Come Walk With Us on the Trans Canada Trail (TCT)

In November 2019, we reached Quebec, continuing our #Hike4Birds across Canada on the Sentier TransCanadien in Quebec.  We began by following the Petit Temis to the shores of the St. Lawrence River, where freezing temperatures concluded our first season on the Trans Canada Trail.  Due to the pandemic, we didn't revisit Quebec until fall 2021, when we walked from Baie-Saint-Paul to Montreal, witnessing fall migration at Cap Tourmente and autumn colours on the Sentier des Caps de Charlevoix. The Route Verte and other excellent cycling routes took us through southern Quebec to Montreal, where we stopped to enjoy the culture and delicious cuisine.  Finally, in spring 2022, we made the final push, tackling the Petit Train du Nord and exploring Gatineau Park on the border with Ontario.   This blog documents our #Hike4Birds on the Sentier TransCanadien in Quebec. We invite you to Come Walk With Us by exploring our daily blog entries, where we share photographs and s...

Fall was in the air when we reached the fourth province of our #Hike4Birds across Canada on the 28,000 km-long Trans Canada Trail  - New Brunswick.  We hiked the Marshes Trail from the Cape Jourimain Nature Center to Sackville, before trekking north to Moncton and then following the Dobson Trail and the world-famous Fundy Footpath through the forested Fundy Biosphere Reserve.  Walking on the ocean floor with goats, sleeping in a haunted jail cell, exploring covered bridges, and watching migratory shorebirds on the Bay of Fundy mud flats were highlights we experienced on the rail trails, footpaths, and cycling routes of New Brunswick, Canada.  Finally, as the days grew shorter, we crossed the territory of the Wolastoqiyik, walking northward along the banks of the beautiful St. John River to Edmundston and the border with Quebec. "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."                ...

The Trans Canada Trail in Prince Edward Island follows the 435 km Confederation Trail .  Popular with cyclists, this network of pathways extends from Tip-to-Tip in Canada's smallest province.  This immaculately maintained rail trail features information plaques, distance signage, rest stops and trail shelters along the way.  In fall 2019, just as the fall foliage began to turn, we spent 11 days walking from the Wood Islands Lighthouse to the Confederation Bridge.  Highlights of our #Hike4Birds on Prince Edward Island included hiking part of The Island Walk , exploring red sandy beaches and historic lighthouses, relaxing in pastoral landscapes, and experiencing the friendly maritime culture of Charlottetown along the way. "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”     ...

  Our cross-Canada #Hike4Birds began in 2019 at Cape Spear, Newfoundland, the easternmost point in North America.  With great excitement, we took our first steps on the 336 km-long East Coast Trail , a series of footpaths that trace the rugged Atlantic Coast of the Avalon Peninsula.  From there we headed west on the 883 km-long T'Railway Trail , which connects St. John's, NL, to Port-aux-Basques.  Atlantic puffins, whales, icebergs, colourful warblers nesting in the Boreal, caribou herds on the Topsails, being screeched in, kissing a cod, and meeting some of the friendliest people in Canada were among the highlights.  "You are here  At the start of a moment  On the edge of the world where the river meets the sea Here on the edge of the Atlantic On an island in between there and here."                                         ...