August 13
End: Channel-Port aux Basques, NL
Miles: 3.8
Total: 5047.4
When I woke up it was light but I had no desire to get up. I was taking the ferry to Newfoundland, but it didn’t leave until the afternoon. I lay in my sleeping bag, and soon a few men came and started about a hundred laps of walking around the track which I was camped just inside of.
I opted to just lay there for awhile, hoping that the locals might finish their exercising and leave me to pack up my things unobserved. Instead, they kept on walking in ovals and as they started on their hundred and first lap I got up and started packing up my camp.
Heading back towards town, I went to the grocery store and got food for the trail, including some precious Nature Valley bars. I even enjoyed some morning ice cream outside the store.
I stopped in at the McDonald’s which insisted on keeping the store near zero degrees Kelvin. I left as soon as my phone was well-charged, and went for the post office. There I was happy to find a package waiting for me with a new pair of shoes.
After some time spent organizing, I mailed back my old shoes as well as anything I thought I could do without for the final stretch of my hike. This included my seldom-used solar charger as well as my stove and any cooking gear. I had grown tired of rice and mashed potatoes, and planned to substitute peanut butter and Nutella for my dinners.
I finally left and found my way over to the ferry terminal, where I got a ticket and sat down to wait. The procedure for boarding was different from my experience on Prince Edward Island, but I managed to get on the ship and found a dazzling array of gift shops, big screens, and even computers with satellite internet service to use for free.
It was a long ferry ride, but I had some snack food with me and there were several things to watch on the televisions. I talked briefly with a few of the other passengers, but for the most part I just sat in my seat and enjoyed the ride. I didn’t get too nervous until we sighted Newfoundland. Then I just couldn’t help but feel a little weird about actually setting foot on my last province of the trip, the place I had thought of hiking to for months.
That time did eventually arrive, and I stepped out into Newfoundland and started walking the road into Port-aux-Basques as the sun set. I soon passed the town and kept on going. As I walked I looked for a good place to stay, but couldn’t find much. In the darkness I looked on each side of the road but only saw bushes and other shrubs covering the ground.
Finally I found a little dirt road which seemed to lead to nothing. It was a terrible spot, but I ended up setting up my tarp in the soft dirt of the road since everything else was covered in small plants. I was glad that I had set up the tarp when it started pouring down rain for a few minutes in the middle of the night.
