PEI Island Walk - Map of Actual Walk

Quick post...I have been inundated/swamped with requests (at least 2.. well 3 if you count me as I was curious ☺️) to show where my PEI Island Walk took me. I recognize that the interest in seeing this may be very limited however at my age such thoughts never stop me 🤣.  

My objective was to stitch together the 20 Wikiloc Island Walk tracks to show the complete walk...but how to do this? 

The Wikiloc iPhone app does not have this functionality (I think) so I had this brilliant (for me) thought of seeing if the Wikiloc.com web site allowed a user to do this. 

Bingo by cleverly clicking on the various Wikiloc tracks...which really stretched my technical skills to the utmost...I was able to concatenate my individual 20 day daily routes into my 582 kms modified Island Walk route. I then took a screenshot...saved it in my Photos and voila!!!

Looking at a map of Canada you will see that Prince Edward Island (PEI) is almost perfectly oriented West to East....in the photo below West = go left, East = go right, North = go to top, South go to bottom.

I have no idea how the photo will appear in the daily blog post email. My suggestion...if interested...is to click on the top link View this email in your browser shown above the picture of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral to obtain a better view of the map. Looking at this on a laptop or desktop is likely best as well.

The Orange line is the Island Walking path and the Green bubbles depict the start and end points of each daily walk.

The Island Walk started in Charlottetown on the South shore...roughly in the middle of the PEI. I then headed West initially, then worked my way to the Northern most point or North Cape. From there the walk turns Eastward and for some time doubles back on the Confederation Trail previously taken to reach North Cape.  

Shortly after the yellow bubble (where I snapped a photo into a Wikilocs daily track) I started walking along the beautiful North shore of PEI until Day 16 New Zealand + 10kms. At that point my walk came to a screeching halt at the Red bubble.

Four days later...after shuttles galore I started up again at Gaspereaux which is the furthest Eastern Green bubble and over the next 4 days walked Westward back to Charlottetown. The missed Island Walk is simply the area between the Red bubble and the Green Gaspereaux bubble. Thinking about this a little more I can honestly say that I walked/shuttled the entire PEI Island Walk! 🤣

Well that’s my shot at depicting my crazy Island Walk...any concerns/ridicule etc. on my attempt to describe my walk will be listened very attentively and then well kindly... On to September Coast to Coast walk in England!

PEI Island Walk - June 9, 2023 Day 20 Vernon Bridge to Charlottetown

Daily Information 

Distance:    26.2 Kms   [ 581.7 Kms]

Walking time:  4h 46m [107h 53m]

Doddling time:  40m  [11h 46m]

% Doddling time:  14.1% [10.2%]

Avg walking speed: 5.5 Kms/hr  [5.4 Kms/hr]

Elevation G/L meters: 89(120)  [1,706:(1,612)]

Total Daily Steps: 43,200 [875,867]

% of Walking Days Complete (24): 83.3%

% of Total Kms (estimate 703): 82.7% 

% of Shuttle Rides (estimate 17): 105.9%

% Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 km):

57.1% 

Key observations/learnings based on Daily Information Statistics

- Doddling % @ 10% seems quite low - reasons…this was a very lonely walk with few places to stop…have a leisurely lunch…sightsee therefore 90% of the time I was simply walking 🚶

- Avg Walking Speed @ 5.4 kms per hour…Given The Island Walk has minimal elevation gains/losses this confirms my 5.5 kms per hour assumption used in the Zebra modification. I use this to gauge difficulty of various walks…a good result!

- Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 kms)… I thought this was the single biggest risk to my 24 day planned walk. 7 such days were planned…4 for 4 success rate! I was extremely pleased with this result…sure they were long days especially the 46 km day however I walked well all longer days. Knowing I can still do this distance is important should I ever need to do it in the future…however I will certainly never plan on walking this distance again. 

- Avg kms per day - 29.1 kms. Phew 😮‍💨 This will be the peak of my walking career …future walks let’s dial that back please to maybe 25 or even 24.9 kms per day 😊

Today was a carbon copy of the past 3 days…with the exception of 5-6 kms of road walking before the bridge entering Charlottetown. Cool 12C…minimal mosquitoes (boy do I smell like bug spray!)…walking very well again. Left at 5:45am…tired of waiting…let’s get started 😊☺️🎉

One last time!

Very quiet walk again…no people encounters…no incidents of any kind!

The long and winding road ahead!

Ok 27 kms…I can do it…let’s go!

Made it! Done! Yahoo! 

Late breakfast in Charlottetown 

Later still lobster grilled cheese roll! 

