Date: June 21 2000
Trail Day: 21
Miles Today: 17.3
Location: About 6 km SW of St. Vienney
Section Mile: IAT 259.4
ECT Mile: 259.4
The night went OK. Got up early to avoid Ranger check if any. Cold morning.
My hands were numb. I hummed a parody to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably numb" -
Uncomfortably numb. Left Reserve du Matane and continued on to the town of
River Matane. There was a camp there not yet open. The lady served me
sausages, crackers, candy bars and cheese sticks anyway. I have now entered
the Valley of Matapedia section. I had one heck of a time finding the
beginning of the trail. Finally found a sign almost lying on the ground
saying SIA. Followed it. The term trail is very loosely applied here.
It was essentially a bush whack with very poor signs. Ribbons of all
colors were going every which way - no help. Did considerable detective
work and followed it. All of a sudden, after about 1 km of this it dropped
into a dirt road. From here the signs were good.
Got to St. Vienney. Called Kumar - not there. Talked to Karen - Suriyan's
wife. She was nice to talk to and some encouraging words. Looks like they were worried that I may dropped out. The last entry I had mailed them was after the hard snow hike when I was thoroughly demoralized. Mailed another
set of journal entries and a roll of films. Also mailed my winter clothes to
Vivek. I am now 2 lbs lighter as a result but my pack is much emptier.
They sure are bulky. Had lunch in a restaurant - good. Here's a food craving
on a long hike - Salad. Tomato, cucumber, lettuce with some dressing -
Ummm.
Continued hiking but could not find the road it took off on. Knocked at
someone's door for directions. They were extremely helpful. I am sorry now
that I did not get there names and a photo. The mom took out a more
detailed map and started searching. She then called some people and was able
to find the road. They were really nice and helpful - Thank you. Some more
trail angels. I spent almost an hour talking and figuring out the maps with them.
Continued on the trail. After a lot of turns and quirks during which I was
sure I was lost, I suddenly saw an SIA sign. I had been on track all along!
The signs need to be improved a lot. I am now about a days hike from Amqui.
It rained today. Had to cook sitting in the tent and the stove in the
vestibule. Almost bedtime.
My review of Reserve du Matane. It is quite remote, rugged and undeveloped
- more suited for experienced back packers. The folks there also need to
do a better job at presentation and developing picnic spots, trails,
views etc. The full potential of nature there has not been captured.
Give it the shine of Parc de la Gaspesie and you have a promising place
here.
Date: June 22 2000
Trail Day: 22
Miles Today: 12.4
Location: Amqui
Section Mile: IAT 271.8
ECT Mile: 271.8
The start was quite frustrating. This section from St Vienney to Lake
Matapedia seems to be poorly signed. I was supposed to follow a dirt road
to Lake Matapedia. Absolutely no signs. I tried to follow the map but there
are many forks in the road that are not shown on the map. I explored
several of the forks and they all dead ended or ended at tree stands.
At one point I could see the lake from a small hill. I guessed about 3 kms
and started bush whacking. It was harder than I had anticipated. The trees
were dense and there were several good ups and downs with poor footholds.
After about an hour of this I came across a tree stand. Got on top, took
a break and a photograph. The trail from the tree stand led back to one of
the forks that I had explored. After about 4 hours of attempts I gave
it up as a lost cause and decided to find the trail by a road further
down. The route was called Lebrei. The trail was well marked from here.
It shared an ATV trail that ran a semicircle around a hill. Then it became
a true trail and after about 20 minutes dumped me at a corner of a freshly
ploughed large field. It was not clear from the signs which side I was
supposed to hike. I could see Rte 198 and the electric posts. Decided to
walk to it. I walked across three farms, several fences in poor condition
and reached 198. Then a further 5 or so kms along that route got me to
Amqui.
Found a cheap decent hotel - Hotel Amqui. It faced the train station.
The trail I had taken from Montreal to Gaspe had stopped here. Bought
a big beer, big pizza, ate showered and fell asleep.
Date: June 23 2000
Trail Day: 23
Miles Today: 0
Location: Amqui
Section Mile: IAT 271.8
ECT Mile: 271.8
A zero mile day. A day of rest. Bought shorts, a wind cheater, poncho and
fuel. Did laundry and mailed some letters. Watched the soap opera "All
my children". Everyone seemed to be having emotional problems. Library
was closed due to a holiday - no internet. I also think I have been in the
wilderness too long - women were looking very pretty !
