Backpacking the EPIC Long Range Traverse in Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland)

Over the next four days we're going to be tackling one of our bucket list backpacking trips, the Long Range Traverse in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park. This almost 50 kilometer hike gains around 1,700 meters of elevation as it traverses the Long Range Mountains, the northernmost section of the Appalachian Mountains. And it is not for the faint of heart. With zero maintained trail to follow, thick tuckamore, river crossings, and wet boggy terrain, if you just embrace it, it's fun. It's a challenge that is said to be both miserable and rewarding. I don't know if there's an inch on us that's dry. But for those up for an adventure, you'll be rewarded with fjords, lakes, untouched wilderness, and seclusion with only 12 people per day allowed to hit the trail. One very important thing to know about the Long Range Traverse is that it starts and ends in different spots. We left the van at the endpoint and just took a taxi that we hired through Pitman's Taxi to get to the Western Brook Pond parking lot. From there, we had to walk a 2.7 kilometer trail to a dock where we'll be taking a boat across the lake to the actual trailhead. The Western Brook Pond boat tour is a very popular activity in Gros Morne National Park. But for Long Range Traverse hikers, you can actually book a one-way ride on the boat tour and they'll drop you off at the end. The one-way ride costs $92 for both of us. And we also had to pay for a permit for the hike, for a one-way taxi ride, and to board Kona since she isn't allowed. So it's not exactly a cheap backpacking trip, but it should be worth it. The Western Brook Pond is a 16 kilometer long freshwater fjord carved out by glaciers during the ice age 10,000 to 25,000 years ago. It's towering rock walls with waterfalls that cascade down, reach up to 600 meters tall, and make you feel absolutely tiny as you cruise alongside them. It is a truly jaw-dropping sight and one of the most spectacular things we have seen in North America. This scenery is just absolutely nuts. What a way to start a hike. After an hour of admiring the crazy scenery, we finally caught a glimpse of where we'd be hiking and it was time to get this adventure truly started. There goes the boat. We're here now. So what makes this hike extra challenging is that there is no marked trail to follow. Parks Canada does give you a gpx file that you could upload to a device, so we uploaded it to our AllTrails account. That way we can use it offline and hopefully find our way. We also do have a map and a compass in case both of our phones fail us. You're also required to carry a spot device just in case you have an emergency and they do have some that you can borrow if you do not have your own. And lastly, you are required to attend a mandatory orientation the day before in order to get your permit. And let's just say this orientation is a bit intense. They kind of walk you through the route. They tell you some areas that people get turned around. They tell you some conditions, some worst case conditions, what to do in those conditions. And yeah, they just kind of essentially try to scare you out of doing it. But it did not work on us. We are doing it. We're here. We have no choice at this point. But it's a good thing that they do make it so intense because this hike is definitely not for everyone and they're just trying to limit having to come rescue people. So yeah. So yeah, it kind of made me nervous a little bit. But we are prepared mentally, physically. We've got the right gear. We've studied the route. So there's only one thing to do. Let's do this. So the first part of the trail today is definitely going to be the easiest to follow because it's the most traffic. There's actually different guided tours that come out here. So it just sees a lot more foot traffic. So there's a pretty well-defined path so far. But it's also going to be the steepest part of the hike. We are going from the bottom to the top of the fjord. And you go in a pretty small distance. And the ranger yesterday said it'll probably take us four to five hours just to get to squeeze through tight spaces and scramble up rocks. But it was all worth it because just steps later we finally got to see Gros Morne's iconic view. Oh, oh my gosh. Yes. Wow. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What a view. The first photo I ever saw of Newfoundland was this view. And I've wanted to visit ever since. So it's just so surreal to finally get to see it. We made it. We've seen it. Oh my gosh. And getting to see this view is no easy task. Unless you're willing to pay for a guided day hike or overnight hike or conquer the Long Range Traverse on your own, it's never seen by most visitors. Which makes getting to experience it even more special. We were a bit on the fence about this backpacking trip because of all the challenges we have ahead. But after seeing this view, no matter what happens, it's all gonna be worth it. We have made it to the top and we're soaking in our last glimpses of the iconic view. I am just so incredibly thankful that the weather held out for us. The weather forecast for today did not look good. It was like 90 percent chance of rain. But the ranger told us yesterday that the weather can change like this up here. For