Dates: Sept. 24 – 25, 2025
Locations: Grimsby > St. Catharines > Queenston
Distance hiked: 67.9 km
I love walking in the morning; when my mind is quiet, my body content, my feet don’t yet hurt, and the world is still in slumber.
There were sounds of gunshots all around the valley. I was confused, there can’t possibly be this much hunting on a given morning, all the potential deer and turkey would’ve fled. It wasn’t until I met a retired local that it was clarified the sounds were bangers in the vineyards keeping the birds away from the ripening grapes. Alas, I’m in Ontario’s wine country!
It was exciting making it to Brock campus, another milestone on the trail. I couldn’t help but laugh at how much I probably looked like a drunk hobo wandering through campus, hobbling on my incredibly sore feet. Everyone smelled so incredibly good… I can only imagine what I smelled like.
I met up with my cousin, who’s a student at Brock, and he graciously provided me with a heaping dinner and allowed me to tent in his backyard. It felt like a promising way to spend the last night of my journey… until later that night as I was trying to fall asleep, I suddenly felt queasy. I then proceeded to throw up all night. The culprit was either too much food or potential poisoning from algal toxins from bad water. Either way, it was brutal. It felt like all the strength and stamina I’d gained had been washed away in a single misjudgement.
My last day on trail was a battle – the epitome of difficult. I only had 22 km left, but I felt nauseous, weak, and very dehydrated. I could only allow myself 2 small sips of water every 30mins in fear that I’d throw up again. It was horrible. An excerpt from my journal: gnats around my head, wrists are numb, bag feels unbelievably heavy, mind feels delirious. I remember having 6 words on repeat in my mind for hours, it was the only way to keep my myself preoccupied and dissociated from the crushing weight of the present.
Somehow I trudged my way to the finish line in Queenston. Making it to the end was a mix of emotions – relief, disbelief, pride, exhaustion, joy.
