From grief to grit: Canadians take on ‘The Island Walk,’ P.E.I.’s 707-kilometre challenge

Hikers are descending on P.E.I. for a month-long loop around the island. Maria Sarrouh on what the journey has been like for some.

With boots pressing into red soil, one step after another, veteran Sheldon White finished part of The Island Walk this fall, a 707-kilometre loop around P.E.I. as a personal challenge.

Nearly 1,000 people have registered to take part in the walk since it was created in 2019, with more than 100 people completing the full journey by foot or by bike. Most participants are from Canada, but nearly 10 per cent come from the U.S., with more arriving from overseas, including New Zealand, Australia and the U.K.

For some, it’s about fitness. For others, they find hard-earned healing along the way.

White tackled about 10 of the 32 sections.

“The military experience helped a little bit, because I was familiar with going on long marches, and I knew how to take care of my feet,” he told CTV News. “But it was more challenging than I expected. Walking for five hours straight without a break is actually fairly hard, and then to do that multiple times. I have a lot of respect for the people who’ve done the entire walk.”

White joined the military at 19, starting with the navy in Halifax as a weapons technician and sailing on warships in the Atlantic Ocean. After that, he switched to the air force as a pilot, flying the C-130 Hercules for search and rescue missions, as well as a tour in Afghanistan. White later joined the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.

While on the trail, he tried to distract himself with audiobooks at first. But after a while, he preferred the quiet.

“In the moment, actually feeling and seeing where I was, and hearing the sounds, that felt peaceful and made the walk feel faster,” he said.

White says those on the fence about The Island Walk should give it a go, but with a healthy amount of respect for the distance and the elements.

“Make sure that you train a little bit before attempting it,” White said. “Get some good food, good footwear. Carry lots of water, bug spray, sunscreen.”

For Winnipeg’s Sandra Sernowski, the walk followed profound loss. Her husband died after a battle with cancer in 2023. She set a timeline to begin again, and this year, she stepped onto the trail, finishing it in 32 days.

“After he passed away, I realized, ‘You know what? I need to find out, who is Sandy? Who is she?’ I didn’t know,” she said. “I know now, that’s for sure.”

Sernowski says solitude was scarce – from a full household growing up, to years of marriage and raising children. As a big fan of Anne of Green Gables, P.E.I. was the ideal backdrop to explore.

On Day 11, she hit the hardest part of the journey.

“I was in my head thinking, ‘What the heck am I doing?’” Sernowski said. She had developed some leg pain because she wasn’t pacing herself or using her poles. So Sernowski put on a playlist her husband made, and it steadied her.

She says along the way, there were signs he was with her.

“There was a day on the trail, I looked down and I found a penny in the dirt,” she said. “I picked it up and looked really close, and it said ‘1972’ on it. And my husband was born in 1972,” she said. “I carry it with my everywhere.”

Sernowski’s final moments of clarity came during the last stretch. She shut off her technology and began the last six hours before the finish point, alone in the woods.

“I’m a positive realist who wants no more negativity in her life. I have forgiven all the things that I think I’ve done wrong. I have forgiven all the things that have hurt me,” Sernowski said. “I can just start fresh.”

The Island Walk was created in 2019 by Bryson Guptill after he finished long treks in Europe, including the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the Rota Vicentina in Portugal. He wanted to give Canadians that experience closer to home.

“When you walk for over a month, and you’re carrying everything you own on your back, it’s a very, very cleansing experience,” Guptill said. He adds that, while many couples do the walk, a lot of singles brave it too.

“It’s really a spiritual experience. If you spend that much time with yourself, you have to sort of get into a different zone.”

Guptill says the number of people taking on the challenge has picked up in recent years, with more awareness. The Island Walk helps extend the province’s tourist season, with many coming in the off-peaks months and bringing business to licensed accommodations and restaurants.

“I’d like to see Canada’s East Coast be known for the walk and for people staying healthy and active throughout their life,” he said.

As for White, he plans to finish the remainder of the walk next year.