Kingston to Gananoque   |   Campsite: 44.33620° N, 76.13019° W

I wake early after the first sleep I’ve had in a bed in seven days. Back up files, input a few expenses into Numbers, pour a hot bath, soaking achy bones. When 7:00 am rolls around I descend down to the hotel restaurant to enjoy the included breakfast. Journal while checking email. LinkedIn. Medium. By 7:30 am, refueled and feeling good, I head back up to the room to enjoy another hour and a half of hot water. The morning is beautiful—sunny and crisp, with a pure azure sky. I load the upcoming ten destinations and 200 km into the weather app to better anticipate climatic conditions ahead. The forecast looks clear up to a town called Prescott where rain is projected to fall on Tuesday. Dress and set off for Trailhead by 9:20 am. Josh downstairs on the gear level sets me up with everything I need, and both Hailey and Emma help me select the best, most effective Patagonia shirt and pant combination for the type of walking I’ll be heading into. As the current pants and shirt I am wearing are close to falling apart with over 37 individual hand-made mends with needle and thread, I can’t wait to try out the new replacements! I walk the gear to the hotel, then head out to buy ramen, granola bars, and a bottle of Poweraid from Food Basics. I continue on to BulkBarn for some trail mix and dry snacks. Return to the room to pack everything up. I receive the expected “You were supposed to be cleared out of the room 45 minutes ago” phone call from the main desk. I leave extremely late after the checkout deadline, and begin to walk east. The walk is beautiful—such pretty countryside out here surrounding Kingston and into the next town of Gananoque. I reach it by 4:00 pm, have a good look at the town, and as I am picking up pints at the beer store, I ask the guys working there about good, free places to camp for the night. They both instantly recommend The Parkway—a two-lane road running directly along the stretch of coastline between Gananoque and the next town of Brockville. Supposedly, as I discussed with Brenda and Tim outside in the beer store parking lot, the Parkway was intended to serve as the first phase of the massive 401 east-west highway, but later was reconsidered as a slower, more quiet and ecologically safe route built at a much smaller scale for single-lane traffic. They both highly recommend I walk the Parkway instead of Highway 2, as the Parkway offers legal camping all along the stretch running for the upcoming 55 km. We have a very good 20-minute conversation about the area, and I set off with a much better feeling about the next two days of walking! The Parkway will be a much more scenic route that hugs the water and turns out to be shorter in distance to Brockville. I walk to the Starbucks located on the western border of the area, where I copy and back up photos, refill all water containers, and set out to find camping along the route. I find one after about a half hour of walking. It is nestled among trees and is far enough from the intermittent traffic to be comfortable and quiet. I set up the tent, cook dinner, and wave at all the vehicles passing with drivers honking their horns, waving, or giving me the thumbs-up sign. This is a very special, beautiful place, and a wonderful evening. What a day this has been—the best one so far!

Today’s distance walked: 37.91 km    |    Total distance walked: 329.85 km

“I would move to Port Hope, Cobourg, Kingston, or Gananoque in a second! I have been living in Toronto for so damned long. It has been so incredible to get out of Toronto and finally get back to Canada!”