AUGUST 9, 2004 — GRANDE VALLE, QUEBEC
The journey has begun. Bob, Andrew and I went to Montreal on Wed, Aug 5. We stopped at Ben and Jerry’s in Vermont for the last taste of good junk food. Andrew caught the bus in Montreal on Thurs and took a 16 hour ride to Gaspe.
Andrew called today. He has hiked 86 miles so far and has reached Grande Valle. He reports that the IAT is very well made but very sparcely used. He has been sleeping in cabins on the trails. The cabins have bunks, cooking counters, cutting board, and screened windows. There are however, very few hikers. So far, he is enjoying the trail but is disappointed at the lack of fellow hikers.
In the villages, the people speak French. He has mastered “bonjour” but nothing more. He had been saying, “no parley vous francais”. I told him he was saying that wrong but I was sure the locals understood that he did not know French. Andrew has seen only one moose, but has seen porcupines as big as our 60 pound dog. He got close enough for pictures. Things seem to be going well.
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