MacIntosh Brook to Neil’s Harbour   |   Campsite: 46.81292° N, 60.31991° W

Wind. It blows my tent around in violent fits. It is not a cold wind. I slept in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. The wind will persist all day from morning, all through my 1.5-hour 457-metre climb of North Mountain, through a thick fog until I reach the Big Intervale campground. I am able to buy some coffee and lunch from the Cabot Trail Food Market in the village of South Harbour, through to my desperately-frantic search to pitch the tent beside a church in order to get out of the rain and wind in the village of Neil’s Harbour 47 kilometres down the road by 4:00. Today was not fun. I stopped taking photographs halfway into the day, as the fog was so thick it prevented anything from being recorded. For most of the walk, I was unable to see 100 metres in any direction. Today was similar to much of the walk through the province of New Brunswick—the walking simply served as distance to be covered in order to fulfill my objective. So far the weather in Nova Scotia has been bearable at best. Either it has been amazingly clear or depressingly cloudy, foggy, windy, rainy, and damp. Today was absolute shit, smeared with a moist shit sauce. By 4:15, after a few failed phone attempts to gain lodging, the tent is raised between an old church and an adjacent cemetery. An inconsistent rain falls against the tent, driven onto the rain fly by a strong, gusting wind. The highlights of my day: not being apprehended by park rangers illegally camping at MacIntosh Brook; lunch of poutine and apple cider purchased at the Cabot Trail Food Market in the village of South Harbour—even if it had to be eaten sitting on a rock beside the road, again, as forced to do in New Brunswick. I am grateful for being warm and relatively dry in the tent by 4:00, having reached the village of Neil’s Harbour. There is not much to comment on here…

Today’s distance walked: 47.23 km    |    Total distance walked: 2,436.83 km

“No Boats on Sunday pays homage to a time in Halifax when hard-working locals restricted boat traffic on Sundays. This was their way to enjoy time with family and friends. We believe in the importance of being present in the moment, and truly experiencing the things we love most.” — No Boats on Sunday cider can copywriting

Mkwesaqtuk / Cap Rouge to MacIntosh Brook   |   Campsite: MacIntosh Brook

Campgrounds, in my experience, are fairly horrible places. Loud. Full of families with crying kids. Car headlights suddenly flooding my tent at 2:00 in the morning while some idiot roots around in his hatchback on the hunt for some essential item culled from his life of organized hoarding into the “wilderness”. Campgrounds I generally stay far, far away from. However, on this morning at 4:00, the grounds are nicely quiet and serene. No crying babies. No floodlights blasting me out of sleep. Sure, I’m surrounded by people who most likely couldn’t survive in nature for more than two days on their own, but they seem to be on their best behaviour. This park for camping is excellent—everything here is new. The site is situated on an old homestead, the foundations of the original buildings visible in the ground. The office building is a tiny, simple log structure with logs containing two floors. Three washroom and shower buildings are available on-site, with garbage cans on most inter-camp trails. My stay here was very nice. My sleep was not so good—I am not sure why, I just couldn’t sleep through the night without waking every hour or so. But I am awake at 4:00, with everything packed by 5:30, and after enjoying a relaxing hot shower, I am out walking by 6:00. Within a half hour I am soaked in sweat as the ascent up French Mountain begins directly upon exiting the campsite. I will climb for over an hour—455 metres—until reaching the top. The road will continue onto MacKenzie Mountain where I take some time to explore the “slope fen” (mountain marshlands) along wooden walkways that allow passage over fern and moss-covered terrain home to incredible species of the region. The 29-kilometre walk to the hamlet of Pleasant Bay is reached along the top of the mountain ridge, plunging down to sea level just before the town at an 8-degree angle. Along this section, I had stopped to break and cook food at 10:00 when I walked to an impressive highway lookout area. I met another family from Toronto touring the east coast at this point. They were very surprised when I told them that I had begun this walk 65 days ago. They were on the return stage of their own east coast trip, returning to the city through the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec, and eastern Ontario. When I reach the hamlet of Pleasant Bay I stop at the Rusty Anchor restaurant for a meal of fish and chips. As I am entering, a cyclist I had met back at the grocery store in Chéticamp stocking up on supplies continues his journey, exiting the restaurant and rejoining the flow of traffic along the roadway. This is the third time I have encountered him on the road since. Either he is a poor cyclist, or he is purposely taking his time cycling this route. I am back out by 1:00, and by 2:00 I reach the MacIntosh Brook campground. One of the staff members working at the restaurant confirmed its distance of 5 kilometres. I contemplate pushing on to the Big Intervale campground 18 kilometres down the road, but as it requires even more steep climbing than I have already experienced today, I decide to leave this section for tomorrow’s walk. Today I have completed a hard-fought 32.70 km up and down French Mountain, and I am very happy with the day’s walking. As I settle in, I write the day down and transcribe notes in the main building common area where I charge the phone and battery bank. I complete a good amount of making, working up to 6:45 as the day begins to darken. Another thirty minutes and the tent is up, and I am inside. For some reason, today feels significant.

