Daily Information
Distance: 40.9 Kms [304.8 Kms]
Walking time: 7h 25m [55h 59m]
Doddling time: 36m [288m]
% Doddling time: 7.5% [7.9%]
Avg walking speed: 5.5 Kms/hr [5.4 Kms/hr]
Elevation G/L meters: 78(68) [820:(895)]
Total Daily Steps: 57,000 [469,600]
% of Walking Days Complete (24): 37.5%
% of Total Kms (estimate 703): 41.7%
% of Shuttle Rides (estimate 17): 70.6%
% Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 km): 57.1%
Major news is I am now > 50% complete on very long days >40 km. Three more to go…barring injury or illness I should be able to walk the rest 🙏 Also almost 3/4 of shuttle rides done!!!
Today is a day which defies description in many ways…strong walking…weather not great…walking path conditions…well see below😂. Mental outlook 🥹
The best way to approach the day is in chronological order.
3:30 to 5:00 am - Black Cloud
It’s not all fun and games and today it hit me very early and hard. I have referred to this in past blogs as “my black 🌧️ time”
Combination of factors…Ron’s struggles and seeing someone way more capable than me talking seriously about packing it in. Being away from home for too long…when all is said and done it will almost be 4 weeks. Somewhere around 2 1/2 weeks maximum in any future walk makes more sense.
A terrible nights sleep…gave up around 3:30 or so…another very long day ahead …rain in the forecast…high 7 feels like 3…windy…more of the same scenery…lucky if I meet anyone on the trail.
Did I miss anything? Ugh 😣
This has happened before on long walks…
5:00 to 5:30 am - Black Cloud lifting
Black cloud started to lift as I thought about the last couple of days at La Petite France B&B.
Ron - in our little talk last night said « I think when I look back on this walk…whether I finish or not a highlight will have been time we spent chatting and swapping stories »
Met other guests Mr and Mrs Murphy from Moncton (did not get first names 🥲) as they were heading out for dinner last night…a chat ensued. Mr, M who is proudly Irish, turned 75 a few days ago. Their kids bought them tickets for the 2023 Fireworks Feast at The Inn at Bay Fortune where Chef Michael Smith puts on quite a show and the food is all grown organically right on Inn property.
Mrs M was so enthusiastic about absolutely everything…must have talked while I asked questions for 10+ minutes 😊. Mr M “well I am Irish ☘️ you know… I could have spent a lot less money and gone fishing”…”So you really use cabs/shuttles on your walk because accommodation is not available…well I’m Irish so I would never do that” 😂
Mrs M was a delight…she has 5 sisters…mother lived with them for 22 years…passed 6 months prior to 100…we jabbered on for another 10 minutes…told her about our moving to Toronto to be with family …living in our daughter and son-in-law’s house and having our granddaughters come down whenever they feel like it. It’s their house and they see us to talk, cry, play, get fancy Frozen bandaids or attempt to get what Maman and Papa have already said “no to”…we have to be so careful 😊
Mrs M talked about our situation and said “you will always look back on this special time…you will never regret it”. The exact same words exchanged at home!
Then thought about the many times spent talking with Hubert over the 2 days…he is a very interesting person… and the superb packed breakfast waiting for me downstairs. Very thoughtful!
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| Ham & cheese sandwich in Hubert’s bread, peanut butter sandwich, banana and hard boiled egg |
5:30 to 10:00 - walk to Northam WP #13
A pleasant shuttle ride where Terry (owner driver) was very talkative and was pointing out certain PEI highlights along the way there.
Out on Confederation Trail and first Spotify playlist song is Jump by Van Halen. Absolutely perfect song to start the day!
I had the Packa on…light jacket and fleece and within an hour removed the fleece as I was walking really well. Rain was very light…the scenery captivating 😉
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| The Start |
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| The middle section |
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| Near the end…note rabbits! |
When I hit the Northam WP 13 area there was a good sized sign about where to go as paths converge. Darn I did not get a picture however I am positive the sign is upside down (and have told Bryson Guptill the path creator this) as it indicated turn right. GPS said turn left as did another Island Walk small sign.
So I went with the majority 😂 and turned right for maybe 250 meters…said nah…backtracked and went with the real majority which was correct.
Actually this was good practice for the Coast to Coast Walk in September with Greg as we will often disagree on directions…guaranteed!
10:00 am to 2:00 pm - All kinds of roads!!!
First MacInnis mud road. I am told this road is normally hard packed…today after the rains…it was the worst surface I have ever walked on!
At first I was laughing…then I said “You must be [insert whatever word you want] kidding!!! I was slipping and sliding everywhere on a centimetre or so of soft mud! Thank goodness for the trekking poles!
At some point I considered sending a text to my family “Sorry it has come to this however I am about to lie down and curl up in a ball in the mud. Should I not make it please distribute my prized Camino Blog Photo Books equitably without any fighting”
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| My tracks! Sent to Bryson Guptill creator of Island Walk and suggested he NOT use in promotional material 😂 |
Then on to Macdougall road and the HOKA shoe wash!
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| This is an actual recognized PEI road! |
A decent amount of secondary road walking ahhh
Then Maclean Road mud walking
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| Note skid marks!!! |
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| Absolutely ridiculous walking!!! |
Through a farmers field to help reduce mud…down a stretch of road and voila I was there!!!
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| I think I may be the only guest here! The pub opens June 1st Woohoo 🥳 Shoes MUST be left at the door 🤔 |
Injury report..definite blister on left heel…surgery being debated for this evening…really miss Dr Paulo…he would know what to do! Sometimes it’s best to leave it alone!
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| OMG you would fall 2 feet! |
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| Should also be end for Walkers!!! |
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| Oyster Fishing |
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| Cowboy |
Mud is no fun! The photos of your footprints really tell the story. We have had some very bad luck with it in the past, especially with the mountain bikes, but on this trip we had no mud - none at all - for all 75 days of walking!
ReplyDeleteElaine
Yes Elaine it was really not much fun on a very long day! I believe your 75 day walking adventure has or is coming to a close? I will be reading your posts…sound like you had a superb trip!
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