Maple

One last short hike took us to see some beaver dams that were obscured by the prolific cattails. Then a quick stop to see the other side of Cap Gaspe' at Cap Bon Ami. By now, I had no more hike left in me, so we went back to the campground for showers and dinner!

Beaver lodge in the background

Cap Bon Ami

Saturday morning we were up early and ready to drive along the north side of the Gaspe'. We were hopeful for a more scenic route and we found it. The air was still crisp and we transitioned from small, less touristy villages along the coast, to big bluffs and cliffs reminiscent of Cape Breton. At one point for many miles the road ran between the base of steep cliffs and the horizontal planes of rock forming the shore. There was a wall between it and the road, and ladders spaced periodically to climb over in case of an emergency on the beach.

It is easy to find the center of town.

The road along the north side of the Gaspe

In addition to moose and falling rocks, we have to watch out for rogue waves!

A beach that is nothing but bedrock, Perfect!

We stopped at the ferry in Matane to get reservations for today, but found out they would not take us. The length and height of our rig was okay, but our propane tank held one gallon more than they would allow in their enclosed hold. We decided to try the next ferry west at Trois Pistoles, so we stopped for the night at a restaurant called Capitaine Homard, meaning Capt. Lobster. They had a small campground in the rear between the restaurant and the shore, so we pulled right up to the small bluff to the beach, and the sight of water filled the windshield. The smaller camper next door was far enough away and it was quiet, until a large motorhome pulled in on the other side of us within a few feet. Oh, well, we had the water out the front and sat outside as the sun set.

Our view at Capitaine Homard's

High Tide

Sunset and mid-tide

Low Tide

We went to dinner in the restaurant, which was very busy with people having homards. Greg got a seafood casserole which he said was tasty. We waited an hour and 15 minutes for our food, and kept debating whether it was slow, or we were experiencing a more French style of leisurely dining. Either way, when the dinner arrived at 9 PM, we wolfed it down and turned down dessert. A short walk and we were home.

This morning Greg called the ferry company and got us a reservation on the ferry from Trois Pistoles to Les Escoumins. We left the campground at noon since we only had a short drive to the ferry. The shoreline and mountains gave way to farms and fields. Reaching Trois Pistoles, we arrived early and got into the line with one other car. Now the quai is filling up and we are looking forward to our 4 PM sailing. It doesn't look very far across the river to the north shore, but it's supposed to take 90 minutes. We hope to find a less crowded side. Today as we traveled west toward Quebec, the roads widened and the traffic and development increased. Time to find a quieter place!