ECT Day 229&230

IAT Day 60&61

Day 229: 32 miles

This morning we had originally planned to head over to breakfast around 6am. But we wound up sleeping in a bit and went to breakfast around 7:30am instead. Then we packed up and got ready to hike again.

Technically we could have followed along one main road all day long which would have gotten us to our destination quicker. Trucker didn’t feel comfortable though walking along a potentially busy highway all day, which is understandable. So instead we just had to follow along different parallel roads all day.

Walking by the ocean early on this morning.

We started walking around 8:30am and it was a pretty chill morning. The side roads weren’t that busy, but we were definitely adding on miles by zigzagging around. It had rained a lot last night and a bit this morning but fortunately stopped. It wound up being a really nice day out.

Following behind Sparkle and Trucker along an ATV path.

Once we started, we didn’t stop again until around 1pm. That was a good push to start us off and brought us to a town with a gas station. I got a couple things and then we went over to a subway for lunch. Subway is one of my favorite “fast foods” on trail this year. It tastes a lot fresher than other alternatives. All of us ate and then began walking again. It was a nice little break.

The foliage is officially in full swing here in Canada! Today I got to admire all of the yellows, oranges, and reds.

From there we stayed on the main road which wasn’t too busy. We were fueled up by food and drinks and I was feeling pretty good. My right knee is definitely hurting a bit today though. It’s been a very up and down process. There have been multiple times where I thought I was starting to finally heal. And it seems like as soon as I start to think it’s getting better it winds up flaring back up. The process has been a bit exhausting but I’m managing.

Today it really felt like fall is in full swing along the trail.

Once we got walking again, we cruised along for a while. I listened to music and entertained myself by singing. For a while I was pretty far ahead of Sparkle and Trucker just singing along. Time was going by quickly and I felt a bit less sore as the day went on.

We followed along roads which paralleled the highway basically all day. Though after a while we could no longer avoid walking on the actual highway. It was truly the only way to get to the next town without doing major backtracking. We began walking the highway around 6pm which was terrible timing. There wasn’t much daylight left so we knew we would inevitably be walking the highway at night.

We spent most of the morning walking along the water.

The highway was 100km per hour and cars were whipping past us. Because of the exit we had to take we couldn’t walk against the traffic. I find it’s much safer to walk at oncoming so that you are able to see and react. But we had to walk with traffic for over an hour. That wasn’t ideal but there was plenty of shoulder.

Every time I see one of these mirrors along a road I have to take a picture.

It got dark as we walked the highway, and we switched our headlamps on. Then eventually took an exit heading towards our destination. We walked right into Corner Brook and headed towards the Walmart. All of us resupplied for the next couple of days. Then we got a ride over to a nearby motel. Tomorrow we’ll just have to get a ride back to the Walmart to maintain our footpath. I’m not necessarily a purist at all but I have enjoyed maintaining a continuous footpath throughout Canada.

Walking along a busy highway as the sun began to set.

Once we got to the motel we checked into our room and lounged. At this point it was nearly 9pm and we were all exhausted. I went through my hoard of groceries and other goodies from Walmart. I needed a bunch of random stuff such as contact solution, KT tape, tissues, etc. My headphones also broke recently so I got a new pair.

Then I made myself something to eat for dinner in the microwave. We all showered and then watched TV before calling it a night. I wound up doing some writing and laying up until after midnight.

Day 230: 26 miles

This morning I slept in until after 7am which felt really late. Then we all packed up and got ready to hike out. I had bought so much food and different drinks last night at Walmart, so packing it away was a struggle. But it will be worth it over the course of the day.

Once everyone was ready, we had to get a taxi back over to Walmart to connect our footsteps there. Then we got back to walking. Along the way we stopped off once or twice because Sparkle had lost her headphones. So we tried a couple stores along our walking route. It was cold outside, but I got a popsicle. They have this one popsicle in Canada that is creamy like sorbet and I always get it when I see it.

Sometime after 9am we were done with all of our side quests and continuing along our route. We followed a main highway for a little while and then were walking on a dirt path for a lot of the day.

A giant leaf along the ATV road.

At one point while we were walking, we came upon a bridge fully blocked off. A gate had been put up blocking all entry even though the bridge looked sound. We wound up having to climb around and make our way onto the bridge regardless. We had gone way too far to turn back and detour around the bridge. But it was easy enough to cross and then we continued along.

We had to work our way around this fenced in bridge in order to continue along the trail.

We continued on for a long while after that. I was feeling pretty good and we went for a while without breaking. I had started with rain gear on this morning, but it had warmed up a bit, so I took it off. As we walked, I tried to drop the weight of my pack by snacking as much as I could. Then around 2:15pm we took a proper break.

A sign along the ATV path.

Walking past a clear lake towards the end of the day.

There weren’t a lot of places to stop along the dirt road, so we wound up just sitting along it. But the spot was flat and dry enough. I ate some more food while we sat there. Then I did my stretching before we continued along. Today is a really good day for my knee. If I could keep feeling like this then I would be great! There have just tended to be a lot of ups and downs.

While we were walking a few guys on ATVs went by us at different times. As it began to get dark one guy asked if we wanted to stay at his house. We had been planning to just tent somewhere off the road. He told us we were welcome to come over to his property and where it was. Then not long after that another guy on ATV rode by and said the same thing! He even came back a second time and showed us on a map where his property was.

Having some fun along the road just before the sun set.

As we continued to walk, we realized that there weren’t really any places to camp. So we wound up going over to Jimmy’s property. This guy Jimmy had a house and was in the process of building a small cabin. It was mostly complete so he told us that we could stay inside. There was a couch and a queen-sized bed so it was perfect.

The tiny cabin that we got to spend the night in!

To top it off, when we arrived we got to meet Jimmy’s 8-week-old golden retriever puppy. The puppy was so cute and snuggly and we got to pet it for a long time while we chatted with Jimmy. Then he left us there in the cabin to hang out and get ready for bed. It’s supposed to rain tonight so it will be lovely to be indoors! The trail truly provides.

Lito the adorable 8 week old puppy.

Sparkle and I slept in the bed with our sleeping bags and Trucker took the couch. My body was pretty sore and I was tired so I wound up falling asleep really quickly.

Sparkle and I slept in our sleeping bags on the queen bed inside the cabin.