Gaspé Warnings and Dangers

Black bears get scared pretty easily but they don't like people creeping up on them so a good trick to avoid a close encounter is to make noise while hiking through the forest. Also, you should never leave food lying around.

If you do meet a bear, stay calm, speak softly and back up slowly to show the bear you don't mean any harm.

For more information, look up the following pdf brochure: http://www.mrn.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/wildlife/wildlife-habitats/ours.pdf

Once we reached Forillon National Park, we saw signs of Black Bears on all of our hikes, even on the grounds of the old settler house at Anse-Blanchette. The owner of our local B&B (Gite Blanchette) sent me an email to say they had some bears cavorting in their back garden after we left! This is a typical pile of bear ‘scat’ beside my boot as we returned along the service road from the tip of Cap Gaspe. We get these bears all over New Brunswick too and they are usually no problem – they would rather go their own way than try anything aggressive. However, it is never good to surprise them and mothers with cubs can really be touchy. The best thing is to make some noise while you are hiking so you don’t surprise them. If a bear spots you, don’t show signs of panic and continue to face it as you back up while talking to it.

In western Canada they recommend wearing small bells to make a noise while you hike. There is also a joke about how to tell the difference between Black bear and Grizzly bear 'scat'. They say that the Black bear stuff is black in colour while Grizzly 'scat' is more brownish in colour and full of tiny bells!!

When we first arrived in Percé, we immediately headed for the beach trail leading out to Percé Rock. The parking lot is beside a nearby open field leading up to a cliff that overlooks the Rock and this photo shows me on the narrow strip of land at the foot of that cliff – this is how you reach the land bridge out to the Rock when the tide is at minimum. As I walked past that slumping dark mass behind me I noticed that the bits of rock still had mud around them, even the bits that were right down at the edge of the water, so it must have been ‘fresh’. I looked up and could see what looked like a whole section of the cliff that had a darker colour where this pile must have called ‘home’ before it decided to collapse. To be fair, there are signs that warn about the danger of landslides as the coastal cliffs take a constant beating from wind and waves!

The first half of the north coast drive along Highway 132 from Ste-Anne-des-Monts to Forillon National Park is right at sea level and below some imposing cliffs. It is an excellent road with wide shoulders and places to pull over for the spectacular views - but you never know when a rock fall may occur! This view of some warning markers beside large boulders was not far beyond La Martre as we started along the coast. We also saw some yellow warning signs that showed cars tilted over onto two wheels and large waves hitting the ‘up’ side of the car. It may be a pleasant drive in the summer but I found one article that mentioned how treacherous this highway can be in winter when on-shore winds drive freezing ocean spray up over the seawalls and onto the road, not to mention blizzards that can also build a nice avalanche above you!