Preparing for the Great Trail: Hiking Newfoundland's East Coast Trail

Testing Our Plans Before Walking Across Canada

 
Over the past several months, we have been taking every opportunity to explore sections of the Great Trail, formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail, as we continue preparing for our proposed journey across Canada. Although we have walked and cycled portions of the national pathway throughout our lives in places such as Ottawa, Peterborough, Toronto, and Vancouver, we are now beginning to look at these experiences differently. Instead of simply enjoying an afternoon outdoors, we are trying to understand what travelling across the country on the Great Trail might actually involve.

 
Our recent adventures have taken us through a remarkable variety of landscapes and weather conditions. We have snowshoed along the trails of West Vancouver, birded and walked beside the Detroit River in Windsor, cross-country skied from Hamilton to Dundas Valley and back, and followed the rail trail between Brantford and Paris during the winter. We have also cycled from Simcoe to Brantford and back, and most recently completed a two-day hike from Aylmer through Port Burwell toward Tillsonburg, Ontario.
 
These outings have given us opportunities to test some of our new equipment, explore different types of trails, and begin making decisions about how we intend to approach a journey that will eventually cover thousands of kilometres.  They have also admittedly encouraged us to reconsider some of our original ideas.  For example, although we enjoy winter hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, we are increasingly coming to the conclusion that extended winter camping and hiking will probably not play a significant role in our proposed crossing of Canada. Travelling through cold weather for a day or two is one thing; carrying the additional equipment necessary to live outdoors through a Canadian winter is quite another. As a result, at this stage, we think it makes more sense to plan our journey around the winter season rather than attempt to walk continuously regardless of the conditions.

 
Similarly, we have spent considerable time considering whether purchasing touring bicycles might allow us to cover some of the longer sections of the Great Trail more efficiently. After weighing the possibilities, however, we have decided that investing in expensive touring bicycles is probably not the direction we want to take.  Part of that decision is practical. Long-distance bicycle touring is not our particular area of experience, and introducing an entirely new set of equipment and skills would add another layer of preparation to an already ambitious undertaking. More importantly, however, cycling would change the nature of the journey we are hoping to have. We are not simply trying to cross Canada as quickly as possible. We want to travel slowly enough to observe birds, photograph wildlife, explore communities, and appreciate the natural environments through which we pass. Walking will give us opportunities to stop, listen, investigate, and notice things that might otherwise disappear behind us.
 
As we continue researching the Great Trail on a national scale, testing equipment, and considering different approaches, we are also beginning to appreciate how many decisions must be made before we ever set foot on the trail in Newfoundland.  Another part of our preparation has involved contacting organizations and potential sponsors to discuss our proposed #Hike4Birds expedition. We have been fortunate to correspond with and meet people who are interested in the idea, willing to offer advice and support and who are curious about what we hope to accomplish.

 
However, the response has also been remarkably consistent. Although the proposal sounds interesting, we have yet to demonstrate that we can undertake a sustained journey of this kind while regularly producing the writing, bird observations, and photographs that we hope to share.  It is a fair point – our previous long-distance hikes like the Camino Francés and Via Podiensis were both trekked and posted later once we were back home.  Our proposal for what we intend on the Great Trail is very different – namely to photograph, write and post day by day en route. 
 
Two organizations have expressed an interest in seeing what we can accomplish, but before considering a more substantial commitment, they would like to see evidence of what our daily work on the trail might look like. Can we continue hiking for an extended period while photographing birds, keeping records, preparing written accounts, and publishing our experiences? Can we maintain that commitment day after day, rather than simply return from a short trip with a collection of photographs and stories?  These are reasonable questions, and they are questions we need to answer for ourselves as well.

 
As such, rather than select a random trail for an extended training hike, we have decided to travel to Newfoundland and undertake the East Coast Trail, itself part of the Great Trail network on the Avalon Peninsula.  The East Coast Trail is an extensive coastal hiking route following the rugged eastern shoreline of Newfoundland. At approximately 300 kilometres in length, it is made up of individual wilderness footpaths connected through historic coastal communities. The route passes towering cliffs, headlands, forests, bays, and small fishing settlements, and provides opportunities to experience some of the remarkable coastal landscapes and wildlife for which Newfoundland is known.
 
Unlike the rail trails and urban pathways we have been exploring closer to home, the East Coast Trail promises steep climbs, rocky footpaths, exposed coastal sections, and more demanding hiking conditions. It should also provide wonderful opportunities for birding, photography, and learning about the natural and cultural history of the Avalon Peninsula.  Our plan is to begin near Portugal Cove and continue along the coastline to St. John’s and then further on to Cappahayden. Along the way, we hope to explore the individual trail sections, connect the coastal communities, and develop a better understanding of what an extended hiking journey in Canada requires.

 
This will give us an opportunity to test our equipment, backpack weights, and camping arrangements over a much longer period than our recent outings in Ontario. Just as importantly, we hope it will allow us to establish a routine for documenting our experiences, photographing birds and landscapes, and preparing regular accounts of our progress.  We have no illusions that a few weeks on the East Coast Trail will be equivalent to walking across Canada. The Great Trail will involve an extraordinary variety of environments, distances, communities, and challenges that no single training hike could possibly reproduce.
 
Nevertheless, it seems a sensible place to begin.

 
There is also something appealing about preparing for our national expedition by exploring one of the easternmost sections of the very trail network we eventually hope to follow across the country. Rather than practising on a completely unrelated route, we will have an opportunity to experience part of the Great Trail while beginning to share the stories, photographs, and observations that we hope will become central to #Hike4Birds.

 
We are excited, a little uncertain about how everything will unfold, and very much looking forward to spending several weeks exploring the Avalon Peninsula on foot. Whether we manage to answer all the questions we have about equipment, camping, daily distances, and publishing our experiences remains to be seen.
 
For now, we have a destination, a route to investigate, and another opportunity to discover what travelling slowly through Canada's landscapes might be like.
 
Wish us luck!
 
You can follow our East Coast Trail journey, including our daily postings, photographs, and observations, on our dedicated blog:  OurWalk Along the East Coast Trail – Newfoundland,