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