Grand Falls to Perth-Andover | Campsite: 46.72097° N, 67.72271° W
I am prepared to walk by 5:30. As I acquire coffee and a few donuts I ask the staff if following “Ouest River Road” or Highway 130 would be a better walk to the town of “Perth-Andover”, which is 42 km down the road. They both recommend taking the Trans-Canada—as they mostly drive from town to town, the TC for them being the most efficient route. I decide to follow the “River Road” that shadows the Saint John River as it will no doubt offer better views and less traffic. As I am making my way to the road, I notice a paved trail and decide to follow it until it brings me to a road. It turns out, I have just stumbled upon another section of “The Great Trail”! I’ve been lucky to have had numerous opportunities to walk sections of this trail throughout this challenge, and all of them have been scenic. I feel very fortunate to have walked the majority of the sections of “The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail” east of Toronto through to Kingston, and very much enjoyed these sections! So my initial instinct to angle toward the river road was good and right. I will continue to listen more and more to my gut. From 7:00 to 11:00 the trail is entirely mine—nobody else is on it. But then the four-wheelers and ATVs come out, bringing with them noise and dust. The walking is still amazing! It is most likely the best walking yet! At 2:00 I arrive in the town of “Perth-Andover”, having walked 41 km all along “The Great Trail”. Shirley was a woman I met while shopping for food at a grocery store in Perth-Andover. She was a wonderful help to me in finding the trail eastward to the city of Fredericton and guiding me to a public park downtown in which I would be able to prepare and eat some food. I conversed with her for twenty minutes. I then met Jim at Tim Hortons. Jim grew up in Perth-Andover, later moving to Toronto for work, and in retirement, has moved back to the area. We had a nice conversation about the town, the walk, and a few things I should be looking for over the upcoming stretch to Fredericton (such as in 30 km, the town of Hartland is home to the longest covered bridge in the world that I won’t want to miss), as well as the stretch from the cities of Fredericton to Moncton, which he claims I will find more resources than I have been able to find online. He says “Good luck” when he leaves, saying not to finish until I reach St. John’s. I pack up and walk into town. I walk to “Riverside Drive” in search of the trail. I don’t find it, so l walk Highway 130 to a point at 4:30 where I find a good spot to settle in, crawling into the tent for the night.
Today’s distance walked: 46.96 km | Total distance walked: 1,427.83 km
Ste-Anne-de-Madawaska to Grand Falls | Campsite: 47.05676° N, 67.74270° W
I arrive at the town of “St-Léonard” by 8:00, grabbing a coffee with short rest to journal the morning. I woke up late at 4:30, having the bag packed by 5:30, and walking by 5:45. The morning is foggy with the landscape appearing in various shades of blue-green-grey receding down either side of the road. Just after I walk up to the road an eight- or ten-car train rolls slowly and loudly along the section of rail I was camped beside. It is moving slowly, sending sparks showering out from the wheels in all directions. If I was three minutes slower in getting prepared for the day, the tent may have been in serious trouble. Lesson learned: do not take industrial infrastructure lightly—it is serious, and camping on the land of industrial infrastructure could end badly for me. As today is Saturday, a noticeable reduction of traffic has been moving along Highway 144, a silent forum for the birds who have been engaged in lively, healthy debates all morning. I have 13.21 km, with an additional 21 km of walking to reach the town of “Grand Falls”. I should arrive sometime around 12:30. The walk is relatively uneventful, the peace and silence deteriorating as I make my way closer to town as the volume of traffic escalates. A car slows to a stop on the opposite side of the road. A man asks where I am off to, and I say I’ve walked from Toronto and on to St. John’s. He says “How strong,” gives me a thumbs up, smiles, and waves as he drives off. On the city limits, I spot a good place to cook lunch and take thirty minutes to rest, snapping a few photographs as I listen to podcasts. By 1:45 I have connected to wifi at a restaurant and spent the next four hours backing up digital files, organizing, and posting to the blog. Three days of notes are transcribed, and prepared for posting. I map out tomorrow’s walk, and then a suitable, safe place to camp the night is scouted. By 6:00 the tent is up and I am preparing for the evening. I put the day into the journal, and spend some time looking over the space between the city of Fredericton and Moncton, a leg of the walk that had me concerned before starting this walk due to the lack of towns and resources between the two cities. However, my exploration this evening may have found a route providing enough water and food. I’ll research it more over the days ahead and during my few days of rest in Fredericton. An hour is spent reading before the tent windows are closed. Bedding is shimmied into, and heavy eyelids are left free to fall into sleep.
Today’s distance walked: 36.94 km | Total distance walked: 1,380.87 km
“Among the greatest sensations that I have experienced in my life were those I felt on that unforgettable first night on the Road to Santiago… I looked up at the sky; the Milky Way spread across it, reflecting the immensity of the Road we would have to travel.”
– Paulo Coelho, “The Pilgrimage”, pp. 28–29.
Patrieville to Ste-Anne-de-Madawaska | Campsite: 47.23694° N, 68.01536° W
By 5:30 I am walking the bike path into the town of Edmundston, the first town I encounter within the province of New Brunswick. I arrive in town around 8:30, where I pick up some fruit. By 9:00 I am sitting with fast wifi and devote over an hour to posting three days of notes to the blog, and transferring and organizing three days of photos. Out to walk by 10:30. So far, the terrain has largely varied: single and double-track, gravel and paved multi-purpose shared bike path, gravel road, and single-lane highway. Today, much of Highway 144 is walked, all the way to the small village of “Ste-Anne-de-Madawaska”, with a short stop in the village of “Rivière-Verte” for sports drinks. Near the end of the day, rain showers were projected to begin falling overnight, and I was having a difficult time finding a suitable spot to put the tent. I eventually did find a spot where I was certain that I would not be bothered, however, it was too close to a rail line for my taste. I guess I’ll get to experience being bounced out of bed by a 200-railcar passing in pitch darkness throughout the night… Overall, I am very happy with the day’s distance. Tomorrow’s goal will be to reach the town of “Grand Falls” in what is forecast as an all-day light rain. It is projected to be the last one before a few clear days of clear, sunny weather. The city of Fredericton, where I am planning on taking a few days of rest, is beginning to materialize on the horizon: six days of walking and 252 kilometres down the road.
Today’s distance walked: 51.36 km | Total distance walked: 1,343.93 km
