Well not a lot can be said about this section, so today will be a very short blog. It started out raining but the weather did get quite a bit nicer. But it was all… Mosquitoes,Mosquitoes Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes 🦟 Mosquitoes 🦟 and more Mosquitoes 🦟 and of course Confederation Trail.
The Mosquitoes 🦟 were so thick we did not even stop for lunch, there was absolutely no where we could comfortably stop and rest without getting swarmed.
We did pass by the fish ladder. Quick photo snap.
A mailbox in the middle of nowhere
And when we did get to our final destination the Elmira Train Station Museum we had a little fun.
But we were happy to see the way point and get the heck back to our B&B unfortunately our shuttle ran over a nail on the way back and we had to stop, wait for another ride, and the car with the flat had to be towed all the way to Charlottetown 😪 just our luck.
oh well just another thing to laugh at.
Can’t wait for what happens next. BTW we are just past our 500km mark so only 200 more to go!!!
Well what can I say about today, I donated more blood than I have ever even given to the Red Cross.
🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟
It looked like we might start the day with a bit of rain, which would not have been a bad thing, but it never happened and it just kept getting warmer and warmer, and with the warmth, came all the mosquitoes. They really love me and although I used two different mosquito repellants I still managed to get probably over 100 bites. ****Pro tip**** I actually learned this from Kyle one of our B&B hosts. Just dab white vinegar on the bites and it takes away the itching, this works better than After Bite. I can confirm.😏
Now about this section of the walk and I am going to quote walkers Ruby and Laurie who are a couple days ahead of us “this is such a great section of the Confederation Trail, SAID NO ONE EVER” 🤣😂😅🤣
We did start out the walk at the St. Peter’s visitor centre which is right at the way point start. We met the lovely Judy who works there and she was very sociable, and loves the Island Walkers. We got a nice stamp for our passports, and we were on our way.
Again we were sad to leave our fabulous B&B the Points East Coastal Inn. What a great place to stay and the hosts Sarah and Roger were amazing, the food excellent, and the amount of work they have put into this B&B is incredible. The location right at the way point makes it an ideal place to stay, and if you are thinking about taking a break day I would definitely spend a day off here. Perfect location and beautiful scenery.
As for the walk it was all Confederation Trail, a couple of other highlites. We ran into these two very friendly Conservation offices a couple of times while they were patrolling this section of trail.
They were very friendly and well heck we did not have very much else to take pictures of today 🤣🤣
I do have one more ***pro tip for today and those who will be walking this after us *** There is a great spot on this section of trail when you reach Larkins Pond to have lunch, it is a bit breezy so the mosquitoes 🦟 did not bite while we were here, and Larkins Pond was lovely. This tip was passed down from Anita, who is a couple days ahead, to Ruby and Laurie, and then to me. So you know it is a good one. ☺️
#19 Bishops Rest- #20 St. Peter’s. Today was another very hot day, all Confederation Trail walking. We had heard this was one of the more scenic sections of the trail so that was encouraging, but what really made the day was the Jean McCardle joined us for the entire day.
We met Jean our first two days of the walk she was our B&B hostess and we have been keeping in touch since we left Ebb Tide. She is training to walk Hadrian’s wall and wanted to get a few more kms in before she leaves next week and she asked if she could join us. She has an incredible knowledge about all things PEI and it was so enjoyable that she joined us for the day and relayed many incredible stories about the history of PEI.
We were very sad to leave our B&B Bishops Rest and highly recommend it to anyone doing the Island Walk.
In this section of the Confederation Trail blueberry farms dot the landscape and many of the farmers use honey bees to pollinate their crops. They can transport the hives from one location to another on trailers throughout their fields. It seems very efficient.
Continuing through this section of the Confederation Trail the views did not disappoint.
And after 24.5kms we reached our destination.
