Our Walk Along the East Coast Trail (ECT)

Preparations for the East Coast Trail ECT Trek Today was a slow day in which we took it easy and dealt with a few logistics in preparation for our hike on the East Coast Trail .   Sean got up around 7 am and walked over to Tim Hortons on the edge of campus to retrieve some coffee.  When he returned with the coffee, I was up and ready to go, so we headed downstairs to investigate the complimentary breakfast, which turned out to be cereal, yogurt, toast, bagels, fruit, jam, juice, and coffee.  We shared this simple but filling meal with a fairly large group of other guests. After breakfast, we headed out on foot to Canadian Tire to buy fondue fuel for our camping stove and visit the grocery store for supplies.  Although the plaza we were heading for was just over 5 km away, we decided to walk there and back to get a feel for the area.  Most of the walk was along a road lined with plazas filled with box stores and chain restaurants similar to those we have in ...

Hike Preparations for the East Coast Trail Preparing for ECT Thru Hike As we began making travel plans for trekking the East Coast Trail we came across several options including the Way of St. Francis in Italy, the Camino Norte in Spain, and the John Muir Trail in the United States . However as the year moved on, job requirements, rising monthly bills, and limited time off from work led us to consider trails closer to home. It was also during this time that we began developing our plan to hike the Trans Canada Trail , also known as the Great Trail, from St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia to Tuktoyaktuk, Nunavut from 2019-2021 ( Come Walk With Us ). Canada's East Coast Trail , which stretches over 300 km along the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, seemed like a great choice! The results of our situation and my future plans lead us to investigate medium to long-distance trails on Canada's East Coast to better acquaint ourselves with the environ...

East Coast Trail Hiking Gear List Essential Supplies for the ECT As we prepare to set out on the first section and most eastern section of the Trans Canada Trail / Great Trail , Newfoundland's amazing East Coast Trail , we have had to make several gear decisions. We thought we would share what we have chosen and our reasoning!   Tents and Sleeping Bags Having not been required to carry a tent, tarp or sleeping pads while on the Camino Frances in Spain , the GR trails in France, or our End-to-End hikes along the Bruce Trail in Ontario Canada we had fallen out of practice of adding these items to our packs. When we began looking at the ECT and TCT it quickly became clear that our 4 person tent which we had used for years driving to Ontario's Provincial Parks was far too heavy an item to backpack with. Indeed, having personally carried this 12 lb tent over 200 km throughout a previous trip I never wanted to put it in my pack again.   In February of 2018, we splurged and...