Views of the “knuckles”

Photo #1, a telephoto view from north of Delaneys Point, looks north along the coast at the feature I have dubbed the “knuckles”, because the bumps in its profile at the top resemble the knuckles of a clenched fist. At least in this view… I was tempted to call it the “shapeshifter ridge” because its form changes rather drastically from various vantage points, a rather common occurrence along this coast.

Photo #2, a wide-angled view from southwest of the mouth of Sailor Brook, looks south along the coast at the same feature, seen previously here two pages back where I referred to it as a “knob”, which it is from this perspective. My apologies for the poor quality of this photo, which was shot through rain (which can be seen hitting the water) as the squall approached the land, but it is the best I have of the “knuckles” from the north—for some reason, I failed to get backwards views of this area on the return trip. At the far right of the photo is Delaneys Point, where the coast turns inland to become nearly due south.

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Photo #3, a wide-angled view, looks at the peak seen in photo #4 on the previous page and at the the ridge at the right of the photo. It is the ridge at the right that forms the “knuckles” seen in photo #1 above; the peak left of centre is hidden behind the ridge in that view. As one can also clearly see in photo #1, the ridge lies well below the top of the plateau, which reaches 360 m (1180 ft) well inland, whereas the tops of the peak and the ridge are no higher than 180 m (590 ft). In photo #3, the boat is too close to the shore to allow one to see the full height of the plateau behind the ridge. I call your attention to the large band of gravel/dirt/rubble running from the peak left of centre to below the ridge at the far right; this band is very helpful in orienting oneself as the ridge changes shape in the following photos.

Photo #4, again a wide-angled view, continues the previous view somewhat further to the right (south). The forest that covered most of the mountainside in the previous page has here thinned out considerably; it’s obviously not easy gaining a viable toehold on the exposed cliff faces here. The greenish tinge above the lower cliffs is likely grass or moss that has managed to grow, but it’s hardly the lush meadow seen elsewhere along this coast. Gorgeous as it is, this is one inhospitable terrain!

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Photo #5 continues the view further south, where the ridge now has a rather different shape than that seen in photo #4, but the band of gravel confirms it is the same feature. Its cliffs look considerably taller and sheerer than in photo #4. As well, one begins to see the ridge further inland of the “knuckles”; while higher than the peak at the left, the ridge at the right is also considerably further inland. And the forest returns at the far right, again claiming most of the terrain.

Photo #6 is from yet further south and gives a better view of the ridge behind. The topographical map shows an unnamed brook descending the mountainside here and places the label “High Capes” at its mouth. From Google Earth, it appears that the main course of the brook is below the ridge at the far right and outside the scope of this photo, though tributary brooks likely follow the lines of trees descending at the right and far right of the photo, converging near the mouth where the running water of a small waterfall can be seen at the bottom of the photo about a fifth of the way in from the right edge. Erosion at the bottom far right seems to suggest another stream’s entrance into the Gulf from a bit further south. Clearly, water has also created the bare channel coming down from the peak left of centre, apparently with enough frequency and force to keep much of anything from growing in that path. The ridge at the right of the photo is still not at the top of the plateau, which the map puts at 2.25 km (1⅖ mi) inland from the mouth of the brook; the boat is simply too close here to get a proper idea of the full height of the High Capes.