Day 4 - April 15th

km: 38           to date: 132
End point: top of a cold mtn! (2km past the 120k signpost)

bottles/cans: 79       to date: 263
cups:  17                    to date: 17

Money spent: $2       to date: $44

Temp: 2C overcast then sunny, westerly winds

Rained pretty hard overnight but my new tent passed the test. Got up and on the road by 10:15 (takes a good hour to stretch, tend to the feet, get dressed, pack and load up Oskar). Was overcast/foggy and cool to start the day but the sun burnt that all off in no time.

I stopped in to Montys Esso and restaurant near Whitborne where the friendly female server was kind enough to lighten my load of recyclables. (They donate theirs to MS). Running across Newfoundland last fall I found the best way to unload all the bottles and cans is just ask whenever I stop by a gas station or restaurant. Most of them go to a good cause like children's sports groups and school lunches etc. It's worth noting though that the first service of any kind running West on the trans Canada highway is 90 km out of St. John's.

I thanked the server and was on my way. I asked around about the possibility of finding some mesh bags (like the ones used for firewood) but had no luck. The blue recycling bags are okay but not very durable for my kind of traveling.

Not having any service last night, I decided against my better judgement to stop for a quick coffee at the Tim Hortons and use thier Wi-Fi. I was glad I did. Got a nice message from a lady who's part of a Facebook group called 'Trash Walking Moms' They clean up roadside litter on their walks and are now cheering on my efforts too. It encouraged me to start picking up coffee cups that litter the highways as well. Not sure if I'll include them in the bottles total but hey it makes out country a little nicer to look at when they're not all over the ground! A slow start to the cup clean up today but that willimprove once I figure out a better way to store them in between trash and recycling bins.

Winds weren't quite as bad as yesterday but still enough to make it hard on the uphills. Legs felt good though and I was able to get some decent running in on the flats and downhills. This despite the fact that he rumble strips were back in all thier glory. (Definitely not my favourite surface to run on. Oskar downright hates them!)
If memory serves however, it's only for another two days that I'll have to deal with them.

I took quite a few pictures today and was glad for the sunshine. Last October and November I encountered mostly rain and didn't have a chance to see how beautiful this island really is. Part of me will be happy to see the warmer days that May in Nova Scotia will bring. Still another part will miss the epic scenery and friendly people of Newfoundland.

Was going to stop after 35km but I  decided to climb this one last big hill first. Was exhausted by the time I reached the top and found it colder and more windy up here. Setting the tent was tough and I was shaking and hyperventilating by the time I crawled into my sleeping bag to warm up. Guess I'm still not in my 'game shape'!

That too, will improve as the days go on.

Tommorw the highway turns north towards Clarenville. As luck would have it, forecast is calling for winds out of the north with a chance of mixed precipitation. Hmmm...maybe a snow bath will be in order. : )