Reflections and Lessons Learned on the East Coast Trail

East Coast Trail Hike: A Journey in Fragments, shaped by Fog, Wind, and Wonder

Few trails have taught us more about letting go of control than the East Coast Trail.

We arrived on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, hoping to hike the East Coast Trail end to end in a continuous push. What we found instead was a trail shaped - and sometimes stopped — by weather, wind, and the will of the land. Our journey along this wild Atlantic coastline unfolded not as a straight line, but in scattered pieces stitched together over time - one hike at a time, and one section at a time.

Even a year later, as we began our walk across Newfoundland on the T'Railway section of the Trans Canada Trail, we were reminded again: on this island, the weather decides. 

A Trail That Taught Flexibility

Rain, fog, and wind weren’t inconveniences - they were characters in the story. We hiked through coastal squalls, fog so thick it erased the sea, and gusts that made standing difficult on exposed cliffs. There were days when we had to slow our pace, and that made us turn back. Days when the trail was invisible under mist and cloud. Days when the tides and trail closures rerouted us.

And yet, somehow, that made the moments of calm even more powerful. A shaft of sun over Cape Spear. The sudden parting of fog reveals a dramatic sea arch. The stillness of a sheltered cove after hours of wind. These moments didn’t just happen - they emerged, like grace.

Walking Out of Order, and Into Perspective

Because of the unpredictable conditions, we walked the East Coast Trail out of order. One day, we were north of St. John’s, the next in the southern sections. What at first felt fragmented eventually became something deeper: a mosaic of memory, stitched together not by chronology or the order of the trails, but by our experiences.

The ECT taught us that a trail completed out of order is still a trail walked in full.

We came to appreciate that completion isn’t always linear. Sometimes the story reveals itself in reverse. And sometimes, the gaps in the trail — like the gaps in weather — leave room for reflection, not just distance.

Lessons Learned on the ECT

Listening is worth its weight in gold (and saves a lot of headaches).  Listen to the locals, not the Weather Network, listen to residents who had advice about the trail rather than relying on guidebooks. 

Weather and Wind.  The variable factors, which are the realities of Newfoundland, can dramatically and quickly alter your time on the trail. Respect them and prepare for the possibilities of them in extreme.

Respect the Land, Know your Limits. Don’t underestimate the topography or overestimate how far you can get each day.

Take a Break, Enjoy the Moment.   Give yourself extra time for a day off the trail to enjoy the landscape or a pint in a pub.  There are places such as St. John’s city, the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, and the Colony of Avalon, which are definitely worth it – one for culture, the second for nature, and the third for history. 

Plan ahead.  Organize your taxi back before you reach the end in Cappyhaden - we had no cell service there.  As such, we were glad for the advice in advance to call in Renews. 

Final Reflections on the East Coast Trail

The East Coast Trail may not be the most remote or the most well-known of Canada’s long-distance hikes, but it is among the most honest. There’s no taming this coastline. The path rises and falls with the land. The sea is always close, and the sky is always changing.

And if you let it, this trail will teach you to walk with humility, with wonder, and with the wind. As one hiker noted, “the ocean humbles, just as the wind strips away pretenses.”

There is a raw, untamed beauty to “the Rock” that is hard to put into words. Cliffs plunge into the Atlantic in great sweeps of stone, sea stacks stand like sentinels against crashing waves, and trails wind through tuckamore forests, bogs, and boulder fields with a wildness that feels ancient. But what stayed with us just as deeply was the kindness of the people who call this place home. From trail angels who offered advice, to shopkeepers who shared stories and warm smiles (and warmer coffee), we were met at every turn with a generosity that mirrored the land’s vastness.

As fellow long-distance walker Mel Vogel once wrote to us, “Enjoy your time in Newfoundland, as there will come moments on the TCT that you will miss it more than anything else.” And she was right. There is something about this place - its harsh edges and soft hearts - that stays with you long after you leave.

As we finished the ECT, an army of workers from the Great Trail / Trans Canada Trail were already building a new boardwalk across a soggy marshland that we were trudging through.

-    Clearly changes are in the air, and what that does or does not do for the East Coast Trail only time will tell...but no matter what form it takes in the future, the lessons of this route along the Atlantic Coast will be there for any who is fortunate enough to set out on a hike of a lifetime.

"Progress is sometimes measured in presence, not kilometres.”

See you on the Trail!