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June 09 2006

The End of the Walk

On June 7th, 6:45pm, Bobby and I arrived at Cape Spear, the eastern most point in North America. One year and 5 months, 20 pairs of shoes (combined), 7953 kilometers of travelling by foot, from one side of the country to the other, the walk across Canada has ended.

The final days of the walk were enjoyed as if they were the first days. We no longer felt the weight of our backpacks or thought of the pains in our bodies. Nothing mattered... it could rain all day and we'd be soaked to the bone... but hey... it doesn't mater because in a few days we'll be in a house wearing clean clothes, we'll be freshly showered, and we'll have walked across Canada.

5 days before our arrival at Cape Spear my parents and my younger brother Alex flew out to St. John's and rented a car. They drove 200 kilometers into Newfoundland and met up with us to walk the final few days. While someone would drive the car ahead to the next road access, the other two would walk along with us... We were sure grateful for the company my family provided. Good food too.

Our large animal sightings were completed with a black bear walking along the trail. What luck to see a bear with only a few days left on the trip. We encountered it just before crossing onto the Avalon Peninsula (where no bear dares enter).

Late afternoon on the 7th we approached the final stretch to Cape Spear. The hills would have been very tiring after a 50 kilometer day but they seemed to melt away with each step. Starting in Victoria each step meant so little, but now each step was a mammoth leap towards the end. During the final kilometer we sang original 80's glory rock and played ripping guitar solos on our trekking poles. We were very excited.

We've spent so much time on this walk purposely not thinking about Cape Spear (the "Unimaginable End of the Earth"). When we finally arrived on the point of the barren peninsula it was a little surreal. We didn't know where to go and felt disoriented. When we found the official "Eastern Most Point in North America" we celebrated by spraying champagne on each other while my parents watched, laughed, and congratulated us. I was very glad to have them there... it felt more like a party with them there... I can't imagine what it would have been like if Bobby and I were the only ones out there when we finished the walk... probably not as exciting or as festive.

With a British Columbia flag and the two Newfoundland flags we climbed past the "Do Not Proceed Beyond This Point" sign and onto the rocks below. We couldn't come this far and not go to the edge. We dipped our feet in Atlantic water then started our ascent back to the trail. A security guy on a megaphoned beckoned us to return to the trail. Two guys were swept off the rocks last year... We used our judgment and decided that there was no danger at that time to climb down... I'm glad we did.

We are now in St. John's in a nice little house overlooking the harbour. My family has returned home, and we too will be heading west to British Columbia on the 13th.

What are we going to do now that we've finished walking across Canada? We both have jobs at summer camp waiting for us at home, and anything beyond that is a mystery.

A life lesson: We don't know where we're going until we are there... unless you're walking across Canada... then you'll be going to Cape Spear.