Date: June 24 2000
Trail Day: 24
Miles Today: 18.6
Location: Beside River Causapscal
Section Mile: IAT 290.4
ECT Mile: 290.4
Got out of Amqui. The trail here is well marked. It follows dirt roads, ATV
trails and sometimes becomes hiking trails. Stopped by Chute Philomene -
a medium size waterfall. A very sorry looking sign announced its presence -
probably drawn and layed out by a fifth grader. The maintenance was
pathetic. Met two guys who were putting up signs for ATV
trails.
After meandering across small hills, farms etc. the signs once again
became scarce. I found my way to a dirt road. Followed it but it dead
ended into a house. I turned back but two women hailed and asked me to
come there. They were friendly. They invited me into the house. One of them flirted with me quite
outrageously. She was the lady of the house. Her husband arrived shortly
and showed me where the trail was. He also drove me to the river and
showed me the salmon. They are difficult to see. They were very friendly and I spent several hours with them. He then dropped me of
where I had got lost and I continued my hike. I am camped beside River
Causapscal near some rapids. The lead in my mechanical pencil has also run out
and I am using a tiny piece. Well, some more maintenance.
A scenic shot
Date: June 25 2000
Trail Day: 25
Miles Today: 23.6
Location: St Marguirite
Section Mile: IAT 314
ECT Mile: 314
Continued the hike along River Causapscal. Its a nice trail but the
maintenance is quite poor. I was looking out for salmon but saw none.
The trail then joined a dirt road to Causapscal. Just as the dirt road
started there was a bar on top of the hill. Went there and had a large
beer - very refreshing. Had a very interesting conversation with the
bartender. I wish my French were much better. Its fun to talk to the
local people - they have lent a lot of color to my hike.
Near Causapscal the trail entered a field, continued on some delapitated
land and then followed a small stream. There was an old kerosene lamp
hanging from a tree in the unmaintained land. Parts of it have rusted
away. It brought to mind the history of the place. There were numerous
old farm implements strewn about. I have also seen some of the original
houses that have now been boarded up. They are much smaller and humble
but have more character than the newer ones. There are also several
very old barns.
Most of the trail was through back roads. Signs were also scarce. There
was one section that ended in a T and there were no signs. At that time
I had assumed that I was lost. I made a guess and saw a sign at the next
turn. I had been on the trail all along. A note on the signs. The metal
plates with SIA/IAT logo seem to be in short supply and are thus used
only at intersections or forks. So you can hike for several kms without
seeing one - a very uncomfortable feeling. Also in some of the true
trail sections there are very few crossroads to offer a bail out point.
So I am always hiking with the fear that I might lose the trail due
to bad signs and may have to backtrail about a half days worth of hiking.
It started raining around noon. It was off and on all day. I started
another section map after Caucapscal and it was in tatters by the end
of the day. Caucapscal was a disappointment. No good places to eat.
It was also peak tourist season due to the salmon fishing and I could
not find any rooms. I decided to continue to St. Marguerite and find
a room there. This made for a very long day.
St. Marguerite is a very small town and has no hotel/motels/camping ground.
I bought my food supplies for my next section to Matapedia which should
take 4-5 days and has no stores in between. The girls running the store
offered their couch in their balcony for me to sleep in but their
brother seemed uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger in the house.
So I declined and set up camp on a pine stand.
I am now somewhat wet and very tired. Boy, that couch sure looked appealing.
Anyway, good night.
Date: June 26 2000
Trail Day: 26
Miles Today: 17.4
Location: 7 km North of St Andre De Restigouche
Section Mile: IAT 331.4
ECT Mile: 331.4
Today was a bright day with plenty of sunshine. Good to dry out my tent,
clothes and sleeping bag. The trail started out as a dirt road, switched
between ATV trails and dirt roads several times. This continued for about
10 km. Then it made a sharp descent into a valley. At this point it became
a true hiking trail. There are no bridges at this portion till River
Asmetaquagon. There are three stream crossings. I crossed the first ones
without getting my socks wet by stepping carefully on large stones. I tried
the same thing on the second stream, but got my feet and socks soaking
wet. The third stream was a combination of the previous two streams and I
had water up to my knees with fairly strong current. I also had to wade
River Asmetaquagon. It was about a hundred feet wide but very shallow -
about 9 inches average.