Points East Costal Inn, another B&B winner for sure. We have really stayed in probably some of the best B&B’s and we do have Bill Kendrick to thank for that, as I used his Go for a Walk service to assist us with our planning. He made some really great choices .Once again Points East Coastal Inn also had a menu where we could pick some delightful dinner choices.
The homemade pizza was one of their selections. And for dessert I had a piece of Home-made Strawberry Rhubarb pie that was really the best pie I have ever tasted.
Tomorrow’s section of the Confederation Trail also has no food stops along the way, so they also offer a lunch take out selection. Everything on the menu including the bread and foccacia is home-made, and they know it can be a long hot day so no mayo, or things in your lunch that might possibly spoil.
***My pro tip for you today *** once again we knew it was a long 25km day. Halfway through we were able to stop at the Co-op to get lunch and drinks but we still did not pack enough water. It was very hot and again on the Confederation Trail does not have a lot of shade. So even though you think you have packed enough water, take an extra bottle. Especially if you know it is going to be sunny 🌞
Well I think that is enough for today. See you all tomorrow. Please feel free to leave us any comments or questions we are loving hearing from everyone.
To leave a comment, once you have the blog up, tap again on the date and it will reload with a section for comments on the bottom.Thanks all and I hope you are enjoying the blog.. With only 12 more days to go I will definitely be doing a wrap up summary as well. Let me know what you would like to see included in that, especially those reading that will be doing the Island Walk later.
It was a beautiful sunny day today, and we started the day out early as it was a full pack day which takes us a little longer. We also had to go beyond Mount Stewart to get to our B&B.
There is about 7 km of road walking before you turn on to the Confederation Trail 👣. Once you get there it is a right to go to Charlottetown or a left if you are continuing the Island Walk journey so left we went.
Quite honestly the day was long and slow, hot 🔥, mosquitoes 🦟, and my knee was acting up. So we plodded along. This section of the Confederation Trail is pretty much the same as the rest, some marsh, some trees 🌲, some benches, not much shade 😒.
If you do stop and read the placards along the trail you do learn quite a lot about the area, history, and flora and fauna. So when you have the time I encourage you it is very interesting, and makes for a good quick break.
About 10 kms into the Confederation Trail we were very happy to see the Convenience store and Robins Doughnuts.
Of course we stopped for a break, fueled up and we were on our way.
Well then we had a bit of a scare 😱.Petra is a diabetic and she she took a reading just as we got back on to the trail and the reading came up quite low. So we made her stop and wait 10 minutes to do another reading. Reluctantly she did as we asked, and we waited did another reading and it was even lower. So we got everything we had out of our packs and threw it at her, wine gums, I made her drink some straight up Pepsi, trail mix, a protein bar. We waited another ten minutes she did another reading, we’ll this time it did not even register 😒 so she messaged her daughter who is a nurse. And then we figured out her sensor was not working properly. First time it has ever happened to her. Luckily she had a spare, she changed it out and we continued on our way. She could not do another reading for an hour but when she could finally do one of course it was high because we plyed her with sugar. We all laughed about it after but it was pretty scary for Meadow and I.
We made it to way point 19 with no other incidents. Whew.
We had to continue on another approx 3kms to our B&B – Bishops Rest. We arrived at about 4:30 hot sweaty and tired. We were greeted by our hostess Sarah, with a big jug of ice water and fresh made Bishops Rest Cinnamon rolls.
If you have not tried them they are absolutely delicious, the Bishops Rest bakery is run by Ben who is not only a baker, but a chef. And for dinner we ordered personalized home made meals.
So really today’s trip was not really about the trip as much as it was the destination. The meals were excellent, also gourmet dessert.
And the beds were so comfortable.
I think this B&B is the number one stay on the trip so far, and I would highly recommend it to anyone doingbthe walk. It is literally just steps off the trail.
Ok that is enough for this post.🙂 Looking forward to what today brings and meeting up with Jean and Trooper today, to join us for our walk.
#17 Cymbria to #18 Dalvay.another 23.5km in the books today on a perfect day to walk this stretch.
