Andrea and I have already travelled through the Atlantic provinces on three previous trips. The first big trip started in NY state, through Vermont and New Hampshire, and into Maine before going up into New Brunswick, all around Nova Scotia including Cape Breton, back to PEI, and over to New Brunswick and home. The second was Quebec City and the Saguenay, before hopping over and doing Gaspésie including Percy, and then all the way back home. Our third trip was to Newfoundland, and we started around Deer Lake, visited Gros Morne, and then worked our way all the way over to St. John’s before flying home.

And I confess, I would like to do parts of that trip again for things we didn’t have quite enough time to do, small diversions we didn’t have time for, and larger sections we just plain couldn’t do at the time. All of it. I’d even like to do it with the same trailer that I hope to use for the big 25K loop. Perhaps I could do it as a test for that trip. So, what would this “repeat / redux” trip look like?

Segment 1 would take me up to Labrador (16d). I’d do the Saguenay region again; cross over into Northern New Brunswick, slowly working my way towards Percé. and around Gaspésie; then up through Labrador City, and around all the way down to Labrador coast where I can cut over to Newfoundland. The new parts that I haven’t seen before would be central New Brunswick, Northern Quebec, and all of Labrador. Overall? It would take about 52 hours, for ~4200 km. If I stick to the previous range, call it about 400 km a day, that would be 10-11 days, plus another 5 days in there for stopping at various places for more than a day/night. Since I’ve seen it before, I think my real desire would be the chance to do a bit of kayaking along the way for some of the rivers, small lakes, etc. No real sea stuff though, that doesn’t interest me. At least, not in a kayak! I’d be open to some small boat cruises to see the coastline.

For Segment 2, it would basically be Newfoundland (26d). The tricky part is that I don’t know how much I want to repeat previous trips, and it is a LONG haul across the entire island. I did a complete workup to cover all of Newfoundland, which is insane. I’m not really going to do that, not in practice. The so-called plan would cover all of the upper peninsula above where the ferry from Labrador docks; take me all the way down through Gros Morne (there’s a fjord I would want to see this time); a couple of little jaunts up by Baie Verte, back over to Twillingate, and if I could, I’d spend a night on Fogo Island. I have no idea how transport works for there, where I’d leave my car, etc. I’d pass through Gander, head over to Bona Visa, a few more peninsulas, and then into St. John’s.

Then I’d hit the southern peninsulas. With a full trip out to where I could hop over to St. Pierre and Miquelon. Again, no clue what’s involved to do that, but I would want to make sure that made my list this time. A few more excursions off the main highway into the core of the island would be mostly about getting into the harder-to-reach parts of nature and hopefully kayaking a few quiet lakes and rivers. And then, heading back all the way to the south western tip, Port aux Basques to get me to the ferry off the island.

While I wouldn’t do all of that, I wanted to see what the maximum plan could look like over 57 hours and 4800 km. Almost 15d, just in Newfoundland, not including what I did in Labrador. Add in about another 10 days I think to allow for rests, trips to outer islands, kayaking, etc. for a total of up to 25 days. I’d also have to see if it would make more sense to go from Argentia in the end, rather than doubling back to Port aux Basques to depart. Although that sailing would be 15 hours to Sydney, rather than 8. Not that it matters, either way, it’s basically a day. Overall, the new parts would be the stuff north of Gros Morne, some kayaking, and Fogo Island plus St. Pierre and Miquelon. If it wasn’t for St. Pierre and Miquelon, I might be tempted to just go down the west coast of Newfoundland and take the ferry to Sydney, skipping almost the rest of the island that I’ve already done a fair portion of, on a previous trip.

Segment 3 would basically take care of Nova Scotia (10d). I’d start in Cape Breton, do the Cabot Trail loop, and then go all the way down to the southern tip of Nova Scotia passing through Halifax and then back up again until I cross into NB and make my way towards PEI. A simple 21 hours and 1700 km. There are a few places I’d like to go kayaking, maybe see a friend or two, maybe even climb a mountain. Plus spend some actual time in Halifax when I’m not sick. It looks initially like a mere 5 days, but call it 10 days in total with fun stops. I could decide to skip a bunch of Cape Breton, and even most of Nova Scotia, only going down to Halifax and then over towards Acadia University and up to PEI.

Segment 4 would finish off PEI and the rest of New Brunswick (9d). It’s only 14h and 1200 km, so not the biggest haul by any stretch of the imagination. Three days of driving would complete the loop through PEI, and then cover off Moncton, St. John and Fredricton, but I suspect I’d want at least 1 day in each of those three plus Charlottetown. We didn’t spend enough time in PEI previously. So 3d of driving plus 4d of sightseeing, and perhaps 2 more days of rest to do nature stuff, call it 9 days in total. I didn’t see many of those previously, more like drivebys, so it would be nice to spend some time.

Now, I have to confess, even if I was to do all of this “again”, with the new pieces, one segment still remains — I still have to get home (6d). Andrea, Jacob and I just did New England a year ago, and oddly enough, where I finish off in New Brunswick is right near two of my favourite parts of the trip — Baxter National Park and Acadia National Park in Maine. There were a few things I didn’t get to do there, partly for time and partly for configuration, so maybe I could go back for some of it. It would still take me 13h to get home, plus the 1100 km, and I’d add likely 2d in Baxter and at least 1 full day in Acadia, so let’s call it 6d to get home.

Would I really want to do this long trip too?

There are two variables at play here. One, yes, I would love to travel in a trailer through all these areas and see them from that perspective. Two, I’ve seen some of it before. Would I still find it worthwhile? My thought, in part, is that the other things I would do like camping, boondocking and kayaking would be worth it. And most importantly, is it really the same trip as before if a) I’m by myself and b) I’m also not pressed for time? Oddly enough, Andrea might be interested in the Ottawa to Deer Lake portion of Quebec, Labrador, Gros Morne, and Newfoundland, so I might have someone with me for the most isolated portions.

• Segment 1 – Labrador, 16d and 4200 km;
• Segment 2 – Newfoundland, 26d and 4800 km;
• Segment 3 – Nova Scotia, 10d and 1700 km;
• Segment 4 – PEI and New Brunswick, 9d and 1200 km;
• Segment 5 – Maine and the trip home, 6d and 1100 km.
• Grand total: 67 days and 13,000 km.

Now, here’s the interesting part for me. Since most of the destinations are ones I’ve been to before, I have some familiarity and comfort with the area; most of it is in Canada, but I would still get some challenges in Labrador and Newfoundland when I’m not within cell service. I’ll need a Garmin if I’m kayaking or even looking for better than average navigation assistance. Maybe even a satellite phone, although that seems overkill except for certain segments. So, what if I started with this trip instead of the other one and let myself ease into the big trip? At 67 days, I could see that easily dropping to 45 days, for instance, with a lot of detours in Newfoundland and even Cape Breton not exactly being “required.”

Or, what if I rented a trailer for this trip? Or what if I only went to Labrador and back? I don’t NEED to do all of this one, but I would be willing to do it again, as it’s a nice way to give everything a shakedown trip OR to cap off the previous one with a shorter-duration haul.

What about you? Have you ever done a repeated trip with more time and less schedule to guide you? Was it worth the “return”? Or did you feel that other destinations were a higher priority?