Join the International Sender of the Apalaches (Ect 227 and 228)

DAY 227 (AUX CEDRES TO Lake Malcom)

• I walked today: 17.6 miles
  • Stevie Allagash /Quebec National Trail Alternate (367.1 – 384.7)
• Total walking: 4,424.9 miles
• Total rowing: 191.2 miles

Climate: 53 – 73 ° F, cloudy, then cloudy, Big Moody and Poofy.

Until this point in my alternative, I have managed to find some type of path instead of every straight path, even if it is short. Well, these last 30 miles or so, I had no more tricks under my sleeve. Since I planned this in advance until now, I never found a way to stay with the 132 highway. However, it is the final impulse to connect to the traditional route of Eastern Continental Paths/International Senderos of the Apalaches.

Originally planned to make this last section of walk in one day. It would have been long, but my strategy of making great days in the days of road walk has proved possible so far. After things with my permission changed a few days ago, I had to stop a little, which is great. Therefore, I divided it in two days and today I only had to get to a camp on Lake Malcom.

After connecting along the busy 132 highway, I finally cut myself after 15 miles or so. The last bit was more of the field things of the farm that I liked. I had lunch on a hill there before making the final thrust. Upon reaching 1:30 pm, he felt like a Nero, although there were no city services. I shower, but otherwise I just spent Lakeside’s time and rested and worked to get caught with blog posts. Somehow, there was also Wifi throughout the camp, so I could make few telephone calls to the family.

Day 228 (Lake Malcolm to the three sisters)

• Walking today: 17.8 miles
  • Stevie Allagash /Quebec National Trail Alternate (384.7-400.9)
  • International in: Quebec (98.8-100.4)
• Total walking: 4,442.7 miles
• Total rowing: 191.2 miles

Climate: 53 – 68 ° F, cloudy, a little dark again

I had a relaxed morning starting. After breakfast, and make sure I had my phone and the energy bank battery with load, I could go around 7:00 am I didn’t have a big day planned, so I wasn’t too worried about needing a super early start.

My day kicked if with the Walking agricultural land road. Some of the trucks simply run through these rural roads ridiculously fast. However, there were only a few. And soon, I returned to highway 132. There, I turned east. The town of Sayabec was not far ahead. In fact, I could soon see the church bell tower. It seems that each city has one.

My first goal for the city was to find stove fuel. I entered Petro Canada and then in a hardware store, but nothing. The hardware had green propane boats, but that will not work for my stove, even if I was willing to carry the weight.

Then, I stopped at the grocery store. He planned to make a large resupping store anyway and had no hope of finding fuel at this time. However, when I asked the staff, a woman was summoned to the front because she spoke well English. He actually ended up calling a small convenience store in the city to consult them. She explained that they said some have, but that they are a bit larger than I have. I suspected that they were the green propane again, but I thought I would check it.

After walking around the city, that was what they had. At this point, I accepted that it can be cold soaked. However, I still had a little less on a half can, so I thought that maybe I used it efficiently, I could even avoid it. On the way back to the grocery store, a thought surprised me that I may have hit you immediately when I spoke for the first time not to have Canadian money … Find an ATM!

Well, that was not so difficult. He felt good to have some Canadian cash. In the grocery store, people were very pleasant. They allowed me to hang in the corner on some tables and reload my phone and unba and organize the enormous amount of food I had just bought. It had a six -day supply.

I was very tempted to wait for the Delicatessen store to open because the Lady of the English -speaking personnel said she had Chinese food today and, as she expressed it, «she was screwed!» However, I felt the attraction to get going and had just made my package super heavy and anxious to start eating the weight.

I turned to the left outside the city of the 132 highway. I wouldn’t see it again. A little along the way I arrived at Sirier Mic Mac. I had investigated a bit about this, but it was not clear to me the conditions of the paths and so on. After paying a $ 5 rate to use the trail system, I left the road and began to wrap the giant Matapedia lake.

The paths were not spectacular here, but served to cut a road walking route. Following, the connector of the path of few miles, I started Route Saucy, a gravel path …

I took this way in a lot of ways, but I was glad to find an unexpected path during the last miles of my alternative. It took me to the shore of Lake Matapedia, which was very pleasant …

In a small parking area/park called Depot-A-Soucy, I joined the traditional route of the East Continental (ECT). To the north of Mount Katahdin, the ECT follows the International Sender of the Apalaches (IAT) the rest of the road to where I know. So, after 400 miles of «Follow my own path», I returned!

Maybe you are curious, like me, how my alternative coincided with the mileage with what I would have walked if I had gone to the other side. Well, I ended with 400.9 miles from Mount Katahdin and that includes the Aqua-Slaze along Allagash. The traditional route adds up to 421.8 through Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec, so not so different.

Here is a silly map that shows my route. Every day is a different color. There is no rhyme or reason for the color system, this is how I trace it using the Caltopo application …

I will join where the purple circle is. I can use the Farout application again!

He had a brief way to walk through the IAT before arriving at the shelter in which he had reserved a place, Les Trois Soeurs. The path was super nice immediately …

Looking back at Lake Matapedia.

This was my first night experiencing IAT shelters and camps. After having to reprogram and shuffle my reservations, the person with whom I sent an email really reserved every night inside the shelter instead of a tent platform. When I arrived in Les Trois Soeurs, I discovered that I was not the only one.

It turned out to be another satellite! And I was very excited to have the opportunity to run into him and listen to some of his experience. The trail of the Apalaches began in 2018 and since then it has been connecting in the various sections of the TEC. It happened that our meeting occurred on its last night before connecting all the pieces together! Tomorrow, the last set of miles would end and arrive in Amqui, Quebec and that would be completed by the ECT for him. Super inspiring and fun talking with satellite!

I broke the dinner while we talked and then decided that I had installed my store, since it seemed that we would be the only ones for the night.

It was a very good welcome to the ETA. I will not go into details about my thoughts about the alternative, but I am generally happy to have done it. The main reason to do so differently was to make the river path of Allagash Wilderness and that would surely not change. I saw some really surprising parts of New Brunswick and Quebec. I also obtained all the paths and aspects of the field I expected, which was sometimes fun and arduous.

Anyway, I am very happy to be in the IAT now and excited to see what you have to offer. You, I have approximately 300 miles of this thing! And it is perhaps the part of the entire TEC that I waited most eagerly. Come on!!!