Meditation on the Trail

I love hiking, I love water, and when the 2 are together it’s such a treat, something I never take for granted living adjacent to the great Northwest Atlantic. There is a hike as part of the East Coast Trail in Eastern Newfoundland that I often do, and as I hike I observe my surroundings as an active meditation. 

The East Coast Trail is a series of end to end trails but this portion has the option of a loop, great for a quick, short, solo hike. The hike is about 5 kilometers and I love to notice and acknowledge what I see on the different portions of the hike. When I feel scattered I know it’s time for this hike as a centering reprieve from everyday life. 

This section is called Freshwater Bay, and takes you downhill to the water, crossing streams that empty out into Leamy’s Brook which flows into a barasway called Freshwater Pond enclosed by a 500 meter long boulder beach with an exit into the ocean on the Eastern end. The trail brings you to either end of the beach around Freshwater pond and then back up to high ground. 

This particular hike is not a good idea in the winter, but is great to do in the spring, summer and fall. Many NL ecosystems are present along this hike and watching them change with the seasons is part of my meditation. 

The start of the hike is on high ground, dry, and easy with small gravel, short trees and shrubs, and a little more exposed. When the trees get a little higher and create a canopy, on a sunny day little beams of light shine through, illuminating sphagnum moss, ferns and lichens. These little stages are one of my favorite parts about hiking, a phenomenon described by the Japanese term Komorebi. 

The trail starts to sink into the ground resembling a dry river bed with larger rocks that need to be navigated carefully. This area often becomes a river during spring melt and heavy rain in the fall. The decline increases and tree roots start peaking through the soil, that are safe grip points when they are dry, but quick introductions to the ground when wet.

Spruce trees with cracked rough bark within the trail edges, help with maneuvering. There are many plants in bloom and others that are ending their fruiting seasons. Crackle berry leaves cover the forest floor, the white 4 petal flowers with grey centers are finished, the berries are growing and will be a bright red come fall. Known to be a good natural source of pectin in jams, and staples for the local birds. 

Winterberry vines creep along the ground between moss covered rocks with tiny circular leaves. The minty, white tic tac shaped berries are a special find if you are lucky. All the ferns are open and green and basking in the sunlight filtering in. They will be turning yellow soon and return to the ground with the frost in October. The blueberry bushes are bare, no foraging for me this time, maybe already picked over or didn’t produce as much as last summer. Purple sea asters peak out amongst the green inviting pillows of moss.

As I start to see the freshwater pond to my right the trail starts to open up. I can see a little meadow along the western edge of the pond where people have campfires and stay the night. The apple tree that overlooks the water isn’t weighted down in fruit this year, but it’s still early. I head towards the beach through a muddy iris bed that blossomed earlier in the summer, tall grass hiding the trail stepping stones. Below that is a bed of lupins, gone to seed, furry pods in place of vertical stacks of purple pedals with a beautiful fruity scent. Some have already popped open releasing seeds for next season. I collect some, to bring some purple to my garden at home. Plus they are nitrogen fixing and naturally fertilize soil. 

The red silt of the pond is visible, a sign that the water is low, reminiscent of the PEI coast. Sediments and tannins that make the water look like strong tea, like many NL freshwater systems. I start making my way over the boulder beach, it’s a long mountain range or rocks with a peak of stones thrown and rearranged by the ocean at the center. All stones are at least a foot in diameter, smooth and rearranged differently every time I visit, including marine debris. The trail is maintained by tall marker stakes between the stones on the protected freshwater slope. With some large stones lodged in place to be a stable flat step. The rocks are smooth and grey and make a high pitched tapping sound when I step on them. Scurrying between the stones are large black spiders that had been sunning themselves. I head to the Eastern side of the beach to check out the river that typically joins the pond with the ocean. Dry this time of year running under the beach as the water is so low.

This spot is a nice place to sit for a spell. To watch the water, look at what seaweed has washed up and make friends with nosey seals and loons. The water was eerily calm today, a rare sight in this area Northerly exposed to the open ocean, but will only happen in the summer. The washed up seaweed has been there for a while, dry and cemented to the rocks, dulce, feather and sugar kelp with fresh blades peaking above the water just off the shore.

A speedboat comes ripping into the bay, coming in for a look on a nice day and an offshore supply board starts to peak past the Eastern headland towards St. John’s Harbour. A reminder of the industry that the ocean has supported here since colonization. 

As I hike out, grateful, with an elevated heart rate from the incline waiting for a cool gust of wind I can still hear the birds darting between trees.

I’ll be back soon for my next appointment soon. 

Kiley is the Co-Chair of CaNOE and a Fisheries Biologist with the Center for Fisheries Ecosystems Research a Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is passionate about ocean education and does so through MI, Chairing the board of the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium and has been involved with CaNOE since 2016. She enjoys ocean dips, marathon open water swimming and SUPing.