PEI Island Walk - 5 more sleeps!

Incredible…the PEI Island Walk is just around the corner…a few last minute changes and thoughts. As described in previous blog entries this 700 km walk will be like no other I have had the good fortune to walk. 

Bryson Guptill...the creator and driving force behind the PEI Island Walk...clarified the following in an Island Walk Facebook group post which included the pictures below.

"Is there road walking on the route?  Yes, there are 175 km of secondary roads, 175 km of dirt roads, and 350 km of the Confederation Trail.  Oh, and some boardwalk, and some beaches and more beaches too! “

I look forward to all of it! Well truth be told...the secondary road walking...not quite so much however it’s all part of the walking adventure. Secondary road walking is still a whole lot better than some busy highway walking which took place on most Camino walks.

Everyone's approach will be different...for me a long walk cannot be every km...every day the most incredible day ever scenery wise...if that was my goal I should either stay home or perhaps pick out a subsection of a walk and focus on that alone. People...small/silly stories...food...maybe even dangerous animal encounters will more than make up for some less scintillating parts of the walk ☺️

Spectacular beach setting

Another beach setting

Boardwalk

Confederation Trail - 350 kms

Dirt Roads - 175 kms

Secondary Roads - 175 kms

Another PEI Island Adventure Facebook posting featured a short interesting drone video footage of the Lobster trap fishing season which opened in Tignish May 1 (which I will visit) ...worth a quick look.

Tignish Lobster Trap Setting Day

Last minute Decisions

There are always last minute changes required...planning has to be fluid!

Tilley Hat Misadventure

I make no bones about it...my Tilley hat is a prized possession and despite comments/evidence to the contrary I know I look good in it! 🤣. However I screwed up...big time! My sense of smell is let’s say not the most developed so I don’t necessarily notice when something like my Tilley Hat starts attracting comments from passersby.

On our Camino Primitivo Paulo simply said “Guy your Tilley hat stinks...you need to wash it!”. Now I admit that I should have been doing this all along...consistently...but I was not. Perhaps I have washed it 2 or 3 times in 10 years...over 3,400+ kms walking in all types of weather.😱

So somewhere along the Camino Primitivo either I or Paulo just went into a lavandaria and washed a pile of clothes...including the Tilley Hat. Then threw everything into a dryer. Now if it was Paulo...he is not to blame at all as I expect in Brazil where it is so hot they may not even have clothes dryers 😉. If it was me...well I admit I should have known better 😳.

Now I have...as my brother Marc so eloquently summed up...a first world problem. What an unmitigated mess...I can’t possibly look good with this.

This is what became of my Tilley hat

My friend Ken has owned a few Tilley hats and he came to the rescue with this insight “Wash it in the washing machine with a regular load. Dry it stretched over a container roughly the diameter of your head. Snap the brims in place. Presto! You will again have a presentable hat. (That’s of course, if you want to give up the “look” above”).

First problem my hat does not have snaps! Second problem...”where do I find a container roughly the diameter of my head”. Well it took some creative thinking and some expert assistance to figure out something that was the shape of my head...two different containers for the oval shape. Never would I have thought of doing that! So...

Washed and wet Tilley hat is underneath all that and was for almost two days.

 

On Monday early evening the “reveal” was scheduled...ie the Tilley Hat would reappear leaving me with the following choices...if the Tilley hat still looks like crap:

1) Walk with it as is pretending all is good, or

2) Buy a new Tilley hat, or

3) Cancel the entire PEI Walking Adventure and all future walking adventures based on the fact that the Tilley hat I purchased in 2013 is the only one for me and the only reason why I walk.

Here is the outcome of the “reveal”

Refurbished hat 😂 Note it’s a selfie so I did my best!

Oh my…definitely a slight improvement but…😂🤣…still a mess! The beard as usual is coming in terribly and the Tilley isn’t really cooperating. I started asking immediate family members for feedback...I will refer to roles within the adult members of the family...not names.

