Педагог из Дигби преодолел 249,5 км по тропе Dark Sky T'Railway с собакой за 10 дней

Dark Sky T’Railway a trip to remember for Thurber For Digby hiker Ian Thurber, walking the Dark Sky T’Railway between Port Clyde in Shelburne County and Smiths Cove in Digby County turned out to be one of his greatest adventures. Thurber, 46, began his 249.5-kilometre hike on Aug. 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Port Clyde after being dropped off by family members. He pulled a small wagon filled with supplies behind him with his best friend Bowie, a 2.5-year-old Australian shepherd/poodle mix, beside him. For the next 10 days, Thurber walked strategically. “I used to hike a lot in my 20s. In my 30s, I started travelling around the world and what I would do on my trips is I would get off the plane and walk 25 to 30 km every day whatever city or area I was in and that’s how I would see the world,” said Thurber. When Bowie came into Thurber’s life two and a half years ago, “he kindled my love for hiking around here.” They would usually walk for about an hour and a half each day, mostly on the trails around Digby. “It’s great for dogs. It’s straight and wide so you can see people coming for kilometres in some places,” said Thurber. Thurber, a substitute teacher at the Digby Regional High School, didn’t bring a tent with him on his Dark Sky T’Railway trek. “Just a sleeping mat, sleeping bag, tarp and a bug net,” he explained. “I wanted to see the stars but there was only one night that I didn’t go to bed when it was dark and there were lots of stars. It was beautiful. I was usually in bed by 9 and would sleep until 5:45, so I missed it other than that one night and couple nights when I got up to pee. I looked up and saw lots of beautiful stars. If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s definitely the spot for that.” Each day Thurber would find shade for himself and Bowie to rest in during the hottest part of the day, usually between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. “We would start usually 6:30 in the morning and walk until 11. Even during that time, we would take lots of breaks. I didn’t want to wear my dog out. And then start again at 5 and take breaks in the evening as well.” Thurber packed enough supplies for 11 days, so he didn’t have to leave the trail, but he said there are plenty of places to stop. “I did get off the trail in Woods Harbour because I noticed the post office. I was getting water out of brooks and what not, so I went to the post office to see if I could fill my water up. Unfortunately, they had a contamination problem, but they did give me a couple bottles of water.” Thurber also made a stop in Yarmouth where he went to the Salvation Army to get a hoodie for warmth at night and an order of fries for a treat. “There are good amenities in Pubnico, Barrington, Yarmouth, and Digby. That part of the trail is the best in my opinion, but I’m a little bit biased,” he said. “The Victoria Street junction in Digby to the Smith Cove lighthouse is a hikers’ paradise if you don’t want to go too rural. The Smith Cove section of the trail is the most beautiful. It is the only place where there is consistent beach access to the public. “With the exception of a few places, you could do a hike like this and bring very little supplies or anything and not have any problem. There are accommodations if you don’t mind hiking a bit off the trail. It’s signed well. It’s a great, great, great trail.” Thurber said probably the coolest thing he saw during the hike was a deer about 15 feet away that he watched for a while. “It was not at all concerned. Bowie was not like there’s a deer.” Thurber finished his hike on Aug. 20 at 1:30 p.m. “I’ve travelled all over the world, and this was one of the top three or four trips I’ve ever done,” he said. The Dark Sky T’Railway is part of the Trans Canada Trail system. It was rebranded by the Western Regional Enterprise Network (REN) as part of its Get Side-Tracked project, which improved the 200-kilometre section of the multi-use trail with visitor amenities, public art installations, enhanced trail experiences, and the creation of a business participation program involving more than 40 local businesses. The development agency was recognized earlier this year by Business Retention & Expansion International (BREI) with the Outstanding Multi-Community/Regional Award (population under 50,000).