We were looking forward to another walk through a National Park, and today did not disappoint. And it was another day where we really took our time enjoyed the sites, had some fun, and really enjoyed our lunch!!
The first 6 or so kms are road walking until you get into the National Park and onto the Gulf Shore Parkway. But we still had some time to get into trouble.
We met a few friends.
And saw another fox!! All before we got to the National Park. Once on the Parkway we stopped at most but not all of the spectacular beaches.
Stopped at Richard’s in Dalvey by the Sea for lunch. And left our mark for perpetuity, or until it fades 🤣
But most of all we had fun and made it to way point #18
A little about our accommodations for the last two nights, we are staying at Shaws Hotel. They are the oldest, continuously run family-operated inn in Canada, and they are the oldest business on Prince Edward Island. They opened the Inn in 1860 and the Shaw family continues to run it to this day. They are also a National Historic site. A really nice place to stay for this portion of the walk.
Well as we are carrying on to our next accommodations , I am off to pack and get ready for a full pack walk tomorrow 💪.
Once again we started out strong, the weather was great, a little windy but that was also good for the times it was hot it really cooled us off. Many great surprises today. Just about 2 Kms into the morning we saw the Cavendish tourist mart, and we were short on a few things so we stopped in.
This store has absolutely everything 😍 and we picked up a few things we needed bug spray, mosquito netting, and a lottery ticket (hopefully someone wins so we can stay in PEI) hint hint Petra. We met Deborah, pictured above with us. She is a fantastic Island walk supporter and recognized us from some of the post I have been doing. Please all you future walkers stop by if you get the chance. ( She also hinted there may be a stamp in your future😉)
Our next stop today was only a few more kms along the walk. We stopped into the Cavendish Tourism Centre, (again for those that might be doing the walk) just when you turn right at Cawnpore lane.
They have a fantastic sign we had to take our picture 😁, and a stamp for your passport!
Once you leave the Tourist centre you enter the National Park. ***Pro tip*** the instructions are not clear if you take the road or the path, take the path on your left and not the road into the park.
The walk through the National Park was fantastic many many great views. And beaches.
We dilly dallied a lot and really took our time through this section so I am giving you one more *** Pro top of the day*** the information we had for this day said this section was 19 kms so we really took a lot of time relaxing and enjoying everything, and we thought we could add an additional 5km onto today as in two days we have a 27km day with our full packs so we thought we could get ahead. Unfortunately the kms listed were incorrect this was a 26km day and we did not do the extra km by skipping the 242 turn, instead we took hwy 6 all the way to way point 17 😒
We had a fantastic day but just did not get ahead like we had hoped. We did also stop for a really great lunch in North Rustico under the recommendations of the lovely lady at the tourism office.
On the Dock was a really great place to eat. And just for my sister Verna there was another lobster roll consumed. 😋
One last thing about today was confirmed.
Petra really does look like a pylon. We usually put her in front when walking beside roadways so we are visible to cars. 🤣🤣🤣
All in all a really great day, we were glad we took time to enjoy all the stops but again for anyone following the blog and doing the walk after us please save lots of time leave early and plan to arrive later to get the full enjoyment for this section.
Sorry for not posting last night 😒 my phone ran out of juice. Check in again tonight, everyone have a great day!
We left our lovely host Doreen, this morning and started out to Bayview.
First we had to complete the couple of kms from yesterday so we stopped for our photo for way point 15, found a great little bakery just before the way point and picked up some goodies for the day (it was a good move, which you will learn about later in today’s blog 🤣)
We started out the day uneventfully, but a little windy, lots of road walking today, but no real heavy traffic so it was fairly pleasant. A great temperature, not too hot not to cold, but the challenge came from the hills. For anyone doing the walk ***Pro tip*** be prepared for the hills today!!
this picture is of the first well placed bench we found today and we took advantage of it before going up……
This dousy of a hill. There was a little more walking and then…….
this hill. About 3/4 of the way up this hill there was another bench.