Son-in-law and Daughter-in-law - "looks good/it looks great"

Family member whose role...if stated...would be a dead giveaway - “buy a new hat”

Daughter # 1 (oldest) -  " I wouldn’t walk with you no matter what type of hat you wore. Whether you buy a new one or not it’s a stupid look !" 😣 

Daughter # 3 (youngest) - “I agree with Daughter # 1”

Daughter # 2 (middle) - “I’ll have to side with my sisters on this one”

Have I ever said how incredibly fortunate I am to have 3 wonderful supportive daughters ☺️. They actually know and say exactly what I want and expect to hear...because it’s so darn funny to me! 🤣. However there may be a kernel of truth in what they said 🤔

I then asked granddaughters Rose (8) “Looks kind of funny" and Elodie (5) “I like it”...Elodie for the record has a unique very individual clothing “savoir faire” approach and more power to her!  Grandson Rishi (who just turned 1) was not consulted...if I had I would risk having the Tilley hat ripped off my head, chewed and slobbered on resulting in the need to wash it again 😳

Alternative 3) is off the table...come on that would be way too extreme. I will make a last minute decision between 1) and 2). 😊 Thinking of later this week simply going to the Tilley Toronto store and having a look around...perhaps pleading for help...and make the final call...far from an easy decision this one.

GPX Tracks

In early 2022 I knew nada about GPS/GPX tracks…now I know just enough to save myself from getting totally lost.

In a March 2022 Camino Forum thread I posted a GPS for Dummies question. Shortly thereafter two peregrinas helped me out tremendously. Peregrina2000 spoke highly about Wikilocs…great start as the app is simple to use…has tons of trails etc.

So I got started but got a little stuck 🤔 so peregrina islandWalker sent me a PM indicating she would help me out. Tremendous help…super patient and soon I had what I needed for the Camino Primitivo and Camino San Salvador (where GPS tracks proved invaluable).

Wikilocs allows you to download trails from their database and record your own trail. Once on the trail you hear a nice beep…as you start losing the trail a not so nice beep and if you stray too far a really not nice beep. Perfect…just have to remember the following...

 - download trail while connected to internet

 - download any available maps while connected to internet

 - ensure trail can be followed offline

 - set airplane mode

 - battery set to low power

 - sound up high if phone in pocket

 - sound notification switch on (otherwise no beeps)

 - choose trail you wish to follow and start navigation

 - pause and resume through the day as required i.e when not walking

 - hit finish when walk is completed, give the trail a name and then save to Wikiloc database of trails if you wish to do so

Simple 😊...even for me! 

Now for PEI Island Walk…Bryson Guptill had someone update the GPX file and he sent it to me...not sure if anyone else has ever asked for it🤓. However there was an immediate problem as the file was created using Android based software...Apple Store indicated no IOS App would open it. What to do?

I posted a "GPX track file question” on the Camino Forum…many great responses….a number of them quite complex and way way way or way3 over my GPX pay grade. Once again a peregrina Elle Bieling (who has written a number of Camino guide books) came to my aid with a simple response 

« You can easily convert a GPX file to KML at this website: GO here to solve GPX file Issue And you should be able to upload either GPX or KML to Wikiloc and use it without a problem. »

It all worked like magic and I now have a track to follow on the Island Walk as well as...

 - knowing there are Island Walk signs every 5 kms

 - having laminated written directions in my backpack

If all this fails then I will simply sit/lie down at the side of the trail...looking forlorn, pitiful and hopeless (I can do all this quite well thank you)... and patiently wait for someone to stop and take pity on me 😊

My normal early morning walk was tested and recorded in Wikilocs…it works!!! Also I can listen to my Spotify playlist (123 songs 8h 3m total) while recording my trail and following a downloaded trail...how amazing is that! Note the elevation gains/losses...gruelling walk in Toronto! 🤣

Raingear

Ouch this one kind of hurts however after considering that wind on PEI is a constant factor, can still be cold on mid May early mornings I decided to swap out the Packa for rain gear which I think is better suited for this walk...Arteryx rain pants, Patagonia rain shell and a backpack cover. I am ditching the tuque and gloves though...too much protection against the cold...after all I lived 60 years in Winnipeg!!!

The Packa will definitely make a comeback on a future walk. 

