PEI Island Walk - September 30, 2024 Day 24 Montague to Gaspereaux

Success! PEI Island walk is complete! 24 walking days,,,705 kms...29.4kms per day....1.04 million steps and 28 shuttle rides! 🤣. There will never be another walk like it! Right now it’s a little hard to process after coping with the many ups & downs along the way...but it sure feels good! ☺️ 

While the outcome was one of my 9 possible 2024 PEI Island Walk completion plans and possibly the one I silently hoped for 🤔😉 frankly walking 30, 37, 36 and 20 kms on consecutive days seemed almost out of reach. But somehow it came together.☺️

PEI Island Walk

A warm thank you to Dawn who over the past 4 days woke up early to drive me to various starting points and then drove to various pickup points at days end. Without fail I never had to wait a minute after a long walking day...Dawn was there with the car...often passing me in the very last stretch tapping the horn as she went by. Without your help Dawn I could never have completed this crazy walk...grand merci  & much 🥰

Stats

Original Plan (Red), 2023/2024 Actual (Blue)

Walking Days: Original Planned 24, 2023/2024 Actual 24

Total Kms Walked:  Original Planned 703, 2023/2024 Actual 705

Walking time 3h 47m [131h 40m]

Kms per hour Walking: 5.4 kms per hr  [5.4 kms/hr]

Steps: 1,040,573

Shuttle Rides: Original Planned 17, 2023/2024 Actual 28

Elevation Gains/Losses: 101 (92) [2,278:(2,208)]

% Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 km): Original Planned 7, 2023/2024 Actual 4

Walked to Gaspereaux....2024 Phase 2 PEI Island Walk is complete!

Gaspereaux (Green Arrow)

An interesting little analysis 

I have walked 164 days on various long walks. The table below summarizes the Top 5 walking days based on 2, 3, 4 consecutive walking days without consideration for Elevation Gains/Losses. The PEI Island Walk shows up in the Top 5 for each measurement...surprised me somewhat! 

Walk to Gaspereaux

Today was an easy 20.2km day...perfect weather again...everything was in sync for walking strongly. My pace early was a little too swift at 5.7km a hour...so I had to tone that down a bit and averaged 5.4 kms an hour.

Other than an unfortunate loss virtually at day’s end absolutely nothing to report on today’s walk. Straight up highway 17 from Montague and before I knew it...voila!

Now take a look at the picture below...which I made extra large...this may well be my or anyones BEST selfie ever!!! I am in the picture with my best look and note the sign for Gaspereaux WP #28 is in the background. I am very proud of the composition in the photo ☺️😉!

An impressive selfie with WP #28 on the sign!

The unfortunate incident 3.3 kms from the end is...I lost my left ear AirPod Pro earpiece. I was listening to music...thinking I would like to finish with Vangelis Chariots of Fire a perfect way to end the walk...when the  music stopped. When I pressed play again sound came only from the right ear...then I reached to an empty space on my left ear.

D*mn that must mean the left AirPod is gone was my immediate brilliant deduction 🥲. I searched around and then walked back a way without success. Then I tried “Find my Devices” and it said the AirPod was last seen in Montague 13 kms away. The problem being that I walk with AirPlane Mode on most of the time to conserve battery so I can follow GPS tracks to not get lost and then have stats. 🤓. Find my Devices needs an internet connection to provide the last accurate known location. Oh well 😰.

What happens next? Other than perhaps a blogpost or two I anticipate a long rest for the blog. Paulo had indicated he is a go for mid May 2025 either the Via Francigena Lucca or San Miniato to Rome or the Rota Vincentina in Portugal.

I am really drawn to the Tuscan hills in Italy as a first choice. There are two considerations prior to making a final decision by 2024 year end or into January 2025.

- 2025 has been deemed a Jubilee year by Pope Francis. At some earlier point in life I would have known what a Jubilee year entails...now I don’t however it is expected to draw up to 30 million people into Rome over 2025. This has to be considered in terms of ease of finding accommodation etc. Frankly it intrigues me greatly as this would significantly add to the adventure and might well make for some interesting stories.

- my post prostate surgery issue which I alluded to in an earlier blogpost where I included my packing list would be a very significant hurdle to any future long walk. I understand the prognosis for overcoming this is good with continued physical therapy...hopeful is the current feeling.

Somehow I have an overriding gut feeling that what needs to be overcome will happen...perhaps with a creative solution allowing for this walk. However all is TBD

Completing the PEI Island Walk was unfinished business for me. There is one other walk that falls squarely in unfinished business...Camino Portuguese from Lisbon to Porto...~375 kms. Someday I hope I will give it a go. 🤔

Tomorrow is a much anticipated rest day... planning to go a seafood restaurant and explore around Johnson Shore Inn. I highly recommend the Johnson Shore Inn for anyone visiting PEI...you will not be disappointed.

Thanks to all who have read, skimmed or tried to read these PEI Island blogposts. Weird sentence structure, silly stories etc etc must be due to lingering effects from those mid June 2024 surgery drugs 😉. Seriously your comments and good wishes are more welcome than you can ever imagine 🙏

Other than a few pictures from the day, an email to Heather at PEI Tourism to notify her of my walk completion for a certificate AND a lollipop, an email to Ron metionned in a earlier blogpost that I followed in his footsteps also completing my Island walk as well, wrap up comments below that's a wrap!

Oh also some critical shopping is ahead in Charlottetown for gifts for the 3 grandchildren!

Last night at the Inn!

Salads were incredible!

Roast chicken, mashed potatoes and superb veggies

Somewhere under there is gingerbread cake!!! 🤣

An interesting enterprise and sign!

At the entry of Anchors Alley

The “crooked” purple house! 😉

iPhone camera has a mind of its own 🤣

Dave’s boots at the Inn! Perfect!

Wrapup Comments

When I completed the 2023 20 day portion of the PEI Island Walk I wrote the following in my final blogpost. The thoughts still very much apply therefore I am including a modified version below. If I was to add one thing it would be this...”So very proud to be a Canadian today and having explored a beautiful part of our vast country"

Reflecting on the PEI 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!

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.