Which we also took full advantage of. Well placed Island Walk crew!! You get kudos for those placements.
Those were not the only hills of the day, and according to my smart watch we did the equivalent of 72 flights of stairs OUCH.
After all that hill climbing things did get much better, lots of fabulous views and a great place Sou West restaurant in New London for a late lunch. We don’t normally have the pleasure of a restaurant for lunch as there have not been many places to stop at so this was a pleasant surprise and it was open!!
It turns out that it was very fortuitous that we had a big lunch as by the time we arrived at our lodgings there was absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing open. I even walked an extra kilometer to the gas station to get absolutely anything and the gas station was closed too. Back track to that baking we bought in the morning well good thing as that is what we had for dinner.
Back to our completion shot of the day. Yes we have completed half of the journey, so hard to believe.
The one good thing that happened was the hot tub was open at our lodging the first one in 16 days. So we definitely took advantage of that.
Tomorrow is another day and hopefully the breakfast will be eatable, if not there is always Tim Hortons.
Miscouche to almost Kensington 21 km. Another day in the books.
We started out strong, the sun was shining we were in high spirits. Although we were leaving behind our home for the past 10 days we were excited for what lies ahead. Boy were we living with a false sense of security. 🤣
The first half of the day was the walk from Miscouche to Summerside, the check in for tonight’s B&B was not until 4pm (not the norm. Usually we can check in whenever we arrive) so we left at our usual time on the trail just before 9am, and we arrived in Summerside just before 11am. We were up to some shenanigans 🤪 in Summerside as we had quite a few hours to kill before heading out to Kensington so why not start with dessert for breakfast.
We had heard so many great reviews about Holmans ice cream, and even though we may have had ice cream for dessert the night before, we thought who could pass by with trying it. It may have only been 11am but we thought what the hell. We are on vacation right. (I mean every one walks 700 kilometers on vacation don’t they??) Well I have consumed my fair share of ice cream in my time, but this was by far the best ice cream I have ever tasted. The Chocolate was amazing. 10 stars out of 5!! And I think everyone felt the same way. Best ice cream ever. And as it turns out ice cream for breakfast is a thing as we were not the only patrons there 😏
Once we were finished and rolled ourselves out of the ice cream parlor we had to run a few errands, bank, drugstore etc but we still had so much time to kill, so of course we went to Timmy’s, (I cannot keep Meadow or Petra away) well this was the fanciest nicest looking Tim Hortons I have ever seen. Even their logo on the wall was impressive.
Of course just as we were about to leave and carry on to Kensington when the skies opened up, and it started to pour, I mean raining cats and dogs pour. So we stayed a little longer hoping that maybe it would get a little lighter and when we thought it did lighten up off we went.
well it continued to rain the entire two hours from Summerside to Kensington. And needless to say once again we got a little wet
Me at one point pouring the water out of my gortex shoes. 🌧☔️⛈️
Meadow looks ecstatic about having her end of day picture taken. No way point number today as our B&B is about 1km before, so we were not going to go find it in the pouring rain and then come back so we will capture that moment tomorrow.
We finally arrived at our B& B for the night, Bryanton’s and we’re greeted by our hostess with the mostest Doreen. She has a wicked sense of humor and was helpful giving Meadow a run for her money. She kindly dropped us off at a wonderful pub in Kensington called the The Island Stone Pub. The food was fantastic and it gave Meadow a chance to forget her woes of the day, and drink away the memories of the drizzly afternoon portion of the walk.
Yesterday it was my turn to be grumpy, today it was Meadows. But she was fine after 3 Vodka Rhubarb martinis. Back to her old self.
