PEI’s Confederation Trail

When railways were abandoned on Prince Edward Island in 1989, Islanders gravitated to the idea of using the routes for hiking and cycling. The main route extended from Elmira in the east to Tignish in the west—a distance of nearly three hundred kilometres. As well, branch trails extended out to other areas such as Charlottetown, Souris, and Montague adding over a hundred kilometres to the trail.

pulau ubin’s chek jawa wetlands

The few tourists on the island rented bikes. But when I biked around Taiwan’s Taitung, I had to watch the road, and missed some of the sights. So I hiked to Chex Jawa Wetlands’ boardwalk, and was rewarded with spotting butterflies, but not so lucky to discover a wild boar glaring at me through the forest.

A hike to Point Ormond Hill

I headed south past the lighthouse along the path that meandered close to Port Phillip Bay. On this perfect autumn day, there were plenty of bikers and hikers taking advantage of the sunny conditions. Off shore, sail boats bobbed over the choppy sea while wavelets splashed against the rocks below.

Just me by the sea — Campbell River

Vancouver Island’s Campbell River walkway was both a hiking and biking pathway following the coast where Quadra Island shimmered off shore.

DeBoville Slough, PoCo

Apart from an easy hike along this Port Coquitlam trail, there were two other reasons to take the walk this summer. First, the abundant flowering of fireweed motivated me. The native plant grew intermittently along the route and it’s useful for skin conditions from dry skin to eczema.