Day 15: Miscouche to Kensington

Sunday, August 9

Temperature: High 75°F / Low 67°F

Conditions: Overcast and humid

Distance Walked: 25k (includes dinner walks)

Experiences of the Day

By the time I woke up today (7:40am!) three of our walkers were already on the trail and the fourth one was going to bike part of it and then switch off with one of the other walkers. That left me to walk the trail in solitude with my LM Montgomery audiobook and my new shoes (which I love).

We had stayed at the Slemon Park Hotel, a total win. When we checked in the night before, Kim had set us up with everything we needed: extra water, plates for the microwave, a hot pot, and directed us to the free washer and dryer and there were multiple laundry rooms (we were staying in the barracks after all). The sheets were super soft and it was extremely quiet. That's probably why I slept 10 plus hours, which I really needed. 

I went down to check out this morning and there was Kim. I asked her if she knew if anybody was going into town because I needed to get a ride into Miscouche so that I could continue from where I had left the trail day before. No, not that she knew of. But she very graciously offered to take me into town herself. Another trail angel! On our short drive to town, I told her I had been out bike riding the night before and I had seen a red fox. She told me that some of the foxes in the area had gotten mange and that the fish and wildlife people provided the hotel with food for the foxes that it had medicine in it. They had all recovered, but she thinks that some of the hotel staff still feed the foxes which is why there are so many around that area. I said goodbye and she gifted me with a couple of pears for the trail. 

I saw a number of bikers on the trail and enjoyed my walk into Summerside. The tunnel of trees on the outskirts of town was quite beautiful and I noticed at one of the covered picnic areas several of the trees had the bark pulled away...I'm curious as to why this was. 

A little more trail magic presented itself when a cyclist named Dara passed by me for the second time on her way back to her car in Kensington. She was out for a bike ride and wondered what I was doing, so on her way back she stopped to ask and we had a nice visit as we walked together into town. I told her I was going to hitchhike out to our bed and breakfast because I was tired and she offered to give me a ride! 

Even more trail magic when I walked in to the bed and breakfast and found a beautiful set of gift bags with hand printed notes waiting for us in the lobby. Thank you so much Kendra for what you did for our group -- I think all of us felt exactly the same way when we saw the surprise. We were all just so tired and to walk in and see them lifted our spirits immensely — we just felt joyful and very welcomed by you.

Showered and ready to roll, we went out to the Island Stone Pub Kensington Station. I had heard that the fish tacos were the best on the island. They did not disappoint, in fact, I don't think I've ever had fish tacos that good. It was just something about the cornmeal-based coating that put them right over the top.

Fish Mart

Old train station in Summerside.

Bark for basketry?

More trail magic: Dara!

Kensington

Gift bags from Kendra our trail angel.

Chocolates, GF bars, Canadian maple candies, taffy, water and Miss Vickie's Chips!

Fish tacos at the pub.

Scrumptious!

Day 15: Miscouche to Kensington, 25k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Leftovers
• Lunch: Fruit, nuts, Gatorade, 1/2 Pro meal bar, ADL choc milk
• Dinner: Island Stone Pub Kensington Station fish tacos

Lodging: Home Place Inn

Day 14: Northam to Miscouche

Saturday, August 8

Temperature: High 77°F / Low 69°F

Conditions: Overcast, no wind.

Distance Walked: 21k

Experiences of the Day

Today we had the most variety of surfaces we have experienced in a single day. After we were dropped off at the trailhead by our new friend and trail angel Kathy, we went down the road for a bit and then we turned onto a grassy road. I was at the head of our group today and took the brunt of the wet grass. My socks were so wet that I could squeeze water out of them. My shoes and insoles were sopping wet. It was not a good start to the day. We sat down on a paved driveway opposite the trail once we got out to the main road and I proceeded to take care of my wet feet and deal with my blisters. Changed into my recovery Oofa sandals for the remaining 14 or 15k. 

