Charlottetown to Sutherlands River   |   Campsite: 45.59390° N, 62.51664° W

I wake just before 5:00, rising into the still-quiet and still morning. I shower quickly, then set up in the kitchen with tea, writing, and planning. The group driving to Newfoundland to catch the ferry is awake early, preparing for their upcoming 6-hour drive. As I settle down for breakfast, I talk with Shannon about her upcoming week of guests, and the turnover of the hostel. The table then fills up, with a group traveling from Ottawa on their way to the Madeleine Islands (les Îles-de-la-Madeleine) for a week of walking. This group often enjoys walks, including the Camino de Santiago which they have done a number of times. They will also often walk an organized hike from the city of Ottawa to Montréal on a series of trails, upon which they will be supplied space to sleep in church basements and places to cook in groups. They are fun to talk with, as their stories of where they have been as a group are enticing. As I am preparing my pack one of the men in the group asks me about my bag and its weight, and we talk for a few minutes about our favorite kinds of walks. I again become excited about the Camino de Santiago and the interesting process by which Pellegrinos navigate it, sleeping in hostels (albergues in Spain), and eating together communally. He says that conversations enjoyed while walking the Camino will often be very truthful and heartfelt due to the fact that people will walk at different paces and speeds. As a result, the people spoken to on the Camino may never be seen again, so there is no danger in saying something truthful or compromising. With my pack ready, I sit outside on the front porch where one guest I had conversed with a few days ago informs me that the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia is now running. A mechanical part required for the ferry to function arrived early, allowing ferry service to resume a few weeks earlier than expected. As I have already purchased my bus ticket, and it is impossible to refund it, there is nothing I can do. So I accept my fate and prepare for my bus ride followed by the upcoming walk through Cape Breton. I am fully ready by 9:25 and decide to take one final walk around the neighborhood and Historic Downtown. My weekend here in the city of Charlottetown has been exactly everything I was hoping it to be: slow, relaxing, peaceful, and without plans or commitments. I love being able to simply wander around these cities that I enter over this walk, encountering things by luck or serendipity. I was thinking about how because so much of my time when I am out walking between towns through nature—essentially living outside 24 hours a day for 5–12 days in a row—I don’t feel any need or desire to structure or plan out my time when arriving at cities or towns along the way. The urban becomes a break from my walking which is the element of this challenge that is highly planned and scheduled. So this morning’s final walk around downtown is a wandering number of loops for one last view and experience of the city. I return to the hostel to pick up my pack. I was really hoping to say thanks and goodbye to Shannon, but I find a note taped to the entrance that she has stepped out for a few hours to finish up some chores. I walk to the bus station, finding some shade and breeze on a field of grass to relax in until 12:00. I walk over to the bus station and wait only five minutes before the driver loads the baggage and calls for all passengers to board the bus. As we are climbing into the bus, a young man asks where I am hiking and we chat about this for a few minutes. I ask him the same as he is carrying a pack and says he is busing to Halifax, then flying to St. John’s to hike the “East Coast Trail”. He was participating in a conference and decided to explore the area after it ended to make the most of his trip to the east coast. He is all smiles, funny, and excited about his upcoming days! I board, find a seat, and a few minutes later a woman sits down beside me. We instantly begin a conversation about Newfoundland after she asks what I am doing. She lives in the town of “Cornerbrook” just south of “Gros Morn National Park.” She has so much great information about the province, everything from the ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, to the shore of St. John’s and everything in between. She explains the national park, a hostel I could stay at, and places to see when in the city of St. John’s. We talk all the way through the bus ride until I arrive at the town of “New Glasgow”, with the man sitting in front of us joining in the conversation. Sharron shared her contact information with me, telling me to call when close to Cornerbrook as she has offered to drive me into the national park. Robert also shared his email to keep in touch. A great, fun, educational ride! I walk out of town, up a massive hill, plus 16 km out to where Highway 4 meets 104 Trans-Canada Highway, and this is where I find a good place to set up the tent by 8:30. I get comfortable, eat a snack, drink some water, journal the day, then sink into sleep, tired after a full day! It is nice to be back out walking again after five really great days in Charlottetown!

Today’s distance walked: 16.1 km    |    Total distance walked: 2,052.01 km

Charlottetown   |   Accommodations: HI Charlottetown Backpacker’s Inn, 60 Hillsborough St, Charlottetown, PE

