Solo Expedition : Eastern Canada

[Rundownaxe]

So I have always wanted to explore my country but I never had the proper vehicule to do it. That is until this winter when I bought my new 2016 TE.

So here is my first ever expedition with it. I have decided to exlore eastern Canada to cross the 3 provinces I have not been to yet off the list. That is, Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

I am doing this alone with my 2 dogs. Hopefully I will find a woman who enjoys this sort of thing but I have not met her yet.

Here is a rough itinerary.


My truck is stock except for the 275/70 Ko2 tires. The only things I have done to make it ready for camping is installing a hitch rack, a rooftop bag and built a simple sleeping patform. Minimalistic but it does the job of keeping my interior free for sleeping. Here's what the setup looks like.





The first day of the trip was spent driving up the st-Lawrence's north coast and even farther up north towards Labrador. My first stop was at the Manic 5 hydro dam. I decided to park right on top of it for the night. Figured I could move easily enough if I bothered anybody. Turns out nobody minded and I spent a great night on one of our bigger dams. Here are a couple pictures I snapped.

First picture is where I actually slept.




This is it for the first day. More coming soon. Hopefully you guys enjoy this!

 

[Martyb]

Looks like a fun trip. I have pulled a 5th wheel through Cape Breton and over to Newfoundland. A few suggestions would be to spend an extra day and drive the Cabot Trail, camp at Gros Morne National Park and Leading Tickles (campground right on the water) and to see the viking settlement in L'anse aux Meadows since you are that far North anyways.

Oh, and BTW, there are women out there that love this type of travel. I have been married to one for 30 years so keep looking! We are doing a trip next month in our 4runner to Colorado and Utah.

 

[dekeman]

Should be a great trip, keep the pix coming. And watch for moose, you do not want to hit one, even in a 4R.

 

[Rundownaxe]

Day 2 was spent driving on very hilly gravel roads into Labrador. I made it past Fermont and Labrador city into the great wilderness of Labrador. No cell service for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers.

I drove to churchill falls and decided it was far enough. Gased up the truck and asked the locals for a quiet spot to spend the night. People around here are really friendly and it was not very long before I had a couple choices offered to me. I decided on this spot after exploring around a bit. It was at the far end of an unused trail known by very few people.





I spent a great night and slept very well. But the next morning was sort of magical. I opened my eyes to this :



I was mesmerized by the sight but it got better! As I was watching, The world started to disapear. It felt like I had died and was suddenly alone in the world.





I spent another night there before moving on. At the time it was the best camping spot I've ever had. But as you'll see, I would find better in the next couple of days.

 

[Rundownaxe]

Looks like a fun trip. I have pulled a 5th wheel through Cape Breton and over to Newfoundland. A few suggestions would be to spend an extra day and drive the Cabot Trail, camp at Gros Morne National Park and Leading Tickles (campground right on the water) and to see the viking settlement in L'anse aux Meadows since you are that far North anyways.

Oh, and BTW, there are women out there that love this type of travel. I have been married to one for 30 years so keep looking! We are doing a trip next month in our 4runner to Colorado and Utah.

Thans for the suggestion! But all of this was already on my to do list! Except camping in the national park. I prefer finding my own spots. The great thing about this part of the country is that you actually can just park somewhere and sleep without anyone bothering you. I have been capitalizing on that. Not one penny in camping fees in 6 days of travel. Food and gas are my only expenses. It will change as I head south but for now I plan on boondocking some more.

 

[Rundownaxe]

Should be a great trip, keep the pix coming. And watch for moose, you do not want to hit one, even in a 4R.

I will knock on wood but for now I have not seen one in 2500 kilometers of travel. I just made it to Newfoundland today and I am parked for the day to hopefully see the solar eclipse. Tomorrow I am headed for L'anse au meadows then south to catch the ferry into Novascotia for the cabot trail. If only I had more time....

 

[eddie333]

I will knock on wood but for now I have not seen one in 2500 kilometers of travel. I just made it to Newfoundland today and I am parked for the day to hopefully see the solar eclipse. Tomorrow I am headed for L'anse au meadows then south to catch the ferry into Novascotia for the cabot trail. If only I had more time....

Awesome thread! I've done 2/3 or this trip in different parts in 2013 and 2016. I drove north to Labrador the same way you did but got cut off due to wildfires and couldn't continue on. Then three years later I wen through Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. Both trips my wife and I remote-camped the entire time. Newfoundland was gorgeous and we camped along the ocean and took old logging roads to explore the interior. Enjoy!

 

[nb rob]

Great thread!

I did the trans-labrador last year, and it annihilated my rear shock shafts. DAYS of gravel.
You're in the best of it now. Cape Breton is amazing as well. I grew up there, so I've got a funny accent, even by atlantic Canada standards.


The moose are really bad in northern NB through Gaspe. 9/10 times you'll be looking for reflective eyes, but they're actually trotting along the side of the road away from you. When they turn to look at you, their body follows and suddenly there is a moose taking up the entire road. Add about 1/2" of bugs to the windshield, and the fact that their asses are jet black at nighttime, and it's pretty hair-raising.


I'm in Fredericton NB, along your way home. Shoot me a message if you've got time, I'd be happy to buy you lunch!

Safe travels

-Rob

 

[SacStateHornets]

Awesome, I did something like this through coastal N. Kalifornia, Oregon, Washington and B.C.
Great memories. In a month we only spent one night in a hotel. Rest was outside, had a S-10 Chevy Blazer, surprised it lived through it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oleve]

amazing tripp

 

[Rundownaxe]

Day 4 was a long day of driving. And it was the hardest by far on the truck and myself. Dust and many kilometers of washboard made progress slower than I would have liked. Almost wanted to air down but I didn't bring a compressor.