Trekking Pants

Who says constant never ending Marketing doesn’t work? I must get a couple of emails from Eddie Bauer each day...ignoring most of them... however one really intrigued me regarding new Trekking pants called “Eddie Bauer Guide Pro 4S Trekker long pants”. Just the name alone was calling out to me...so I ordered a pair to try out...and they are definite keepers...light weight...feel good. However the deal maker...look at the side vents in the picture below...PLUS they have vents at the back of the knees and the colour is Capers (who ever heard of this colour?) 😳 Who wouldn’t want/need trekking pants like these?

Side vents for air flow cooling

Overall Packing 

All in the 2023 PEI Island Walk Backpack List comes in at 7,728 grams or let’s say 7.8 kgs to be a little less precise 😉. Perfect...as the goal was to be under 8 kgs without water, snacks etc. Three key factors in long distance walking...overall backpack weight...shoes and socks. Oh and mental attitude as well ☺️. No more fiddling with the backpack list...anything I don’t have I will obtain or simply do without.

Plane carryon vs checked in luggage

After the 2014 Paris airport Camino Frances fiasco where my brother Marc and I looked at the luggage carousel without seeing our backpacks appear for umpteen minutes...said a few/many choice words...spent an extra night in a hotel near Paris airport...received our backpacks the next day... I have somehow managed to take my backpack stored as carryon luggage on overseas flights. 

Unfortunately trekking poles are not allowed as carryon...unless medically necessary. A ton of discussion on the Camino Forum about trekking poles as carryon...bottom line...it all depends on the security agent checking luggage. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn’t...if it doesn’t you likely lose your trekking poles if you want to make your flight. So with expensive trekking poles I still have to pay $$$ to have them as checked luggage.

Sooo...given that I have a direct flight to Charlottetown CANADA I am willing to try something different as I am already going to pay $$$ for checking in my trekking poles. Everything except a small carryon lightweight backpack is going to simply get tossed into the blue bag below and go with checked luggage. Also given I start and end in Charlottetown the hotel has nicely agreed to store my blue bag until I return June 9th ☺️.

However a few risk mitigation strategies are always good...

- Just received Apple AirTags which I setup all by myself...with no help whatsoever...☺️. I understand these can be quite useful in locating lost luggage ie if my bag goes to Vancouver or Paris instead of Charlottetown I will know this....so an AirTag goes in the blue bag. Will also have an AirTag in my backpack...you never know if I could leave one morning...feeling light and cheerful only to realize 10 kms down the road...💩 no backpack!

- Carryon lightweight backpack will have main essentials...if bag goes astray I will not flinch and walk as planned with the thought that Air Canada will forward my bag to a future location. I am sure they would do this 🤔 otherwise 24 days walking in the same clothes might result in even me recognizing the less than “fresh” smell.

And a very nice surprise...a Manitoba friend’s sister (who moved to Charlottetown from Manitoba) has kindly invited me to a BBQ on the evening of my arrival in PEI. Her message...”I am a friendly Manitoban living on a friendly island!” A great way to start the long walk!

So that’s it...planning is complete...if something does not go as planned as often happens all will be good! On my 8 Camino walks only 2 have not had a significant/major planning snafu...Camino Finisterre a short 3 day walk and the incredible 2022 Camino Primitivo which ranks as the all time best planning!

Ok it’s time to start walking...embrace whatever happens...enjoy the adventure...

p.s. Late Breaking News!!!

Walked into Costco yesterday and there was a table of Tilley hats...a sure sign. $35 🤣 with Tilley insignia and branding. However there is no question that is a low end knockoff type of hat made by Tilley especially for Costco. It doesn’t have the Tilley replacement guarantee as an example...Tilley hats range at the Toronto store from $70 to $120. 

This magical like appearance has to be a good omen...and that is the end of the story…well unless I make the trip to the Tilley Store…you know just to compare 😉 Went on Tilley website…LT6 hat $99 with airflow at top…very nice as Paulo would say…another 10 years that’s $10 a year! Somehow I think I may be slowly convincing myself that…

For now goodbye old friend! Welcome my maybe new friend...snazzy Tilley 🤔 in whatever Green colour that is!

Happy Mother’s Day to all those great Mom’s out there!