Reflecting on The Island Walk I have asked myself a few questions

Was it worth it?

Yes. An honest answer however this has to be my craziest long walk…I had been thinking about this walk for a few years…was most interested in a Canadian long walk. In the end based on what information I had at hand it essentially followed the script.

I was fortunate to have the chance to give it a go and I will remember it as a positive experience. I hit a rough spot on day 16…and still managed to walk into Charlottetown 😊…that makes me feel good!

Some may ask “geez you must regret eating those oysters?” Well the result wasn’t good but how/why would I regret it? I had a kind offer to spend an evening as a guest of George the accommodations owner. It was one of the highlights on the people side of the entire walk! No regrets for accepting the invitation and eating what was offered to me…an Island style reception was received!

There is no doubt in my mind that I would have completed the challenging walk as planned. Honestly I was surprised how strongly I was walking. However a problem occurred…I dealt with it…and I feel good about the overall experience.

To my way of thinking I am much better off trying something a little challenging than simply wishing and wondering what if I had.

Would I do it again?

No. That is the same answer I would give to any long walk…with the possible exception of the Kumano Kodo in Japan…there are simply so many possible outstanding walks…so little time. Why would I do the same walk twice?

Would I recommend it?

Frankly I don’t like recommending long walks to anyone as there are too many variables involved. Everyone’s goals, preferences, abilities, mindset are so very different. What I am prepared to say is if you choose to walk The Island Walk some key considerations are:

- You must be comfortable walking by yourself for days on end 

- You should not simply rely on signage…it is good however GPS tracking saved me more than once 

- Be prepared for many days where there is nowhere to buy food etc between start and finish

- Attractions ie museum’s, small bars historical churches etc are few and far between 

- Road walking is at least 50% of the walk

- Be prepared for nature bio breaks…biffies at are a premium 

- Walk is way more expensive in comparison to Camino walks…no “ pilgrim” type accommodations

- Seriously consider utilizing the services of a professional such as Bill Kendrick PEI Experience. In my opinion the existing Island Walk website and the Guide are not sufficient planning tools 

- Above all consider the Island Walk only if your prime consideration is the pure enjoyment of simply walking 🚶

What did I like best?

Easy responses…the friendly people of PEI…the outstanding beauty of many areas of the province…opportunity to sample seafood. What amazes me is simply this…PEI is a lot bigger than it appears to be as a tiny island on the map!!! 😂😮‍💨

Maybe above all else it spoke to my sense of adventure and trying something new and different!

What did I like least?

Not meeting fellow walkers…mosquitoes on one section of the Confederation Trail…too much road walking on some days…few small towns if any on many days…lack of accommodation choices 

What is future of Island Walk?

An honest assessment is unless significant improvements in accommodation choices are made in the next few years The Island Walk will never really take off.  It is simply too expensive due to the accommodation challenges necessitating shuttles etc.

Having said this the walk is only 4 years old…and let’s see COVID and Hurricane Fiona! Amazing progress in a short period of time. Having a few dozen homes hang an Air B&B shingle for a room or two in key areas would make a significant difference!

What equipment choices were good?

Basically the equipment I went with proved to be excellent in the Camino Primitivo and Camino San Salvador. A few pieces warrant comment 

HOKA Bondi V8 - excellent choice for this walk which due to plentiful road walking required maximum comfort

Packa - while I poked a lot of fun at the Packa it is pretty neat rain gear…it will be used again 

Colour Matching - always a key component of long walks…the light Patagonia windbreaker is simply amazing. A home run on these choices….now please don’t tell me you can’t spot the colour matching!

Tilley Hat - a very wise move to buy a new one…it performed very well as a mini umbrella, sun protector and of course it looked very very sharp as you can tell from the photo below. Oh and the straps holding on the hat 🙏 without them I would have lost the Tilley a gadzillion times in the wind!

What equipment choice were poor?

Mini scissors and knock off Goob tube were both junk! Grudgingly I should throw in the $1.75 ($2.00 with HST) poncho bought at Dollarama. It was an impulse buy and not very well thought through! Geez the sleeves do not even cover my arms! What was I thinking? So poor that I ran out of luggage space (see purchases below) and left it in the hotel room along with my can of mosquito spray!

Comparison to a Camino Walk!

No comparison possible to a Camino Walk…anyone reading my blog entries who has completed a Camino walk will recognize significant differences immediately. 

Critical Island Walk Closing Gift Purchases

On arrival May 16th I was so proud of myself as I took care of critical gift purchases which I was able to leave behind at the Arts Hotel where I am staying tonight.

