[at-l] Long Trip report Gaspe end of IAT

[Trailwife@aol.com (Trailwife@aol.com)]

Gaspe Trip June 2002           =20

The end of  May Peter Downey called me and said he was canoeing the=20
Bonaventure River in the Gaspe and would I like a ride up there=E2=80=A6. Er=
rr.. OK  =20
     I had been hoping to hike the International Appalachian Trail but too=20
many things had come up to find 50 to 60 consecutive days. But a week, I=20
would only miss the GMC Annual meeting, a couple of family graduations and m=
y=20
45 high school alumni reunion.

6:00 am Saturday June 8, Peter picks me up and some over 12 hours later we=20
are in Mont-Saint-Pierre. It is the tiny town where the IAT comes down from=20
the Chic-Choc Mountains and meets the Sea (Gulf of the St Lawrence River). W=
e=20
stay in a motel there with the IAT passing on the sidewalk in front of it.=20
Sunday morning it raining moderately and we check things out (not enough) an=
d=20
at Gros-Morne I start hiking in the rain at a little after 9:00am. At first=20=
I=20
follow a good woods road (snow machine route) and then lesser machine trails=
=20
to the highway leading to Manche-d'Epee. I cross the road and eat lunch.=20
After lunch I cross a stream and start up out of the valley. The trail gets=20
steeper and steeper until I start finding ropes placed to help the hikers.=20
Wet the pack now weighs 50 pounds and I'm not expecting this but soon I reac=
h=20
the top and the leveler land. This region has a lot of higher fairly level=20
interior land with steep sided valleys where the rivers and streams drain to=
=20
the Ocean. The trail is now newly cut and good except there are a lot of big=
=20
blowdowns from the winter storms. (It became evident throughout the hike tha=
t=20
I was the first person to pass over most of the trail since the snow had=20
melted. I was told that some years I would have found fair amounts of snow o=
n=20
my hike.) I come to a major overlook (Belvedere in French) but can see only=20
fog. Eventually I'm back on old woods roads and ATV trails that lead me to=20
Madeleine-Centre. I follow Rte 132 towards Riviere-la-Madeleine and there=20
come to a rest area with an IAT Kiosk. It says Cap Gaspe 163 km. That is muc=
h=20
farther than I had planned to hike. It also says the next official camp site=
=20
is nearly 5 miles. I soon see a Hotel/Restaurant/Bar similar to what one=20
would see in an old western movie. It is 6:00pm, cold and wet. It actually=20
was a good place to stop with good food and a clean (but old) room.

Monday morning, 6:45am well feed, only a little sore, I'm on my way for 13=20
hours of hiking in much improved weather. I followed a gravel road then dirt=
=20
road (snowmobile routes) to the first official camping site. It was improved=
=20
with two large tent platforms, a large gable roofed three sided shelter with=
=20
picnic table and an outhouse, all new, well built and very nice. The rest of=
=20
the day I followed old woods roads, newly cut trail, good woods roads, the=20
main highway through two villages and the seashore. The trail went up and=20
several steep banks, most with a variety of log steps. Most were made from=20
little trees cut on site and while they consumed a lot of time to build will=
=20
probably not last very many years. Again I found some big blowdowns and a=20
very steep bank with a long rope (300 feet +/-) to help pull yourself up it.=
=20
I also found the rocky and loose stones of the seashore to be quite difficul=
t=20
to traverse, particularly with my large pack. I arrived at the next campsite=
=20
about an hour before nightfall and turned in as I had eaten supper about=20
6:00pm near a nice little lake. (Note: at this latitude at this time of year=
=20
there is light about 18 hours each day.)

Tuesday was nearly a 12 hour copy of  Monday. Shorter rope to climb and I=20
waited to eat supper at the tent site. The four tent sites outside Forillon=20
park were carbon copies of each other. I also passed the first refuge (=20
cabin/shelter) of the trip. It was a new, well built, very nice 20' x 20'=20
insulated cabin with a wood stove. The interior has a large room with a=20
table, cupboards, counter top and the stove as well as two small rooms with=20
bunks for eight. This one was built on a bank so it had a high large deck=20
with a long set of steps to it. It is very similar to other refuges in the=20
Canadian park system such as the ones I've stayed at in the Chic Chocs.

