July 21
End: Amqui
Miles: 46.2
Total: 4469.5
In the wee hours of the morning, when it was still dark, I heard an engine approaching quickly. An ATV at this hour? I just lay there beside the trail as the loud vehicle whipped by a foot or two from my head. It was a good move to camp off of the trail.
I got up at a more sane hour, packed up, and hit the road. I found myself immediately in Saint Jean-Baptiste; a tiny little place along the road. As I passed through I looked around for a place to get water but couldn’t find anything, so I walked on.
I knew that I needed to get back on the ATV trail, but wasn’t sure exactly where. The blazes had been lacking in New Brunswick so I stayed alert. As I crossed a bridge I looked down and saw a trail. This must be where the old railroad used to be. Of course, there were no IAT markings whatsoever, so I knew that it must be the trail since the markings had been missing all along the trail before as well.
The trail ran alongside a nice brook, and did eventually yield some IAT markings. After awhile I got water from the brook and continued on. The trail went a long way, but I had to admit that it was an interesting little valley to be hiking through.
After a long time, I came across some people flying by in their trucks and ATVs. There were a few cabins near the end of the trail, and as I crossed the Upsalquitch River I saw some folks floating by on inner tubes.
After a short rest I marched onward on the old rail trail. It was monotonous but I just tried to stay optimistic and think about almost being done with New Brunswick. When I arrived at Walker Road in the community of Christopher I stopped and asked a woman for some water. She was kind and I met her husband as well. They were interested in my trek, but I didn’t hang out with them for long.
I kept going but stopped soon at a road to read over my directions. As I did so the man and woman pulled up in their truck and gave me a baloney sandwich and some Nature Valley bars. I was pretty grateful for their kindness, no one ever tracks you down to give you food.
I kept on down the ATV trail, resting occasionally since I was getting tired. Finally I got to Tide Head and saw a little billboard mapping out the miserable trail in New Brunswick. I started in on the road walk to Matapedia, but only got a few miles into it before a man offered me a ride. I accepted, feeling I didn’t need to feel bad about skipping a few miles of more road-walking.
I arrived in Matapedia and realized that I might be able to catch the late bus to Amqui! I walked over to the store and got the ticket just in time. The bus was just late enough for me to catch it. I felt pretty good on the bus, knowing I was saving myself some time by arriving in Amqui that night.
The bus driver ended up dropping me off at the grocery store, which was great. I got my food and headed for the park. There was an annoying amount of people there but after awhile they went home and I picked out a decent spot in the middle of a group of trees to sleep. It was late, but I got pretty decent rest after a long day.