Rose 8 & Elodie 5

Rishi 1

As I was walking…in my spare time 😳…I got to thinking. Rose and Elodie will almost certainly like the hoodies BUT these are Fall items. They would like something to wear right now! Rishi probably won’t say a word!

So I left early this morning knowing that another shopping trip was in store for me…a bit of a softie that way ☺️…tada…was hoping for more pizzazz but this was I hope a good choice 🤔 If not at least the intentions were good 😂

Rose 8 & Elodie 5

Rishi 1

The Modified Island Walk is history! 2023 is an exceptional year for long walks given another long walk … the 2 week Wainwright Coast to Coast England Walk awaits mid September.

2023 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk so it will be busy with walkers! Looking forward to that! At 320 kms long with significant elevation gains/losses it should be a challenging walk…hope the young whipper snapper Greg is in shape 😉 Snicker chocolate bars galore!

As always not sure what blogging will take place…will see how the spirit moves me!

Thanks for reading daily posts…hope you got a few chuckles or they made you smile once or twice. ..some final pictures from today’s walk!

Ok…is this a joke? 

Canada Geese and little ones

Coming into Charlottetown 

Last faithful sign! Thanks old friend!

The End!!!

The Island Walk Map

PEI Island Walk - June 8, 2023 Day 19 Surrey to Vernon Bridge

Daily Information 

Distance:    21.1 Kms   [ 555.5 Kms]

Walking time:  3h 44m [103h 07m]

Doddling time:  17m  [11h 06m]

% Doddling time:  7.1% [8.9%]

Avg walking speed: 5.6 Kms/hr  [5.4 Kms/hr]

Elevation G/L meters: 42(78)  [1,617:(1,492)]

Total Daily Steps: 35,030 [832,567]

% of Walking Days Complete (24): 79.2%

% of Total Kms (estimate 703): 79.0% 

% of Shuttle Rides (estimate 17): 105.9%

% Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 km):

57.1% 

Almost there! Shuttle rides are COMPLETE!!! I had miscounted the expected number…should have been 18. A few switches in that 2 shuttle rides from Ned’s Landing never took place to be replaced by 2 unplanned shuttle rides from Dixon’s. Somehow it all worked out in the end! 😊

Another very quiet easy walking day which started just before 7am. 11C…cloudy…light winds…in shorts and t-shirt again…perfect! Doused in mosquito repellant…no mosquitoes again!

Did not meet anyone…no incidents of any kind today. 

Decided this morning to leave the Air Pods in their case and simply walk as I always have just listening to Mother Nature. Spotify music and Podcasts were really helpful to date on The Island Walk…needed something to occupy me…especially on the long road walks.

While I did not listen to Spotify today…I did yesterday and wanted to thank Greg for a perfect addition to my playlist Against the Wind by Bob Seger! Very a propos song for most walking days on The Island Walk…at least the title…listening to the lyrics…well most of it certainly did not line up with my life experiences 😂 Ugh I have been a little too much going in a straight line kind of guy/Guy 😊

Same hearty 😂 breakfast as yesterday…now that is real boring!🥱

Pita ham, salami, cheese and pepperoni 

My Ilness

Had time to think about what happened on Day 16…super hot day 31C I am told…crazy mosquitoes…no repellent…Packa to the rescue.

The initial conclusion was a heat related problem however that has never really seemed right to me. Symptoms should have included feeling confusion (no more than usual 😊), hot dry skin, profuse sweating however none were the case. I was just really sick really quickly.

Also I will have walked ~ 4,000 kms on various walks in all kinds of heat. Feeling light headed…exhausted ok but never sick like I was.

One astute blog reader did point out the oysters as a possible cause based on an article she recently read. I suppose I may not have considered this possibility fully…maybe I simply did not want to take away from a great evening the previous night with George and Martin.

However I did some quick research and the following popped up…

“If someone eats an oyster that contains vibrio bacteria, they can contract an intestinal disease called vibriosis. Common symptoms of vibriosis include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. Illness typically lasts two to three days.”

Take away the fever and chills and this describes my symptoms 100% including the associated timing.

While I will never be totally sure…currently at 99.99% confidence level…I expect what happened is that I ate a bad oyster or two 🦪. If that was actually the case my 4 day rest - 3 due to illness and 1 to regain my strength was exactly what I had to do.

For the near future cooked, bbq oysters will be just fine 😊

Lupin’s a highlight for today 

I have long considered lupins to be an amazing flower…absolutely beautiful in the wild! Today I started to see a few and it was a real treat!

