Antigonish to Havre Bouches   |   Campsite: 45.66046° N, 61.54984° W

Rain fell in waves last night, clearing up by 3:30. I wake up by 4:00 but don’t really get moving until 4:30. I am out walking a bit later this morning by 6:00. I walk 20 kilometres through to Paqtnkek—with only a short 30-minute break to cook lunch—where I stop to rest in the air-conditioned cool. It is a lovely space where tables are set up in a bright atrium with large windows and skylights. I take the time to write for a half hour. During this time the laptop is charged, water bottles are filled, rest and relaxation are enjoyed. The Bayside Travel Center is one of the most comfortable and useful gas stations with rest areas I have found over the entire walk so far. I can’t understand why there are so few of these in Eastern Canada. People enjoying the space are relaxing, talking, drinking coffee, and planning out the next stages of their trips. I very much enjoy my hour-long rest here! By 3:30 I have walked close to 40 kilometres, and I begin to scan for a place to camp. I soon find one up on a hill about 100 yards from the highway. The tent goes up and I am inside by 3:45. I am tired—another tough day, although I’m sure the constant noise and threat of traffic have contributed much to my exhaustion. I clean and prepare for the evening. I organize gear for tomorrow. I write the day down. Today, so many long sections of straight highway were marched through! Some of these sections took me up to 45 minutes to walk. I was thinking about this walking challenge and about how many different kinds of pathways I’ve walked, with all the different types of landscape, and I very much like that this walk has been made over such diverse terrain. While it has been difficult to plan for water refilling (not knowing which rivers or streams are actually accessible), food, and camping locations into the walk, I am excited about being able to organize it all into 59 days (so far) that have been successful. I put some time into studying the upcoming 100 kilometres. I was sure that I would have to walk an extra five kilometres to and from the town of Port Hawkesbury, but I’ve found resources on the road located before this town, allowing me to start walking north into Cape Breton and on to the Cabot Trail without the need to walk the extra distance. This saves me two hours of walking. I relax into a few hours of reading before drifting off into an early sleep.

Today’s distance walked: 39.42 km    |    Total distance walked: 2,146.41 km