Today’s distance walked: 36.04 km    |    Total distance walked: 2,389.60 km

Cap Le Moine to Mkwesaqtuk / Cap Rouge   |   Campsite: Mkwesaqtuk / Cap Rouge

I wake up at 4:30 for breakfast. Then, I do some math. The distance to the town of Neils Harbour, which is the town on the east edge of the national park, is 107 kilometres away. I will arrive there in three days if I were to walk 35 km per day. I have food for five days, plus snacks. What I think I will do is buy a few items this morning in the town of Chéticamp to be safe. The main goal will be to fill up on water and to hydrate as much as possible while in town. Confident with the upcoming distance and food supplies, I eat breakfast and stretch while listening to beautiful birdsong. I also just realize that today is Sunday, and because of this, all stores in Chéticamp will not open until 12:00. I will make use of the cool morning temperature, leaving by 6:00. This will provide a few hours for rest and time to cool lunch while waiting for stores to open. The walk is beautiful with the mountains beginning to peak out one after another into the distance. The sun begins to warm by 9:00, and by 10:00 the morning is hot. A few kilometres outside of Chéticamp I spot a clear, cool stream where I filter a liter of water. Soon I am walking into a convenience store located on the town’s edge where I enjoy an ice cream snack and drink. The town is not far. By 10:15 I arrive at the grocery store, eating some food while resting on a bench. It is unfortunately on the sidewalk next to the road, exposed to the now hot sun and loud sounds of passing traffic. It is, however, bearable in order to cook food. The distance to the Canada Parks campground inside the national park is 18 kilometres north of town. I am thinking that this will be my best bet for camping, as the next campground is too far into the park to attempt today. Walking to the first campground—called Cap Rouge—would give me 36 km today, which is not a bad distance walking through more elevated terrain. To this point, I have walked 260 of 492 kilometres of the Cape Breton coastline. At 12:00 I buy some pints for the upcoming two days and pick up two more packages of noodles. Apples and bananas are enjoyed for lunch. On my walk out of town, I stop at Doryman’s Pub to rehydrate and to fill up my empty water bottle before leaving Chéticamp by 1:30. I spoke with two groups of cyclists back at the grocery store in town. One was a couple traveling from the state of Minnesota, living close to the Ontario city of Thunder Bay. Driving, they brought their bicycles in order to explore the places where they stopped along their route. The other was a lone bike-packer cycling the entire Cabot Trail. I enjoy two pints, and a pitcher of water, and then return to the road back out in the sunlight and heat of the afternoon. Within about an hour I arrive at the Canada Parks office at the edge of the national park where I obtain a park permit for the next three days. Within another hour of walking the hills have become noticeably more steep, increasing dramatically in size. The walking becomes more difficult, but the views obtained at the top of these hills are incredible! As I stop for a breather and a pint at a scenic lookout over the North Atlantic at the top of a climb I meet a man with his family—also on vacation from the city of Toronto. They drove east through the USA and were now returning to Ontario through the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Québec—the reverse of my own travels. After I am rested I return to the road, climbing another hill before descending to where the Parks Canada Cap Rouge campground is located. Sites are still available, and I reserve one as close to the water as possible. The woman working in the office is very knowledgeable of the park and explains where the major mountains are located over the next few days of my walk. She also identifies all of the upcoming campgrounds. I locate my site, put up the tent, cook ramen, and enjoy a pint as I journal this eventful day. Gear is organized and the rain fly is set out to dry in the sun before I enjoy a shower. Another quick conversation with the campsite administrator is had before I gear down for the evening. Rain is expected tonight so I attach the rain fly to the tent, preparing for a long and undisturbed sleep.

Today’s distance walked: 39.40 km    |    Total distance walked: 2,353.56 km