2 Sep 2023 – Days 26-30

Tue: Day26~14k/9m, 5+hrs DingwellRd-Route323 on the ConfederationTrail including rest stops+socializing with many who crossed our path stopping to chat.

0900hrs into MorellWelcomeCenter(formal railway station) just in time for them to open to let us into their restroom.

3 ladies from Toronto doing sections of the IslandWalk, cyclists from KY/USA, couple(she from USA, he from Australia) who hiked the AT Thru’Hike in 1981.

HurricaneFiona last year/2022 destroyed millions of trees and changed much of the landscape of this island – another glorious blue-sky day.

Today’s shelter nearer to RT323 justified to be named Seredib after the accommodations here as like our lodgings for now that I did not mind lingering on longer with butterflies,cicadas,grasshoopers,other insects+the breeze all sounding in harmony.

Nancy:PEI – Day 26/August 29 – appx 13 km/8.8 miles. Another beautiful day- pesky mosquitoes in the morning but lessened throughout the day. A very social day- we finally met some Island walkers – 3 ladies from Toronto in their 60s who have known each other since age 14, some bikers stopped to talk with us, and Karen and Amy met a couple of AT Thru hikers from 81. Everyone here is so nice! When I finished for the day and sat by the trail, people stopped to ask if I was ok and the lady living nearby stopped to offer water. We had a quick stop at the Morell train station, now a community/tourist center.

After our hike, we headed to the PEI provincial park at Greenwich and Karen and I took a 4.6 km walk out to view the sand dunes. The walk on the boardwalk across the water was awesome. Many beautiful views today, dinner at a local seafood restaurant in St Peters Bay, and a quiet evening at our lodging. It’s now August 30 and we are taking a zero since it’s pouring rain outside. So nice to sleep in!

Karen:Tue29Aug2023: Day26~14k/9m, 5+hrs ‘DingwellRd-Route323’ on ‘The ConfederationTrail’including rest stops+lots of socializing with many who crossed our path including 3 women from Toronto hiking ‘The Island Walk’, cyclists from Lexington, KY & a couple from Mass who thru hiked the AT in 1981. It was a spectacular sunny day with a breeze.

After finishing our mileage we visited the Greenwich Sand Dunes (PEI National Park) for another 4.6 km. There was a floating boardwalk- pretty spectacular.

Wed: Day27 zeroK/zeroM on the trail, 10days ago since a zeroK/M-day! A luxury to sleep in&listen to the rains in this idyllic Serendib-Solar-A-Frame-House isolated in the middle of nowhere(CardigenRdRd/StPetersBay) and with only ~22k/13m left to complete the Tip-Tip-CT before 5Sep. Lovely&relaxing afternoon with Beethoven’s 6thSymphony/Karajan&5thPianoConcerto/Ashkenazy on the roof-top while the rains stopped and the others were out.

Looking forward to tonight’s lighthearted Village’sIdiot@StPetersCourthouseTheatre/StPetersBay.

Nancy: PEI – Day 27/August 30 – Zero day – no km or miles while the rain settled in. Slept in, ate lunch in a restaurant, stopped by the local co-op to purchase some groceries, ate leftovers for dinner, and attended a performance in a small, local theatre of “The Village Idiot”. Four characters – all talented. The story centered around three ladies on a town council who rope in a newcomer, who came to the town seeking solitude, to be their new council chairman. They assign him all kinds of impossible duties- bingo caller, yoga teacher, giving a eulogy for someone that no one liked, and entering a step dancing contest against the “Cardigan Duster”. Kept us laughing.

Thu: Day28 on this last Aug2023day~12k/7m, 4hrs
BarryRd-Route307 on the ConfederationTrail. Looks like autumn is on its way with on&off light drizzles&rains.

Crossed path with a cyclist couple from Alberta who are tenting some sections.

Nancy: PEI – Day 28/August 30 – Appx 12 km/7.6 miles. Rain, rain, go away! Today we had periods of no rain, light rain, and steady rain with wind blowing so that my umbrella could not give full protection. Didn’t see many mosquitoes, though. Trail was nice – few puddles, more grass, but wet grass makes for wet shoes. Stayed dry mostly(except my shoes)-even worked out a system to get my poncho over my backpack while hiking alone – it’s challenging when you have short arms. Passed 5 benches & 4 picnic tables (all wet) and 9 or more bikers passed me. Tomorrow promises better weather and we plan to complete our last 10-11 km of the Tip to Tip trail. No excursions planned for this evening but we do have tickets to two more plays before we leave the island.

