[2023 – Prince Edward Island – 592 km – North Cape to East Point and return]
I slather another coat of insect repellent
over my exposed skin.
Jeepers, I can’t remember the mosquitoes
ever being so bad on Prince Edward Island,
though a friend warned me about them.
The Confederation Trail runs
from Tignish on the north-west of the island
to Elmira in the east,
following the old abandoned railroad.
But my goal is to walk
from lighthouse to lighthouse and back again,
which adds about twelve kilometres on either end.
I make excellent progress on the trail,
averaging about sixty kilometres per day.
There isn’t much else to do but walk
when the bugs are so bad and the skies are full of rain.
The frequent villages and towns along the route
provide some refuge from the elements,
and cafes with coffee and pastries
to warm a walker’s belly and soul.
I meet no other hikers along the trail,
just a few people walking their dogs near civilization.
That is, until I meet a couple emerging from the trail
in Elmira wearing backpacks.
The woman is wearing a sweater with the words
“DO EPIC SH*T”
I see they have a support vehicle
waiting in the parking lot with a similar logo.
I’m delighted to see them and am eager to chat.
The woman is wandering around with her phone in the air.
She is distracted,
but confirms that she and her partner
have just finished hiking the full length of the Confederation Trail.
Well that’s amazing news
and I want to talk to her about their experience,
since I have just completed the trail myself,
and am on my way back.
But she seems to be in some sort of distress.
It’s because she is looking for something
and she can’t find it.
She asks me if I’ve seen the sign for #22,
one of the numbered points of interest
that are scattered around Prince Edward Island.
I tell her that, unfortunately,
I haven’t been paying attention.
She says she must find it.
She scurries around.
She has no time to talk to me.
She must,
absolutely must,
find the sign.
No photo means it didn’t happen! she says.
What the heck?
No photo means it didn’t happen?
What kind of nonsense is that?
It didn’t happen?
Even if it did happen?
Ridiculous!
I think about that for the rest of the day.
The anxiety the poor woman suffered
just for the sake of photo evidence of her walk
for what I presume is an audience somewhere.
I also consider that photos
aren’t really evidence of anything at all.
Photos can be used
to deceive an audience of an accomplishment,
if that is the goal.
And the absence of a photograph
is certainly not proof that an event did not occur.
So, what’s the point?
Why so much anxiety over something so insignificant?
Whether an audience believes
something has been accomplished or hasn’t,
it shouldn’t matter.
A long walk has intrinsic value.
Some people record their hikes,
and some don’t.
If encouraging others to Do Epic Sh*t
causes one so much anxiety,
then, really, why bother?
My internal rant over,
I enjoy the final five days of my walk –
rain, bloody mosquitoes, and all.