I drove from Churchill Falls to Goose bay where I got a satellite phone. They are loaned for free to travelers. You take it somewhere and leave it in another designated spot along the way. it would be nearly 700km without any cellular signal and from Goose bay it is 404km to the next gas station. I filled the truck to the cap and set off.

Not far out from Goose Bay, I got a firm reminder to be careful on the road ahead.


I did not take many pictures that day. But I did take this one along the way.

I noticed that there were not as many spots to camp as there was earlier. I had to settle on and old sand pit by the side of the road. Any farther and the sun would be down and I was not about to drive at night on this road. Not the most scenic place to sleep but it served it's purpose. I set up the bed and went to sleep exhausted.




I woke up in the morning and though it was cold! I turned on the truck to get warm and this is what the dash said right in the middle of August:

 

[ToyoT4R]

wanted to air down but I didn't bring a compressor.

Get a compressor at your earliest opportunity!! Never travel that far without one.

Trip looks fun, the dogs seem to love it too!

 

[Northern 4Runner]

Looks like a fun trip. I'm in truro, NS. If you want to stop in, shoot me a pm or message on here and I'll be around.

 

[WanderlostOverland]

Awesome!

We're glad we stumbled onto your thread! We're planning the very same trip for next year. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Krayziekid]

Sick trip man! I literally just did that entire loop over the past two weeks and just got back on Saturday. It was a blast! Saw that same minivan overturned when I passed it.

Be careful when you start heading along the coast near Battle/Mary's Harbour. The road gets really rough in certain sections. Ended up hitting a turn a bit too quick, traction control freaked out, and I found myself sliding like crazy along the gravel and washboards. Super fun though.

And I'm not sure if you have passed Happy Valley Goose Bay yet, but if you are planning on camping there, let me know. I found a SWEET campsite there from a local and I'll gladly PM you on how to get there. The view was beautiful.

Edit: Just re-read and realized you were past HVGB. Whoops. I highly recommend camping in Pinware at their provincial park. It was one of the few campgrounds I actually stayed in along the way, but they are right on the beach and you can see whales and all kinds of wildlife from it. And I also camped in Blanc Sablon the night before my ferry, but there is no real good place to camp, i.e no actual campground, which I thought was strange. I found a place that was really secluded and looked like a few people had camped there before if you find yourself in need of a place.

 

[itsdchz]

Wow! Loving the adventure thus far! Thank you for sharing. Be safe and really looking forward to being on the journey with you in spirit!

 

[Rundownaxe]

Great thread!

I did the trans-labrador last year, and it annihilated my rear shock shafts. DAYS of gravel.
You're in the best of it now. Cape Breton is amazing as well. I grew up there, so I've got a funny accent, even by atlantic Canada standards.


The moose are really bad in northern NB through Gaspe. 9/10 times you'll be looking for reflective eyes, but they're actually trotting along the side of the road away from you. When they turn to look at you, their body follows and suddenly there is a moose taking up the entire road. Add about 1/2" of bugs to the windshield, and the fact that their asses are jet black at nighttime, and it's pretty hair-raising.


I'm in Fredericton NB, along your way home. Shoot me a message if you've got time, I'd be happy to buy you lunch!

Safe travels

-Rob

Thank you for the offer! I will have to see how I feel when I reach NB. I had planned to drive from NS straight home. I have already visited NB a lot in prior years and I always long for home in the last stretch of a journey. Hell I drove from Banff to Montreal in 2 days last year. 2200km then 4 hours of sleep in the car than another 2200km.

But if you don't mind the stink I may take you up on that lunch when I go through. I will let you know in a couple days. What's couple more hours to the drive if I meet some great people along the way.

 

[Rundownaxe]

Looks like a fun trip. I'm in truro, NS. If you want to stop in, shoot me a pm or message on here and I'll be around.

I will most likely start the Cabot trail early on Thursday. I'm guessing I'll be passing through Truro in the evening If I don't waste too much time. I will let you know when I get off in North Sydney. I appreciate the offer. Hopefully I have enough time!

 

[Rundownaxe]

Before I start with day 5, here are a few pics of day 4 that I forgot to add, it was actually the best part of the day. I was driving to Goose Bay and along the road there were big hydro lines that would criss-cross the roa. The best part, there were maintenance roads built under them. Having a capable 4x4 in hands, I decided to try to follow those roads for a little bit. It was fun!





Day 5 was much more relaxed. I racked up the miles on day 4 and was close enough to the Blanc-Sablon ferry to take the day easy.

I stopped often along the way to take in the sights. This is when I realised just how remote this road actually is. There is a strange beauty to it all. Not that the sights are better than what I had already seen but I slowly noticed how untouched the scenery was. Except for the road itself and a couple small villages along the way, There was absolutely nothing else manmade. Normally you can always see some isolated cabins on a lake shore or some trails going up a mountain or even the hydro lines. But it was all gone.






Day 5 continued in the next post.

 

[Beardy]

Awesome trip! My wife and I took an east coast trip a few years back that covered New Brunswick, PEI, and Nova Scotia. The Cabot Trail is magnificent and if it's not too much out of your way when you're coming up through Nova Scotia, check out Halls Harbour Lobster Pound for some lobster in the rough if that's your kind of thing. Keep the updates and pics coming and safe travels!