Wednesday, up and on the trail at 5:00am for only a ten hour day. I arrived=20
at the historic Pointe-a-la- Renommee lighthouse where I met two Southbound=20
backpackers who said they were going to hike all the way to Key West. A thir=
d=20
hiker with them was hiking to Delaware Water Gap. These were the first hiker=
s=20
I had seen and the were all USA citizens. After an ankle bending stumble in=20
the rocks along the ocean I arrived at L'Anse-a-Vallee where I had lunch in=20=
a=20
very nice restaurant on the hill over looking the village. A very scenic and=
=20
beautiful place for my lunch of a hamburger and poutin (french fries and=20
cheese smothered in gravy). I hiked the rest of the afternoon under the=20
threat of rain to a campsite by a large waterfall. (Frank: That poutin was=20
good all afternoon) I was into camp at a decent hour for a change but the=20
black flies and mosquitoes were bad and I set up my tent for the first time.

Thursday  It rained some in the night but I was up for an early start again.=
=20
Pleasant hiking on somerough trail that seemed to yo yo up and down several=20
banks on latter and steps made of small fir and birch saplings. It seemed=20
like a lot of work to build them and they won't last very long. It appeared=20
there were better places for the trail that would require less construction=20
but I have no idea what the land owner problems were. A little after 1:00pm=20=
I=20
came out to a former farm on rte 197. The owner a man of 68 was in the yard=20
and after a short conversation said he was going into the town of Gaspe for=20
about an hour and asked if I would like to go with him. I put my backpack in=
=20
his barn and went to town with him where he took care of some motor vehicle=20
business at an office in a rather nice mall. Getting back to the trail I=20
spent the night at a commercial camp ground on rte 197 in site designed for=20=
a=20
large road camper not my little tent. I would have been $20.71 better off an=
d=20
more comfortable in the woods.

Friday   Entered Forillon Park soon after leaving my campsite. The trails=20
were easier being a lot of old roads and trails that had all been traveled b=
y=20
maintainers on ATV's. From the amount of fresh sawdust it looked like they=20
had cleared many blowdowns from the trail. I passed several lakes and saw my=
=20
only patch of snow on the trip at the end of one long lake where the wind ha=
d=20
filled a gully under some softwood trees with snow in the winter. I passed=20
two camp sites and took the third and last one a little over 10 mile from=20
Cap-Gaspe and the end of the trail. I was about 3:00pm and very soon the=20
Twisted Sisters stopped to visit for a little while. They were headed for th=
e=20
next campsite about an hour further up the trail. Twisted Sister 2 was=20
planning on hiking to Baxter Peak and become the first Canadian Woman to=20
completely hike the IAT. ( I thought it had been done by #2 quickly pointed=20
out that the other woman had skipped about 100 miles near the end. I said=20
"OK") Sister #1 was accompanying #2 for the first week. #2 appeared to be a=20
strong hiker with a hikers attitude so I bet she makes it.

Saturday  A real early start for the last day in the tourist end of Forillon=
=20
Park on a very nice day. I reached the observation tower on Mont St-Alban=20
with sun low over the eastern water in light surface clouds which made for a=
=20
very pretty view. The tower has pointers to Anticosti, Newfoundland, and=20
other points of interest. From here I moved down to the area near the road=20
that has many restored historic sites which I found interesting. I arrived a=
t=20
Gap-Gaspe and the end of the trail about noon. I walked down to the=20
observation deck close to the ocean and then returned to the lighthouse and=20
the End of the Trail markers to eat lunch. I returned the 2 miles to the=20
parking lot via the easier road/bike path. I walked along the pavement until=
=20
I got a ride back to Rte 132 with a man from New Jersey who regularly=20
vacations on the Gaspe in June. A 20 minute wait and Peter picked me up abou=
t=20
3:pm and we head along the south side of the peninsula. We met Peters=20
canoeing partners for supper, found a motel and started our nearly 12 hour=20
drive home at 4:20am Sunday.
=20
A good hike but definitely different then the Long Trail or Appalachian=20
Trail. I just received an email from Twisted sister #1 and here are their=20
comments on the Trail which are pretty similar to mine.  =20

"I was fascinated by the condition of the trail. In some parts its so new=20
that you were walking on delicate plants. They hadn't been trodden down to a=
=20
hard path.  Blow downs were common and they put their trails straight up=20
some hills. There's going to be some major erosion problems in places and it=
=20
will be hard to maintain.  We spent about three days walking on logging=20
roads. Although we could make good time, it wasn't my favorite part of the=20
trail. And then there were the beach walks (we called them "Bitch Walks").=20
They were interesting, but after 7 km in one day, it could be difficult. =20
Each village is visited by the trail. So you hike down to the town and then=20
back up to the mountains.  We'd like to see some by-passes made."

If anyone is planning on hiking in Quebec I recommend you do more planning=20
than I did and get all your reservations and permits. Dick Anderson will be=20=
a=20
big help in getting on the right track.

The Old RidgeRunner


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