Dates: Sept. 12 – 13, 2025
Locations: Dodds Hill > Owen Sound > Bognor
Distance hiked: 79 km
On a road I passed an older woman, who I presumed was a dairy farmer, walking her border collie. She looked incredulous when I told her I was walking to Niagara. She parted with a shaky good luck and a look as if I’ve lost my marbles. Maybe I have…? Or maybe I never had any to begin with.
It was really exciting making it to Owen Sound. It was even more exciting gorging on Tim’s after eating nothing but ramen, granola bars, and the occasional apple. Hiking heightens your senses. Food tastes exceptional after you’ve been hungry.
I splurged on a motel room that night. I was so desperate for a shower to wash off all the dirt, sweat, and grease layered upon my skin. The room smelled of mildew, had paint peeling from the walls, and there was an incessant bright light shining onto the balcony just outside the window the entire night. I missed my tent. But it felt so good to be dry and clean for a night, even though I’d be putting my dirty damp clothes on again in the morning.
There was a section of forest that looked enchanted; with roots sprawling over rocks, and narrow sheer-walled crevices. I saw a vole and another porcupine. I passed cows and horses in pastures which made me smile. And I was taken aback by the abundance of blooming wildflowers everywhere I walked – white Queen Anne’s lace, blue and yellow chicory, purple clover, golden rod, little daisies, orange jewelweed.
Large blisters had developed on the back of both my heels and on the sides of my soles. Luckily the bottoms of my feet didn’t have any painful blisters but they were looking a little trenchy, having been ravaged by the constant damp of my socks and shoes. My legs were covered in heat rash and whiteheads.
Halfway through Day 6 I experienced sudden back pain. It got so bad I felt like I could barely walk. I sat down for a bit, wondering if this was how my adventure would end, far too soon. Then I got up and kept walking, ever so slowly. I decided I would walk as far as I could, set up camp, and then re-assess in the morning.