We had a very exciting stop at Cook's Corner where we had ice cream (the Dilly Bar is GF!) and the owners came out to give us a little talk about the history of the place while we ate our snacks and sat in their little cafe. We made our way over to the Acadian Museum, which was quite interesting and then our new best friend Kathy came with all of our stuff including a bicycle and took us over to the Slemon Park Hotel. I don't know how we got so lucky to meet her, but she made the last couple of days so easy for us. We are grateful!

After dinner, we realized the shoe store was not going to open until noon on Sunday, so we quickly called a taxi and got a ride into Summerside where I got some new shoes! Kyler at SportChek was an amazing staffer! 

Ended the day with a nice 5k bike ride down to the aerospace area...saw a red fox and found a geocache!

Near the intersection of Aldous and Macinnis Road, Northam area around 7am with mosquito net.

Our feet were so wet from the morning condensation.

MacDougal Road: One of the few grassy trails.

Soapwort. We saw a lot of it and it has a nice smell.

Walking on Hwy 12 south of Grand River.

MacLean Road

Glad we weren't here when it rained!

Cook's Dilly Bar...GF and oh so good!

Taxi to Summerside SportChek!

Evening bike ride at the aerospace business park.

Day 14: Northam to Miscouche, 21k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Yogurt, blueberries, ADL chocolate milk, tomato juice 
• Lunch: Ice cream
• Dinner: Watermelon, beans, cheese, potato, spinach, olives, hummus and milk

Lodging: Slemon Park Hotel

Day 13: Portage to Northam

Friday, August 7

Temperature: High 80°F / Low 68°F

Conditions: Sunny (no wind)

Distance Walked: 19.6k

Experiences of the Day

There is a lot of love on this island! We met the neighbor at our Airbnb, Kathy the Trail Angel! The next thing you know, she has offered to take us to the trailhead at 6:00a.m.! She loaded the bicycle into the back of the truck and we all hopped in and off we went to the Portage trailhead.

We are back on the same section of the trail that we have already walked. This time however as I approached one of the driveways on the trail, it was a very distinctive odor which was not there the other day. A fresh load of oyster shells had been delivered for use on the driveway.

We got done with the walk pretty early as it was a fairly easy day and our upper Trail Angel, Jo-anne, had texted us asking if there was anything we wanted to do on the island. Before you knew it, she had picked up three of us, and took us to the Ship Building Museum and Green Provincial Park and then over to the Lenox Island Culture Center where we had a fantastic tour from Savannah. It was a fascinating afternoon. On the way back to our Airbnb, we made a detour and stopped at the oyster place.

Earlier we had asked Jo-anne if she wanted to eat dinner with us -- we were going to have salads and baked potatoes. Well, wouldn't you know it, she showed up with a cooler full of mussels, a cup of wine, a stick of butter, garlic, and onion and proceeds to cook mussels for us! None of us had ever eaten them and they were pretty good. What a wonderful day we had surrounded by magical people.

Trail Angel Kathy with us at the trailhead at 6am!

Confederation Trail. Look familiar?

Fresh oyster shells.

Mi'kmaq Culture Center on Lennox Island

Savannah our guide standing with her former hocky coach Jo-anne!

Hieroglyphics on PEI

Dinner!

Can you believe this?

Day 13: Portage to Northam, 19.6k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Egg and cheese muffin, blueberries
• Lunch: Chicken salad sandwich from Ellerslie market
• Dinner: Mussels, salad, potatoes, veggies and hummus

Lodging: Tyne Valley Airbnb

Rest Day 1: Tyne Valley

Thursday, August 6

Temperature: High 82°F / Low 70°F

Conditions: Sunny and humid

Distance Walked: 0k

Experiences of the Day

Waking up early, I enjoyed the cool quiet views from the deck with thoughts about the upcoming day: visits to the Bideford Parsonage and Shellfish Museums. But first, I decided to listen to The Hidden Island: Painting the Gables Green podcast. This is a small place for sure because Alan, the LM Montgomery scholar being interviewed, is the fellow who gave us raspberries on the second morning of our walk!