Confederation Trail Walking 

For some this type of walking is very boring…mind numbing I have heard…sure some sections were a little much however for a very high percentage of time I really enjoyed it.

No cars, trucks…secluded easy walking…quite varied terrain especially in the Eastern part of PEI. I have always enjoyed the solitude and peace associated with a walk in the woods…just relax…get into a steady walking pace, rhythm and the kms just keep falling away!

Bill the Shuttle Van Driver

I really enjoyed all 4 shuttle rides with Bill…easy to talk to and I learned so much…here are a few examples.

Meteorologist Bill

I commented in an earlier post that Bill…a former meteorologist with the Forces…publishes a daily weather forecast as a hobby.

Today I learned…

Weather balloons are sent up twice daily at 9am and 9pm all over the world from designated weather stations. Atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature and wind are the main criteria captured. Commercial planes also capture similar data…which is why during COVID the quality of weather forecasts suffered as plane traffic was way way down.

There is a World Meteorological body which sets standards for this data capture. During a significant weather event ie Hurricane weather balloons may be sent very 6 hours.

Weather models are like car manufacturers in that there are many such models all over the world. They all use the same raw data as captured by weather balloons , planes however they will differ in their approaches…emphasizing or weighting factors differently.

Bill considers…based on his experience and objective industry measurement…that the European model is the gold standard. Models produce forecasts…meteorologists apply their experience and local knowledge to refine forecasts.

When I mentioned that weather forecasting in Winnipeg seemed so much better than in Toronto Bill readily agreed it had to be. Main reason is the significant lake effect impacting Toronto…in many ways PEI has similar challenges due to the oceans.

All this for the price of a shuttle ride 😊

Storytelling Bill

Bill recently had a client who was planning on walking the first 7 days on the Island Walk…her first walking experience. Bag transportation arranged through Bill to transport her and her bag at the end of day 1 to Victoria by the Sea.

Early in the day she took a wrong turn in Charlottetown which is EASY to do as I know exactly where that happened. The Confederation Trail crosses a major road…seems logical to keep going on Confederation Trail however you must turn left and walk on the shoulder of the road past shopping centers! I missed this turn myself and thankfully my GPS Wikilocs beeped at me!!! 

Unfortunately this walker became really lost…called another cab instead of Bill who had her luggage…and decided to go to Victoria by the Sea (after Dunedin you either go forward to Victoria by the Sea or backwards to Charlottetown as I did).

Bill then drove her luggage alone to Victoria by the Sea…major $$$ shuttle costs that day! 

Client became discouraged and abandoned the walk after maybe 10% of the first day however she stayed and enjoyed a great week long holiday in beautiful Victoria by the Sea. Such is the crazy Island Walk!

As Bill was finishing this story we arrived at my starting point and I promptly got totally turned around. As I was saying goodbye to Bill I started moving and heard “Guy your heading the wrong way back to where you came from yesterday” Sure enough 😂😳…I would have caught it quickly with GPS and the waypoint sign but it sure was funny! 

Heat Pump Bill

These are everywhere in PEI…turns out the Provincial government subsidizes their installation as part of a Green energy initiative. Heat pumps have fans which pull in the outside air…resulting in their use to either heat or cool your home.

The homeowner must have a secondary heating source typically oil but could be wood burning fireplace to qualify for the grant.

Heat fans generally work to -15C so would be good in Toronto however not so much in Winnipeg 😳

New homes in PEI utilize electrical heating as a secondary source. Natural gas is not available on the Island.

Hurricane Fiona Bill

We talked about the tree damage everywhere …Bill indicated that estimates range as high as a 60% loss of trees in PEI due to the storm. This number just blew me away…incompressible. 

Just on a small property here at Avondale suites they lost 150 trees and suffered $40,000 damage due to fallen trees.

The walking passed quickly and by 11am I was done…sauntered over the golf club 1.5kms away and had a clubhouse sandwich and also takeout for heating up in the microwave later tonight.

These are not fries! They are sweet potatoes!

On to Charlottetown tomorrow and the end of the Long Island Walk…27 kms or so to go…so very close now! Will leave around 6am…likely get there by noon or so…drop backpack at hotel (too early to check in) and go wandering and exploring 😉. 

Wonder if they sell dark chocolate anywhere…have as yet to have a lobster roll sandwich…on and on 😉

To close a few pictures from a really nice enjoyable day!

Hmm some work needed here for shelter!

Ever Closer!

Wood pile is gigantic!!!

Happy Pride Month!