Eric's Hikes: East Coast Trail Day 8: Cobbler Brook to Newells Point

September 15, 2016

Distance: 24 km (14.91 miles). Cumulative: 259.92 km
Paths: Cobbler (2.5/5.1), Silver Mine Head (2.4), Father Troy's (8.7), Stiles Cove (4.8/15.1)
Communities: Outer & Middle Coves (2.9), Torbay (1.3), Flatrock (1.4)

I began early in the morning as the weather forecast had said it was going to rain.

It was a beautiful morning and the scenery of Cobbler Path was great.

Sunrise

There was some hiking through the forest.

I could see some small fishing boats down below.

Torbay Point

There was a side trail to Torbay Point that my map said was a highlight of the path.

View from Torbay point across to cliffs on Father Troy's Trail

I was surprised it still wasn't raining.

A pair of eagles flew by.

I reached the end of Cobbler Path.

It was a short community link through Outer and Middle Coves to reach the Silver Mine Head Path.

There was a nice beach near the trailhead.

Silver Mine Head Path

The Silver Mine Head Path is one of the shortest on the ECT.

It still offered some dramatic coastal views.

There was even one of the few benches along the ECT.

There was a brief section of "unimproved" trail.

I came to the end of the path and started the community link through Torbay.

It was a peaceful walk.

Soon I was at the Father Troy's Trailhead, but still in the community.

The trail descended to Big Beach.

I could see a waterfall to my left.

The hiking on Father Troy's Trail was easy as it mostly followed an old road.

There was some construction near Tappers Cove. I walked through and then climbed up the stairs on the other side.

The trail went through some beautiful meadows.

Then I took me to some impressive cliffs.

I decided to take the Church Cove Loop. There was a great section of trail built through a boulder field.

View back to Torbay Point

I found an interesting gap in the cliffs and could see all the way to the water below.

I went over a ridge and could see the Beamer in front of me and Flatrock and Red Head in the distance.

Flatrock

I took a side trail to explore the Beamer.

Flatrock

Red Head

The trail disappeared into a construction area and there was no trailhead sign.

It was a nice walk through Flatrock.

Stiles Cove Path

Stiles Cove Path started out dramatically on sea ledges.

Whirly Pool Falls

The rain began. There were steps cut right into the rock.

Big River

Visibility was starting to decrease. View back to the Beamer.

Red Head

It was quite windy on top of Red Head.

The other side descended a gravel road.

There was some beautiful hiking.

Red Head Cove

I could see all the way down to the beach below.

Then the trail went back in the forest.

As I descended near Newells Point I saw a sheltered flat spot near a trickling stream and decided to set up camp. It was a little after 3:30 pm, but there was no need to rush as I was ahead of schedule. The weather was supposed to improve the next day.