KateOnTheCoast

Hiking in Fog

One day two summers back my brother asked if I wanted to go on an adventure to Newfoundland. I literally did no research for the trip. I didn’t even know it took 15 hours to drive from my house to the ferry until it happened. Then I sat in a broken sleeper chair on the OVERNIGHT trip while my brother curled up on the floor. When we drove off the ferry, tired and grumpy, it was an EIGHT HOUR drive to our destination, on a highway built over OVER ROCK. We had the best time shooting wildlife and scenery over several days before heading south to Cape St. Mary’s Bird Refuge. When we arrived, the fog was so thick we would have missed the visitor center, but for the sign and path. Inside, the rangers told us to stay on the path and not wander beyond the markers. They GUARANTEED us there would be birds, specifically Northern Gannets. After walking a mile or so in pea soup fog, we began hearing the colony who live on a huge rock off the mainland. Then we smelled them. My brother is a bird photographer so naturally we spent an hour or so watching the birds soar through the fog. The next day the skies were 100% clear and my brother made the trek back to the birds while I photographed the lighthouse we could hear but not see the day before. We took an alternate 15-hour or so ferry for our return to Nova Scotia to avoid the highway drive. Now a seasoned traveler, I booked us a cabin. We still talk about the trip, the scenery and the people. Just last week I reworked Hiking in Fog. Maybe next year we’ll get back. Not bad for two senior photographers and brother and sister, to boot.