Karen: Thu31Aug2023: Day28 on this last Aug2023day~12k/7m, 4hrs’BarryRd-Route307′ on ‘The ConfederationTrail’. Looks like autumn is on its way with on & off light drizzles & some changes in leaf 🍁 colors. A chill day while we are finishing up mileage on the top to tip hike.

Fri: Day29 TGIF on this 1stSep2023 and a Happy Labour-Day weekend. Completed our last mileage PEI-Tip-Tip-CT(~273k/170m) on The ConfederationTrail from Tignish-Elmira. Today’s hike, Rt307-305 ~8m/5m 3hrs was done in perfect weathers&conditions.
Appreciations&thanks to the good company&support of Nancy(driving&logistic),Karen, Glenda&Lori(the first 2weeks of the IslandWalk before changing of plans). Looking forward to 4more days to enjoy this lovely island before heading back to SIN via USA.

An evening in Charlottetown with an attempt to attend The Songs of Johnny&June@TheMack, but had to leave after 5mins, loud music in a packed full of ppl was just too overwhelming for both body&soul…

A walk about town with the outdoors street entertainment and snooze in the car while waiting for Karen&Nancy was more to my taste of a delightful evening.

Nancy: PEI – Day 29/ September 1 – Appx 9 km- 5.5 miles. Great weather and no mosquitoes for our last day on the Confederation trail. The short mileage gave us time to go to the end point, take pictures, and get our “Tip to Tip” certificate. We then visited a lighthouse,

revisited The Lobster Shack for lobster, clams, and mussels, and are headed out tonight for a show featuring the music of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Fun and more fun!

Karen: Fri1Sep2023: Day29 TGIF on this 1stSep2023 and a Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone. Pokey & Tiger Lil finished ’The Confederation Trail’ tip to tip but I am short 20+ miles due to earlier injuries however hiked close to 200 miles total. Feel very fortunate to have recovered from shin splints & be able to complete this adventure.

Sat: time to relax and move to new lodgings, but unable to get on to WiFi here@Forest&LakeCottages/MurrayHabour. Will have to edit&update.

Lovely beach/BothwellBeach&boardwalk/Souris walks. Was not quite prepared for this and did not have umbrella or sunscreen, thus slightly sunburnt on the face! It is not the time to stay indoors on the beautiful day like this…

Nancy: PEI- Day 30/September 2 – Just a fun day. 1 mile hiking on beautiful Bothwell Beach and one mile hiking on a boardwalk in Souris. We also visited Basin Head where the water is channeled to a lake(?). The lifeguard said the channel was built for boats but is no longer used. We enjoyed watching two young kids and their father jumping into the water in the channel where the sign said “dangerous” but the lifeguards did not protest. Water was very clear. The tide was coming in so the current seemed strong. We had lunch at Basin Head where I had another lobster roll and fries and my friends had a poke bowl with lobster. We are at a new accommodation that has a lake available to its guests so maybe we will take a boat out. All of our accommodations have been very different but very nice. Everything in our new kitchen is very small and the tv is on top of the refrigerator. Lol. (We actually haven’t watched any tv for the last month). I forgot to mention yesterday that we met some Island walkers while driving on the highway from the East Point. We stopped and talked for a short bit. They actually said they like the road walks. Oh my. They started last year but had to leave after day 20 (of 32) when Fiona hit. They are now finishing up. By the way, the Johnny Cash/June Carter performance was excellent. They told stories about how Johnny and June met and their rocky relationship but also how it persevered. Both had great voices but the lady playing June was so vibrant and really played the role of June well. Turns out the performers are a couple in real life so the love and caring they showed towards each other was especially realistic.

Karen: Yesterday was our first day off trail, we explored ‘Basin Head’ – home of the singing sands, Bothwell Beach (best kept secret) with nice beach walk & walked the boardwalk at Souris Bay before returning to the east part of the island/Queens County

Accommodations from 2-5Sep: Forest&LakeCottages /MurrayHabour