ECT Day 241&242

IAT 72&73

Day 241: 28 miles

This morning we left the motel pretty early. It was still dark and raining lightly. Everyone’s shoes and socks were still soaked from yesterday. But at least everything was wet and warm!

Crossing a bridge early in the morning before the sun came up.

Beautiful views of the ocean as we walked along a railroad.

We got walking and were basically on the outskirts of town. After a few miles of walking, we passed by a gas station and restaurant. Inside we got some of the best breakfast that I’ve had on trail. There have been a handful of iconic breakfast spots along my trek this year. But this one is definitely getting added to the list. I got a classic eggs Benedict and it was killer. I even got coffee for the first time in ages. We’re gonna need it! There are still 25 miles to go for the day.

Three ECT hikers, and three very different ways to take our coffee.

When we got hiking again it was still pretty cold and crummy out. Not nearly as bad as yesterday, but still pretty rough. Because of the cold we didn’t wind stopping again for 6 hours. The miserable trend persists! There weren’t any places to stop off along the road and we knew if we stopped, we would just get colder. So we walked until the afternoon before stopping again.

Sometimes road walks can be beautiful! A waterfall just off the road.

The last hour or so I was super cold. I really should have put my fleece on under my rain jacket. But I didn’t want to stop and pull it out, so I just kept moving. When we got to a gas station rest area around 3pm I was happy to be stopping. The first thing I did once inside was put that warm layer on.

The fall foliage surrounding long rail road tracks.

Then I ordered a large hot latte from Tim Hortons and got lunch from Mary Browns. We sat inside for a long while and were able to warm up nicely. At this point in the day, we were about 20 miles in. While we sat at the rest area, we looked to see what was ahead. It’s so unbelievably cold here recently, especially with all the rain. It is the end of October in Canada.  So the idea of tenting outside in the freezing rain after getting rained on all day is not appealing. Especially after hiking in these conditions for days. Luckily, we were able to find a place to get a motel room about 8 miles ahead on the road.

When we left the travel center the rain had fortunately stopped. It was still quite cold out though, so I kept my fleece and rain jacket on for the rest of the day. Those next 8 miles were at least better than the earlier part of the day. I wasn’t uncomfortable and the wind had died down.

Road walking after dark.

We wound up getting to the next town around 7:40pm. It was really just a motel next to a restaurant, but what more do hikers need? We checked into our room which had 3 full beds in it! Never in my life have I seen a motel room with 3 beds before. We didn’t even know until we got into the room either. That was a hilarious surprise. Now we all get our own bed for the night! Usually, Sparkle is my bed buddy.

Once we got into the room we walked across the street to the restaurant. It closed within the hour, so we had to get in there. I was feeling ravenous and wound up getting a half rack of ribs, baked beans, and a baked potato. It was incredible.

Mother Webb’s for dinner!

My epic dinner spread at Mother Webb’s.

After we ate, we headed back to the room. Everyone showered and got situated. Then I laid in bed and did some writing. We watched a bit of TV and called it a night. Even though these last few days have been really hard hiking conditions we’re doing our best to make the most of it! Getting into a warm room at the end of the day has been almost essential. We are late in the season to be hiking in Canada. It’s sending us out strong!

Day 242: 31 miles

This morning we slept in until 7am and then packed up at the room. I was feeling pretty damn good! We packed up slowly at the room and then got walking around 8am.

Leaving the motel in the early morning.

After walking for a couple hours, we went past a really big grocery store. It was a Superstore grocery store, which are amazing. Possibly the best grocery stores that I’ve ever been to. The international selection is massive so you can find loads of unique snacks. That’s been incredible after 8 months of hiking and eating a lot of the same boring food.

Inside I got a bunch of goodies. I know I’m leaving Canada any day now and want to bring some extra snacks back to the states. Then I can enjoy some Canadian goodies in Alabama! I was able to everything I needed and then some. We also got some breakfast there. Then we got moving again.

Crossing a bridge over a beautiful river.

At this point we were only 5 miles in and we’re planning to do a 30-mile day. That would mean we only have 20 miles tomorrow. We’re almost done with Nova Scotia! We got moving again and my body was feeling decent. Definitely not amazing, but I wasn’t hurting too bad. My right knee feels a lot better today though than it did earlier in the week. The last few days I’ve had a lot less pain in my hip too which is great. Being without a sleep pad for so long definitely took its toll on my hips. But I’m happy to say it’s getting better by the day now. Sleeping in beds the last few days has probably helped majorly too.

Sparkle and I couldn’t resist doing a photo shoot with this hilarious giant puffin statue.

A puffin, a Sparkle, and a Peg Leg.

From there we kept on walking until 2:45pm. Eventually we decided to stop off and take a breather. We were making good time but still had a ways to go for the day. The weather today has been fantastic though in comparison to the rest of the week. Just having to worry about hiking today was great. My feet weren’t wet too which was a nice change of pace.

Sparkle celebrating when we officially crossed the county line into the county in which we will complete the IAT! Not far to go now.

Once it got dark, we put our headlamps on and kept on walking. We had a couple different places in mind for where we might camp for the night. In the end we wound up getting off the road and heading into a cemetery. It was backed by a wood line, so we were able to set our tents up by there. It was quiet and also nice, flat, and grassy. When you’re walking along a road your tenting options are limited! It was a little spooky camping right by a cemetery, but it had to be done.

For the first time in my life I slept overnight in a cemetery.

All of us got set up and then retreated to our tents. I ate a little something and then called it a night. I can’t believe that today was our last full day of hiking on the IAT! Tomorrow we only have 20 miles to go and will walk right to the Tim Hortons near Caribou where we left off previously. That’s where we walked to when we first got to Nova Scotia, before we ferried over to Newfoundland. That feels like a lifetime ago now. We will finish there tomorrow and then the IAT will be complete! 1500 miles of walking in just over 2 months.