From Asmetaquagon there was another new trail to River Etiene. I had bought
about four days worth of food for this section to Matapedia. When I looked
at the map closely during the hike I realized I will reach Matapedia
tomorrow noon. I had too much food. So I feasted on 3 cans of sardines and
some bread. It was a little heavy and all the blood must have gone to the
stomach as I felt very lethargic. Even worse I had a long climb ahead
of me. I took about 1.5 hours for that 1 km climb. But after that I got
back to normal.
From River Etiene the trail followed a dirt road. There were absolutely
no signs - and I hiked mostly on guesswork. I was afraid of a back track.
Finally saw a cabin, knocked and talked to two forest employees. One of
the guys had seen me in Amqui. He told me I was quite close to St.
Andre de Restigouche (the place I was trying to get to) and gave me
directions. I was happy to avoid a back track.
It was getting late in the day, so I decided to find a place beside the
road and camp. No cooking today as I am fairly full from my lunch.
This section of the forest has more wild life. I think the rest of the
valley is heavily hunted. The message is clear - we need protected areas
for wild life till we learn not to kill everything that moves.
A general note - Canadians are even worse than Americans when it comes
to the bottle. A good portion of the people I meet are nursing a beer
during our conversation. St. Marguerite does not have a hotel/motel/
library or even a gas station but it has a bar. Smoking seems to be
compulsory here.
Date: June 27 2000
Trail Day: 27
Miles Today: 13.7
Location: Auberge Matapedia
Section Mile: IAT 345.1
ECT Mile: 345.1
A lighter day than usual. The map that the forest employee drew for me
yesterday turned out to be useless. Either the directions did not come
through from the mix of French and English that we spoke or I took a
different route. I just continued to stay on the major dirt road that
headed south or west and suddenly got to a trail head with the SIA
sign on it. I missed a small portion of the trail - definitely needs
better signage.
Got to St. Andre de Restigouche. Small place, had a library but no
internet connection. Bought some canned soup and soda and ate. Continued
to Matapedia.
This section of the trail was a pleasant surprise. Most of it was on proper
trails. It was very well signed - normal trail standards (excepting the
Florida trail). It was a mish-mash of signs - the SIA/IAT metal tags
white pieces of plastics with SIA written on it, blue and white pieces
of plastic nailed together, blue blazes, white blazes, blue and white
blazes. Anyway, I was thrilled to have such a well marked trail. It
could also be appropriately named "The trail of many streams". I think
it must have intersected or ran along 7 streams. Very nice. Some
sections had very old, large, magnificent maple trees. I wonder why
they havent been chopped down to make toilet paper.
Today is also an important day as I have completed my first province.
I am still in Quebec just this side of the river. I have crossed the
river to buy groceries but without my backpack ... Well you get the
picture. Unbeknowest to me, before I started the hike, Quebec is one of
the larger provinces in the hike. It has taken me just short of a month
to complete it. The largest state will be Florida; at about two
months, followed by Virginia at about 1 1/2 months and then, Quebec.
I got the package that I had mailed to the post office at Montreal with
no problem. I now have a fresh set of maps and a fresh set of socks.
My socks have held up very well and could possibly last another month.
The Thorlo's have lost some of the springiness though.
I am now stuffed with chicken, banana, beer and cheese (tastes and smells
horrible - no wonder they say you have to develop a taste for it). I also
noticed how soundly I slept this morning. The forest workers have been
driving their vehicles on the road barely 20 feet from my tent and I never
heard them. This is in sharp contrast to the first few days one spends
in the forest where every little noise gets amplified due to anxiety and you have trouble
falling asleep. Now, I am out in 15 minutes.
Matapedia is also one of the stops that the train to Gaspe had made on my
way to the trail head at Parc Forillion. In fact even Caucapscal was a stop. The train had worked its way south
and then travelled east along the western coast of the peninsula. I have
hiked the eastern coast of the peninsula, paralleled the train route and
shall now head south into New Brunswick. Train and I divide here. The next
time I cross my train route will be in New Hampshire (Amtrak). I thought
I saw a white AT blaze from the train. It will be interesting to find out
if it really will be the case.