We ended up getting a ride with a neighbor to the Bideford Parsonage Museum, where LM "Maud" Montgomery lived for several months when she was 19 years old. The tour was led by Tyson, a sophomore in high school who did a magnificent job. We tried to keep him on his toes and asked many questions. He was a wealth of knowledge and answered them extremely knowledgeably. For example, he showed us her room where she stayed when she was a teacher in the area and he showed us the kitchen where the Minister's wife put liniment into the cake rather than vanilla! Many of the things Maud wrote about came from her life experiences.

It was hot and humid outside and when I went back into the museum to ask about the cache, Sam (one of the guides) offered to take us to the Shellfish Museum about 1/2 mile away and was willing to make two trips to transport all of us. Therese and I quickly accepted; the others declined and walked in the heat of the day. We thanked Sam profusely for her kindness. It was important to stay out of the heat as much as possible on our rest day.

Once in the museum, we met James, the face of the museum and and an oyster fisherman. We chatted with him extensively and learned about the process of seeding, planting and harvesting oysters. Bashfully, he shared today's newspaper which had a great article about him.

We hitchhiked from the museum with a great fellow whose wife, Deana, insisted he give us a ride to Dillon's in Tyne Valley while she stayed behind at the museum with their cute little dog. One thing led to another and the next thing you know we are eating dessert at the Tyne Valley Tea House. Of course that means that we had to find another ride...and as it turned out the guy I asked for a ride, Daryl in the parking lot of the post office, lives three houses down the street from us!

Writing desk of LM Montgomery

The liniment fiasco happened in this kitchen!

Trying to stump Tyson the tour guide.

Can you spot the geocache?

James the famous museum guy.

Another ride!

Enjoying coffee and dessert at Tyne Valley Teas Cafe.

Rest Day 1: Tyne Valley

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Yogurt, blueberries, tomato juice 
• Lunch: Veggies and hummus
• Dinner: Veggie burgers, watermelon, beans with cheese, salsa and avocado.

Lodging: Tyne Valley Airbnb

Day 12: Alberton to Portage

Wednesday, August 5

Temperature: High 86°F / Low 69°F

Conditions: Hot with a light breeze

Distance Walked: 24.1k

Experience of the Day

One word: Jo-anne.

Trail angel extraordinaire! Therese and I were sitting in the shade at the old gas station about 7 or 8k into the walk and guess who shows up with ice water and cookies??? We sat for a while visiting and when we got up to leave, Therese was trying to get her shorts to stay up (forgot belt and has lost weight). About an hour later, Jo-anne is back with four different ways to keep Therese's shorts up. As it turned out, the old dog leash worked the best. Therese went for a tour with Jo-anne to get cooled off and I trudged onward. It was hot and when I spotted a fellow in his yard, I headed over and asked to use his garden hose to cool down. Al, in the yellow house, also filled my cup with ice water. 

Jo-anne dropped Therese off to continue the walk and then went on down to Portage to wait for us. Some time later when I looked down the trail I could have sworn that it was Jo-anne coming right toward us. Sure enough, she decided to meet us and wow, does she have a quick pace — in Birkenstocks no less! Back at the car, she took us over to Dillon's to get a pizza and then dropped us at our Airbnb, which she had stayed at when she did the Tip-to-Tip ride.

We are ever so grateful to our friend for watching over us!!

Cool honey dispenser at La Petite France in Alberton!

Ice cold water!

Field of Dreams

Makeshift belt!

At the "Percival Rd" from Hwy 2 to the Confederation Trail. 
This mowed area is very misleading...it was a lot of tall grass!

Jo-Anne walking up from the Portage trailhead!

Therese and Jo-anne heading to Portage.

Day 12: Alberton to Portage, 24.1k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Fruit, cheese, salami, muesli, yogurt, scrambled eggs, home made bread with apple jelly and peanut butter, and the best cranberry juice ever. 
• Lunch: Snacks, choc milk, electrolytes, water 
• Dinner: Dillon's pizza (veggie with pepperoni), bell peppers, milk. 

Lodging: Tyne Valley Airbnb