example, we were just getting poured on and now the sun is out. So yeah, you never know what you're gonna get. But I am very glad that we got this. Alright, it's time to find our campsite for the night. There are a handful of camping areas along the traverse and our goal is to camp at the first one we come to. But we'll see what it's like when we get there. But unfortunately, things took a pretty wet turn. I don't know if there's an inch on us that's dry. And the rest of the day didn't really go as we had hoped. We made it to Little Island Pond, which is the first campsite along the trail. And we had heard that there weren't many wooden platforms that were still functioning. There was one and then we were able to find one that might have existed at some point. It was kind of just like three boards. And we haven't been able to find any others and the only one was taken. They did offer to share with us but we were kind of contemplating going further today anyway just to make tomorrow a shorter day. So I think we're going to power on to Mark's Pond. And to clarify why you really need one of these platforms is because if you look around, it's either really muddy like this or it's grassy but it's still wet under there. It's, there's not a dry patch anywhere so you need wood to be your dry spot. So we continued on through the non-stop rain. I have a pool of water in my shoes. And after a couple hours we made it to Mark's Pond. All right bad news bears, there are no platforms here. We've seen one at that one way back there, nothing else. So wet soppy ground it is. The day started out so strong. It was awesome. And then it went downhill so fast. Yeah. It has been raining for what probably four hours now non-stop. Yeah it's 7 30 now yeah four or five hours like non-stop. It's kind of lightening up right now but you can still, it's still coming. Yeah we had to quickly put up the tent. We have to go eat at some point but we don't really want to. Yeah. Everything is wet, everything. The tent is wet, the floor is wet, my sleeping pad's wet. We have puddles in here. Yeah we really thought there'd be platforms. Maybe we missed them but I don't know. The other couple that's here with us, we're all on the ground so I don't know what the deal is but yeah kind of a rough second half of the day. Just being wet's not fun like all over. We knew this was gonna be an uncomfortable experience at times and we're there right now. But tomorrow should hopefully be better. I think the forecast is better so we're just gonna call the night and then hope that when we wake up there's at least not rain. Yeah. The sun is out. Yes. We're currently trying to dry out all of our gear. As you can see we got our jacket there, my pants, all our socks are laid out. We've got stuff on the tripod just hanging up just trying to get it at least a little bit drier. Today our plan is to hike to Harding's Pond which is only about five kilometers away since we hiked extra yesterday and while we could hike more distance every day our goal with this trip was to just enjoy it and not feel rushed plus have extra time just in case the weather turned bad or we got turned around and had to find our way and after yesterday's extremely long day we just really want to take it easy today. Immediately leaving the campsite we are met with our first river crossing. Doesn't look too bad but does look a little tricky but wait there's more. The biggest challenge of this hike so far besides yesterday's rainstorm has definitely been the terrain. It is just a boggy wet muddy mess and sometimes you can find drier areas to go around it but sometimes you just have to power through it and sometimes your foot will just sink down like shin deep in a hole that you did not think was that deep which is why it's really good to have hiking poles because you can kind of tap the ground and just see how deep things are so that way you don't fall into a hole because uh yesterday both of us did. So basically don't plan on having dry feet on this adventure you can come out here with your Gore-Tex boots waterproof all this it's not gonna matter they're gonna get soaked through. For the most part there's been a pretty obvious path to follow it's just been really matted down it kind of looks like a trail although you can't always trust it because yesterday we thought we were on the right track and we were a little off so we had to kind of re-navigate in the rain but today ever since leaving the lake it has not been as obvious. We were on a path that looked good but then we were looking at the GPS route and it wasn't right so now we're just kind of hiking through all this bog and brush and apparently this is the correct direction. We have made it to Harding's Pond and just like the other two campsites they have a food storage container and a toilet but unlike the other two we have a platform! There are actually five platforms here and I guess everyone else decided to go further so we had our pick of platforms and I think we picked an amazing one. Just look at this view! We recently made a big upgrade to our backpacking setup with these enlightened equipment sleeping quilts. We used to have the big bulky heavy sleeping bags but these are super light and they compress down really small. You may have noticed we're carrying smaller backpacks on this trip and these are a big reason why. Last night