Walking across Europe - 2013: 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!