The Hill

Some weeks ago I met a girl and after spending a few weekends together we decided to further test our compatibility by taking a trip together. I didn’t want it to be too easy since I find adventurous travel more interesting so we decided to hitchhike to a rainbow gathering in Nova Scotia.

We began by taking Montreal’s public transport as far as it would take us, which ended up being the town of St Hyacinthe. After wasting all day walking back and forth trying to find a good spot to hitch we camped out in a small bush on the edge of the town.

After 3 days filled with both luck and a lack of it we ended up at a lonely truck stop outside of Woodstock, New Brunswick. Here we waited on the side of the TransCanada highway for 4 hours with vehicles constantly going by at high speeds. I have never really had the patience for hitchhiking and it seems it was not any easier as a couple so I started thinking about building myself a log cabin since I would be stuck there forever.

Thankfully the next day my partner was able to get us a ride all the way to the gathering via a Facebook ride sharing group. It is a good thing we got out of Woodstock as we had already gotten kicked out of the truck stop for trying to use the showers without paying.

So we ended up successfully hitchhiking about half of the total distance from Montreal to the gathering with our rainbow brother taking us the rest of the way for a total of 16 hours on the road. But it was not over yet…

The last road into the site was quite bumpy for his small car which was quite stressful and he was considering turning back only a few kilometres from our goal. It didn’t help that we also got the news that most of the people had left because of a recent storm. In the end we encouraged him to keep going until we were a walking distance away from the Welcome Home.

The hippies hosting the welcome centre neglected to inform us about what lay ahead. There was a hill. This hill carried an in-temporal energy. It seemed never ending. It constantly went down forever at a steep pace without any flat areas or landmarks. So down we went. For an eternity or so, slowly stepping down the rocky path, taking breaks every few steps and wondering if we were stuck in a time loop. The sea was visible through the trees and didn’t seem much further but still we walked down.

The view was impeccable when we finally reached the bottom. We found a beautiful grassy plateau nestled between the mountain and the sea. The wind was ever present as was the sound of the waves crashing into the rocks below. We pegged down our tent and laid down to rest but not before picking some of the wild strawberries growing plentifully on the hillside.

After a couple days we decided to hike back up to the Welcome Home. Most people had chosen to stay there because the hill seemed too daunting and the site too inhospitable. There were 9 of us camped up there, just enough to be able to hold hands around the fire. The next few days were spent doing hippy stuff, cooking vegan food and waiting until it was time to go. Thankfully we were able to get a ride out to Truro followed by a long 22 hour train ride back to Montreal.

It was a wonderful trip. It was the first time I shared one with a lover and my first time visiting eastern Canada. Though the gathering was practically nonexistent I am grateful it gave me the opportunity to have an adventure and to touch the Atlantic Ocean. With luck we will have many more adventures together in the months and years to come.