was our first night using the quilts and we loved them they kept us nice and warm and my favorite part is that they can open up to be like a blanket so you don't feel trapped like you sometimes can in a sleeping bag which is especially good when Kona's with us because she loves to snuggle and she takes up the whole sleeping bag. We could totally take a nap right now but I told myself that I was gonna swim in at least one of these lakes and I don't know if a day if a day could be better than this. The sun's out today's the perfect day for it gotta do it. Good for you I'm gonna watch. That's not so bad. One of the reasons we love backpacking is because it forces us to unplug and slow down. Almost every day of our life feels like we're running at a hundred miles per hour as we juggle the endless work that self-employment brings, the constant logistics of traveling full time, and other life responsibilities. We rarely get a chance to just sit and relax so for the rest of the day that's exactly what we did. We read books, took naps, and enjoyed the silence and beauty of being out in the wilderness. On tonight's menu I've got beef stroganoff. It's a little dry. I put the right water in there though. We even have a measuring cup. Yeah looks good though. That is super good. Beef stroganoff is one of my all-time favorite meals. I used to make the hamburger helper version all the time but I don't ever get this. Only when we go backpacking is when I get to eat beef stroganoff. Dehydrated version. Yeah because of all the mushrooms. Someone behind the camera doesn't like mushrooms. I seriously could not ask for a more perfect night than tonight. If we're being honest, last night not good. Not good at all. It was completely miserable but tonight is perfection. The sun is out, we have this beautiful lake in front of us, and we're just surrounded by all of these green rocky mountains. There's only two other people here and all I can hear is like this small stream just rushing below us. It is just perfection and it is exactly why we love coming out into the backcountry. We just love being in secluded beautiful places. It's just, I don't know, My amazing campsite. Since the weather is so nice today we're going to try to go as far as we can. We have a few options of where we could stop along the way so we'll see how far we can get. So you might be wondering what the wildlife situation is out here and while there are black bears we hear they are very very timid and no one ever sees one. So our biggest threat out here are moose. Moose can not only cause problems by creating these game trails that will lead you astray and get you lost but you also have a chance of running into one and depending on the moose's mood that could go good or that could go bad. We actually saw our first two moose this morning climbing up this hillside that we're currently climbing up and I lost track of them. I have no idea where they went so they're here somewhere. So we're making lots of noise that way we do not startle them. Moose moose moose. Hello moose. Hello where are you? We're finally having to go through some of this infamous tucamore which is just these trees and shrubs and bushes that just grow in all different ways because of the wind and they can be pretty gnarly. That was a pretty easy one but they can like be so bad that they just rip off the gear off your backpacks. It's a bit sloshy out here right now you might be able to hear the just like suction cups on your feet. Look at this cesspool. Gross. We have to get through this somehow too. Oh my gosh. That's knee deep. Ta-da. I think I'm just gonna send it right through this. This part's not as deep. I feel like I'm doing like a track competition or something. All right ready set. Oh no. Are you okay? Nice. The way Adam went just looked kind of rough and I was like I got this. Clearly I got this. Let's see your goods you got there. Oh wow oh well let's just get out. I don't think we've gotten dirty enough for this experience. You're supposed to get like dirty and muddy and cut up so this was my like initiation. The scenery along this whole traverse has been so picturesque. You have these dark ponds contrasted against these green rocky rolling hills. It almost feels like a fantasy land like we're walking through the lord of the rings or something. We had heard that this day was going to be harder for navigation but so far that hadn't caused us trouble. The real challenge was the terrain. There was a lot more incline and decline and the ground seemed even wetter boggier and soupier than the days before. If you just embrace it it's fun. Check this out it's nature's trampoline. Oh my god. This whole area is jiggly. But thankfully the views continued to make up for it. Wow is that the ocean? I think so. Oh my gosh. We have made it to the green island pond campsites. There's a lower and an upper campground which are separated by a river crossing and originally this is where we were going to camp tonight but it's just before 2 p.m. We still have some gas in the tank so we're going to keep on trucking. We're pretty sure this is our largest river crossing of the route so let's do it. It doesn't look horrible. The water levels are pretty low and there are a lot of rocks to step on at first and then at the end it gets a little trickier looking. We're now about to be at the much trickier part. It