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
Inverness to Cap Le Moine | Campsite: 46.49576° N, 61.07344° W
4:30. I am up at 4:30 to start the day, preparing to head back out onto the road. The B&B is silent, so I am able to make coffee and enjoy a full breakfast downstairs with full reign over the kitchen. I haven’t had yogurt in a while over this challenge and devoured a huge bowl. Add to that a bagel with strawberry jam, and a second bagel with blueberry jam. I find some cereal and enjoy two bowls. I think it is safe to say that I am now experiencing full-time ‘hiker hunger’! Within twenty minutes the pack is fully prepared after some research over the upcoming five days of walking has been made. The temperature is projected to increase with heat warnings, with the terrain expressing some of the highest elevations I have yet to experience throughout this walk. I believe that I am prepared for the challenge. It comes at a good point in the walk. This terrain follows the hills that were quite serious in New Brunswick, namely those between the cities of Fredericton and Moncton. I believe they served as a formal preparatory initiation into hiking uphill and for the challenges experienced within the province of Nova Scotia, the upcoming terrain of Cape Breton, the Cabot Trail, and the Highlands National Park. I walk to 11:00, taking a half-hour break for a quick lunch and rest, after which I am back out by 11:30. I walk until 2:00 where I see a beach full of people and decide to break for another half-hour. Whale Cove here in the North Atlantic Ocean provides a refreshingly cool thirty minutes in the water and on the soft, sandy beach! The time spent drying my feet off in the warm sand provides time to reflect on the day and survey the beautiful surroundings. While enjoying the beach I speak to a man living in the area about the distance to the upcoming town of Chéticamp, and he confirms that the distance is close to 25 kilometres. The boots are climbed back into and I continue northward. As I am leaving the beach a man asks where I am going as he towels off in the parking lot beside his family van. I tell him and he exclaims loudly, “What?” I repeat my answer. He barks, “For what?” I offer a few reasons that I have been reflecting upon over the past couple of weeks. “There’s a cost, though”, he barks. I say that there are a few trade-offs in every decision. He barks, “Your body will break down and will wear out.” I say, “Actually, I’ve become physically and mentally stronger over the course of this challenge since I began.” He asks, “But to what end?” “Hey,” I say, “I don’t want to die without any big stories to tell, and my exploration has only just begun.” I continue to walk out of the parking lot, hearing him call out, “How much weight are you carrying?” I reply, “About 35 pounds.” He mumbles to himself, “That’s not bad…” I walk into the small village of Margaree Harbour where I take some photos of a very cool tiny house summer rental village alongside the highway. A kilometre later I spot the Margaree Restaurant where I stop for a vanilla milkshake, pint, and large glass of cold ice water. I scan the map north to the town of Chéticamp, journal the day out, then leave by 4:40 to pick up ten more kilometres by the end of the day before setting up the tent in a spot comfortably hidden from the roadway by 5:15. By 5:45 I am inside. The day has been good as I have walked further in the increased heat than I had initially expected. Today’s 42.63 km will reduce tomorrow’s walk into the small town of Chéticamp to 17 km, which should be achieved in just over three hours. I journal, cool down, read, clean, then… sleep.
Today’s distance walked: 42.63 km | Total distance walked: 2,314.16 km
“This immensity made me very anxious; it created a terrible fear that I would not be able to succeed—that I was too small for this task. Yet today I had been a seed and had been reborn. I had discovered that although the earth and my sleep were full of comfort, the life ‘up there’ was much more beautiful. And I could always be reborn, as many times as I wanted, until my arms were long enough to embrace the earth from which I had come.” – Paulo Coelho, “The Pilgrimage”, p. 29.
Glengarry to Inverness | Accommodations: Dusky Diamond B&B, 21 Beach No 1 Rd, Inverness NS
I do not want to get up. I stay in the bag until 5:00 before forcing myself out into the morning. I think I have gotten enough sleep over the night. I was quite exhausted after yesterday’s escapades through uninteresting terrain stretched out over an unnecessarily-long trail. I am ready and on the trail by 6:00, and the morning’s 5-kilometre walk into the town of Mabou is actually quite nice, offering views of mountains and rivers. At least there is some kind of payoff today—I am able to take a few interesting photos. By 8:00 I reach the town of Mabou, pausing to rest, make hot chocolate, and look over maps of upcoming sections of the trail. I do not want to get caught on another uselessly long trail bordered and treelined without views of surrounding landscapes. I walk toward the supermarket on the far side of town in search of water. I pick up everything I need and enjoy some fruit before walking out of town northbound. The midmorning had clouded over, but the day soon heats up when the clouds parted, revealing a hot sun radiating rays from a sky clearing overhead. Sometime around 11:00, I find a spot to sit down, cook food, rest, and dry out the socks, boots, and feet. I continue on to the town of Inverness, arriving at a corner store on the outskirts of town. Some refreshing beverages are purchased, and I take the time to ask the owner about local hotels. The woman tells me that there are very few in the area, with the likelihood that all are fully booked. She gives me the number to a B&B, and when I make the call—sure enough—it is full. As I relax into the Adirondack chair and enjoy my drink, my phone rings two minutes later. The woman I just spoke to at the B&B informed me that she has just received a cancellation for the evening, and that if I was still interested in the room it was available. I am and I make the reservation. I make the short walk into town, stopping at the visitor information centre on the way. Within ten minutes I am checked in and unpacking the bag. A quick restorative shower is enjoyed before I walk to the beach ten minutes away. I then find some food downtown (pizza and pints) and return to the room by 5:45 with my take-out. I eat while resting with mindless daytime television on in the background. All images from the phone are transferred to the laptop, organizing all files into daily folders. All voice memos are transferred and air-dropped into place. This takes close to two hours, and I am exhausted when finished. As I have no energy for writing, I turn off the lights and quickly sink into a deep sleep.
Today’s distance walked: 37.32 km | Total distance walked: 2,271.53 km