That’s all for today, once again can’t wait for what tomorrow brings. 🌞🌤🌧🌦 ❄️ at the end of the day we can handle it all . 💪🤼♀️
Day 14 Northam to Miscouche. 23 more kms in the books and if you look at our map you will see that we did not follow the Island Walk map as it was laid out. For the first part we were on point but once we reached Allen road we decided we found a route we liked better as it took us off the road and back on to the Confederation Trail into Miscouche. DO NOT TAKE THIS ROUTE, STICK WITH HOW IT IS LAID OUT IN THE ISLAND WALK. We were enjoying the breeze from the ocean on the original route, we had about a km of Hwy 2 walking – not good- and although the Confederation Trail had my beloved benches, there was once again no shade all the rest of the afternoon. And apparently we missed out on some really nice scenic views 😪
The morning sections of the walk though were very nice, if you are following the Island Walk directions on Aldous Road we ran onto a crew that was doing a bunch of brush clearing with some very large equipment so we had to vere off into a farmers field.
Once past that we turned onto MacDougall Road, a loose term for the grassy path alongside a farmers field.
At the end of this road we found a little Oasis in the Gazebo built by Terry (aka”Butch” and his wife, I am sorry I didn’t get her name) just for Island walkers to sit and enjoy a rest.
This is a picture of us with Butch who just happened to come home while we were enjoying our rest.
The gazebo is not quite finished yet and I am sure Island walkers will enjoy this spot all summer long.
We toasted to another milestone reaching the 300 km mark of our journey, and then continued on our way.
The rest of the day being rather uneventful.
I will have to say, although the weather was great, I personally was not having a great day as my knee (I have been waiting for a knee replacement for quite some time) has been super painful for the last two days. It does not like the hot weather at all. And I have been very whiny and slow taking many rest breaks 😪. My team has been very patient with me and has really lifted me up when I have been feeling crappy. Thanks team BPM 😄 I really am very thankful for these two ladies.
We made it and finished our day at marker 14!!
And now I want to put in some extra information for all those reading the blog and planning their trips. We have been staying at the Aisling Cottage, hosted by Kyle and Connie (they also have a B&B ) As we are a group of 3 it was sometimes difficult to find accommodations without booking two separate rooms, which of course is much more costly.
If you are traveling through way points 5 – 14 Kyle and Connie are able to host for this entire 10 days, and the cottage with 3 bedrooms was absolutely ideal. Although we paid more for some of the transportation charges as Kyle shuttled us every day to and from our waypoints, we definitely saved a ton being able to make use of the fully equipped kitchen and cooking our own meals for much of the 10 days.
The bottom picture is the screen house which is also on the property(and was my favorite place to hang after a long day’s walk) cool and comfortable with some excellent lounge chairs!
Please look them up if you are looking for a great place to stay!!
That’s it for today and we have to get packing as we move on to the next section of the Island.
Again I hope everyone is enjoying the blog and as always please feel free to post any questions or comments.
#12 Portage to #13 Northam and another 20kms down.
We all started with long sleeves but again within a 1/2 hour we had stripped down as much as possible without flashing the passing cars 🤣
It was a hot one again today, the entire day was Confederation Trail walking and once again there was only occasional shade. Confederation Trail walking is not terrible because at least there are an abundance of benches, but the mosquitoes 🦟 were stopping us from enjoying them.
And from personal experience I can tell you the one a day insect repellant stickers do not work. Even 20/ day I still did not stand a chance 🤣
We took very few photos today, but we did stop at The Rite Stop about 12 .5 kms down the Confederation Trail a welcome site for a quick refreshment and some ice cream.
Today’s pro tip for any of the B&B’s that might be following the blog EbbTide has a beautiful stamp for our passports, but our current B&B does not have one so we had to do something about that.
Being in PEI I made a potato stamp( I am staying in the Bird room.)
Petra is staying in the Whale Room and created this beautiful artwork for hers.
Meadow is staying in the Nautical room and also created some beautiful artwork. Please don’t make us do anymore arts and crafts it is not pretty.
We ended the day at trail marker 13 so again our arts and crafts came in handy.