is much deeper, much faster, and there are barely any rocks to step on. I'm not a huge fan of river crossings but we're halfway there. Even better than me. It's thigh high. My pants are clean now. Oh my gosh. I almost died. It wasn't bad but it was still kind of scary for me. We think we still have about 5.5 kilometers left on the trail today and the next major destination along the trail is the Bake Apple Pond viewpoint and everyone says it's the second best view on this entire hike after that major view on the first day and from the photos I've seen I think that's going to be true. Wow. Jinx. Man. Oh my gosh. That was worth that steep climb to get up here. Yeah. That body of water right there is 10 mile pond and the peak on the left of it that's kind of flat on the top is Gros Morne Mountain which is the second tallest mountain in Newfoundland at 806 meters. Tonight we're going to be camping somewhere back in there at Fairy Gulch which is the last campground on the trail and tomorrow morning we're going to summit that bad boy. We finally found more of this tucamore. There hasn't been much on this trail. A lot less than I expected. No I got stuck on a branch. We have come across a rare odd occurrence in our entire three-day trip. We have yet to see one of these. A sign telling you where to go. Oh my gosh. We made it. Oh that last part was rugged. A platform with a table. Victory. We hiked for about nine and a half hours today and this pad thai has never tasted so good. I am super proud of Katherine. This was probably our most challenging backpacking trip we've ever been on. We had tough weather at times, long days of hiking, and very tough terrain and she took every challenge in stride and just crushed it all. Super proud of her. Proud of you too. Thank you. Last day. Let's go. We got up bright and early this morning to summit Gros Morne mountain. As of last night we are officially done with the long range traverse and for the rest of this adventure we'll be on the Gros Morne mountain trail. This is a popular day hike in the park and on the map you'll notice that there is a loop trail at the summit. Most people hike it clockwise but we'll be approaching it counterclockwise and then returning back the same way and then hiking out from the campsite. This trail is like a stairmaster but oh look how nice and maintained it is. We still have a bit to go to the summit but man the views on the way up are incredible. This is 10 mile pond that we saw yesterday from way over there. As you can tell there are some dark rain clouds behind us. Thankfully they're moving that way so I don't think they're gonna hit us but it's creating this really interesting mix of dark mountains within patches of light. Wow. Well we made it to the summit and there is a kind of terrifying cloud rushing towards us that we could not see earlier so we are gonna get the heck out of here. It seems we're gonna end this journey the way we started it. What? It's not just rain. It's sleeting on us. What an adventure. All right we've climbed down a little bit and we have survived the rainstorm. It looks like it's past. There's probably more coming but we're heading back down now and we left all of our gear and our tent set up down there which we thought was a really great idea and it is if it's a nice dry sunny day but now we're gonna go down there and all of our stuff's gonna be completely soaked. We're gonna be packing up a wet tent and now for what should be a straightforward downhill hike back to the van. Not quite done with the mud yet though. This is definitely a rugged and rocky trail. It is not super easy especially after it's rained. So if we had done this hike it's a day hike. Up through there is where you go. It is basically straight uphill and so rocky. Try that again. We did it. We survived the long-range traverse. Yes. It feels so good to be in dry clothes, dry socks. Oh my gosh. It's the little things that I will cherish after this experience and if I'm being honest going into this I had built it up in my head for about a year to be this horrifying scary experience that was honestly very out of my comfort zone. I think both of our comfort zones but especially mine but I am just so glad that we went for it because it turned out to be an amazing experience. Besides that rough rainy weather we had on the first day the weather was spectacular for most of the time. The rest of the trip the navigation wasn't as bad as we thought it would be and the bugs weren't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. If any of those variables would have been any different we might be singing a different tune now but overall the trip was so incredible. You read all these horror stories about people's tents snapping from the wind coming back with hundreds of bug bites having to wait a day because the water levels are too high or it's too foggy. There are just so many things that can go wrong on this hike and we're just very very glad that that was not our reality. However we will say this is not an easy experience. You need to be 110% mentally and physically prepared for all those things to go wrong but I'm very glad they did not for us. So now we're gonna go pick up our girl Kona, rest up a bit and then the next time you see us we'll be back in Gros Morne National Park checking out some day hikes. We can't get enough of this place! No way!