I wake early at 4:30 into the young month of July. I climb out of bed at 5:00 to shower and then descend to the kitchen to map out the upcoming section of walking, and enjoying tea as I post to the blog. I meet some guests newly arrived, and we get to talking about Newfoundland. They will be traveling to St. John’s via the long-distance ferry on which they will bring their car. From there, they will be continuing north into Labrador before returning home. I leave the hostel by 9:30, walking to the town of “Stratford”, the region of “Tea Hill”, “Kinlock Beach”, and “Tea Hill Park”. I stop to buy rice, couscous, granola bars, and pints along the way for the next stage of walking. The beaches are lovely, with families enjoying the sun while searching for hermit crabs in the low tide. As today is Canada Day, large tents are being raised anticipating the sun-loving crowds. I stop for pizza before crossing the bridge back to Charlottetown, snapping photos of some beautiful old brick buildings located along the waterfront. I pick up some snacks before returning to the hostel. I have a great conversation with the hostel volunteer, as he is interested in finding a new calling in his own life. He can envision a future in which he is working at—or running—a hostel of his own, in order to aid travelers through their own explorations. He is interested in making music and writing his own songs; he is interested also in writing long-form pieces about his own experiences of travel. We talk about the importance of acknowledging both the positive and negative feelings that surface when traveling. Understanding the underlying causes for each is important. Each is vital in a life well-lived, a life with balance. Understanding why I am feeling whatever way I am in the present helps to understand larger, deeper personal issues. These conversations have given me much to think over. Shannon and I enjoy cold coffee until another group of guests arrive and she is settling them in. I portion out the food bought this afternoon, preparing it for the upcoming section of the walk to the Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail. I say hello to some newly arrived guests checking in, enjoy a relaxing shower, and then retire to the 3rd floor loft to input receipts, distance, and steps. I then journal down this eventful day. Sinking into the evening with YouTube, the eyes heavy with sleep, tired with the energy expended on new experiences, sleep comes easily tonight.

Today’s distance walked: 25.49 km (city walking)    |    Total distance walked: 2,035.91 km

Charlottetown   |   Accommodations: HI Charlottetown Backpacker’s Inn, 60 Hillsborough St, Charlottetown, PE

I wake at 5:30 after a very good sleep! I flop around, happily lazy without the need to get the day started early. I am the first in the hostel to get out of bed, and in doing so I enjoy a full, rejuvenating shower. I then write for close to an hour in the kitchen, enjoying tea and a cool breeze entering from the backyard-facing window. As hostel guests slowly wake over the course of the morning I enter into and exit out of numerous interesting conversations. A few of the guests who had read the entry I wrote in the hostel guestbook produced some interesting questions, garnering further conversations about what I am doing and why. Matthew was a young man who I had seen yesterday around the hostel. He had presented a paper at a conference in the city of Halifax a few days ago and had been touring the east coast before returning his rental car. He asked about the motivation behind my decision to carry out this walk. We talked about passions and creative, ridiculous forms of dreaming. His research into indigenous water resources perked my interest, and we talked about where his research was leading him. He left for Halifax after breakfast, and I wished him good travels to which he returned the sentiment. I also enjoyed another interesting conversation with the owner of the hostel named Sharron about writing, education, and practice. By 9:30 I am out into the day, exploring the area called “Victoria Park” and continuing to walk around “Charlottetown Harbour”. I then walk up to the “T3 Transit” bus terminal to inquire about bus tickets. I want to see if a ticket can be purchased that will transport me to where the ferry would have let me off in Nova Scotia (the towns of “Caribou” / “Pictou” / “New Glasgow” located across the water). The bus line is able to provide me with a ticket to the town of “New Glasgow” which is next to perfect, solving the issue of having to backtrack due to the inoperable ferry. I would still prefer to have ridden the ferry, but this is the next best alternative. On the walk returning to the hostel, I stop to look over the menu of an Indian restaurant. As I am looking a man exiting with take-out hands me a discount coupon to be used for a meal at the restaurant. I enjoy the butter chicken. I pick up pints on the walk returning to the hostel, enjoying them over a few hours of focussed work transcribing notes, editing images, and uploading everything to the blog. Eventually, guests return and check into the building, and I find myself enjoying numerous conversations. 5:30 I power down the laptop, and explore the “Black and White Convenience” store one block away from the hostel for an order of shawarma and tabouli. As I wait for my meal, one of the owners approaches from the open kitchen, and we begin talking about the restaurant. I ask about the wall behind the cash register showcasing shelf upon shelf of wooden carvings in the form of human figures, animals, and sailing ships. The man—his name is Razeen—tells me that they are the collection of his brother who is his business partner. He was wondering why I am walking, understanding why I would be interested in such a massive challenge. I talk to Razeen for over ten minutes, and it became very clear that he loved what he was doing and loved the business that he had worked hard to help build. I eat, and then walk a block to a Vietnamese restaurant—“Saigon Cuisine”—that I had spotted during yesterday’s walk. A calming, minimal, quiet space and very tasty food are enjoyed, followed by some downtime in the empty hostel common room. I prepare for sleep, climbing into bed sometime around 9:30. I have been moved to another room due to reservations, with which I have no issue. The room I am now occupying is on the third and top floor, featuring skylights offering views of the sky and a cooling, calming air conditioner.

Today’s distance walked: 14.18 km (city walking)    |    Total distance walked: 2,035.91 km