August 25
End: Crow Head!
Miles: 30.9
Total: 5469.4
After a somewhat restless night I got up early and got moving. After all the walking I had done, I was still nervous about this day. Packing up and setting out on the road felt a little odd. Everything just felt like it deserved my thoughts and undivided attention, as I was coming up on a bunch of ‘lasts’: last time to set out from camp to hike the trail, last time to get my gear all packed up properly, and hopefully the last time to have a rough night on the trail.
Over the past week I had been pondering the symmetrical nature of my hike. In both Florida and Newfoundland I had walked a lot of road, I had rough nights, and I had done perhaps the most mentally determined hiking in the entire trek. Starting out not really knowing what I was doing, I was now acting as if I didn’t know what I was doing out of sheer mental exhaustion.
The walk for the day was not bad physically, but it was difficult for me to keep away thoughts of just getting to my destination. Thankfully I had plenty of time, and happily ran into Rob and Dave, my two English friends, on their way back to St. John’s. They had been in Northern Newfoundland for a few days and were now ready to leave. I enjoyed sharing my feelings concerning finishing my trek with them, and then we parted company, agreeing to meet up later.
After a long time I arrived in St. Lunaire-Griquet, the town whose weather I had been constantly watching for months. I had been disappointed to often see full weeks of rain forecast here, but was elated to have a sunny day as I arrived.
Coming into town, I found the secret reason I had been hiking here all this time: The Dark Tickle. Before anyone gets any perverse thoughts, I should explain that a tickle is a sort of inlet, and one such tickle at this town is named Dark Tickle, possibly because of its dark waters. I grabbed some food at The Dark Tickle Company, shared the story of my adventure, and moved on. I was really being blessed by being able to share my joy with the local Newfies on the last day of my trek, and also by meeting a local woman whose speech I could barely understand because of the distinct Newfie accent.
Getting some food at a local store, I stopped at a small park to dry out my sleeping bag and liners. Once they were dry and I packed them up, I was hailed by a girl from L.A., here for a wedding. Sharing my journey with them, they congratulated me on finishing (though I still had a few more hours of walking to do), and wished me well.
Passing through Griquet, I stopped in at a restaurant but it was obviously out of my league. Grabbing some water, I hit the road again and was soon on my way toward L’Anse-aux-Meadows. As I got closer I saw a SIA/IAT sign and inspected it. It was the Cape Raven Trail, and it led to Crow Head, my destination! I was elated, and was grateful to find this trail since I was not expecting it so soon.
The trail itself was very short, and soon I was up at Crow Head, looking off at Belle Isle in the distance. It was very windy, and that wind kept me thinking about setting up my tarp instead of sitting down and having a good hard cry, which is what I probably should have been doing. As quickly as I could, I set up my tarp and jumped in my sleeping bag.
I was mostly safe from the wind, and later on as the sun set I attempted to narrate some meaningful words to the iPhone camera as I stared off at the pink skyline. It was finished. I felt good and bad. Happy I had completed this incredible life-changing journey, yet sad that it was over. As darkness set in I got to sleep after a few lackluster spoonfuls of peanut butter.
