So a couple of notes right off the bat...this was an OUT and BACK, unsupported effort. I called it G2G2G. I also followed the route off of the official G2G website. Which means I followed all of the official detours. I did not cross any streams, and I went all the way down to the end of the boardwalk in Goderich. The one detour is very lengthy, but I took it since I wanted to follow the official route. My official mileage with detours ended up being 182 miles. I did not receive any help. I carried all of my food from the get go. I fetched water only from natural sources.
Day 1(55 miles)-I started in Guelph in front of Central Station at 4:45AM on Saturday, April 3/21. It was pretty cold to start. I think around -6 or -7C. I had a gpx file on Gaia which I used to get me out of the city of Guelph. I did't know how well the trail would be marked. Once I hit the rail trail, it was for the most part, a straight shot to Goderich other than some detours around rivers that had no bridge. Things went very well on this day. I was moving just fine, it warmed up eventually. It did cool down for a bit and ended up getting very windy. It even snowed for 10 min or so. Overall, it was a successful day. I decided to set up camp just before dark so I could get an early start the next morning. I found a great little grassy spot just off the trail.
Day 2(53 miles)-I had a great sleep and woke up to my alarm at 3:30AM. It was right around the freezing mark so packing up the tent wasn't the most fun. Once I hit the trail and got moving, I warmed right up. I was really looking forward to the turn around in Goderich. It's a really beautiful town. Mostly, the entire trail I didn't see many people at all. Goderich was the exception as there were many people on the rail trail near town. There's also a really nice bridge with some pretty views. The one thing I wasn't aware of was the boardwalk construction by the lake. The road is right next to it so I just had to take the road for a few parts. I ended up back on the boardwalk and made it to the official halfway point of my trip. It was a good feeling, but it was a long way back to Guelph. One mistake I did make was getting a little behind on my calories this day. I was also trying to ration things since I only brought so much. Water was never a real issue with there being lots of streams though. I do realize that I just need to pack more food next time. My pack will be heavier, but it is what it is. I ended up finding another great spot to camp just off the trail.
Day 3/finish(74 miles)-I was feeling pretty good early on and was eating some extra calories I had packed just in case. I was starting to wonder if I could do a big push and possibly break 3 days. I was motivated to get it done and thought it was possible. It's easy to think that when you feel good. Later though, I wasn't feeling so hot but still decided to push to the end. Probably not the wisest decision, but it paid off. Barely. I ended up eating my last bit of food with 16 miles to go. It didn't take long for me to have no energy. Luckily, I stumbled my way into Guelph and got the job done. It just wasn't the strong finish I wanted and was almost a couple hours over 3 days. The best part is, I learned so much! Unsupported is no joke. You really have to take care of yourself. I need to eat even more, or do less, or take more breaks. I got away with it for this one, but for something much longer, I have to be more conservative. Live and learn. Overall, I'm very happy with a lot of things I did out there. This was a great was to start off the season. I should also mention that it rained for quite a bit in the afternoon. My rain gear did its job though and I only had a slight chill. I ended up getting back to Guelph at 6:43AM on Tuesday.
Notes:
Pack weighed 31lbs to start. 14lb base weight with 17lbs food and water.
Avg daily mileage was around 59 miles.
Thanks to the G2G trail! Many memories were made:)