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Trail
03-24-2013, 21:36
I'm currently reading a book Alone in the Appalachians: A City Girl's trek from Maine to Gaspes by Monique Dykstra. In summary, she hikes starting at Mt.Katahdin and heads north into New Brunswick and then into Quebec. It is a little Bill Bryson-ish (she is new to hiking) but overall a good read so far.

Until this book, I was unaware of an international AT. Unfortunately, she describes that many of the "trails" are actually logging roads that are not very rural (the logging companies won't grant thruway in the wooded areas). However, the book was written in 2001 and things may have changed since then (some trails in UK are considered part of this trail system now).

Anyone familiar with these trails up north? A search of this website didn't reveal any threads of this topic. Thanks in advance for info.

Trail

SCRUB HIKER
03-24-2013, 21:52
I've talked to people who have done the International AT from Katahdin to Forillon in Quebec, who concurred with what you said about the logging roads being a large percentage of the trail. But I don't know it for myself, nor have I read much about it. I'd be interested to know more. Here is a 6-year-old thread about it which has some info: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?24403-International-Appalachian-Trail

Old Hillwalker
03-25-2013, 06:55
Some of us have been cherry picking sections of the IAT over the past few years, here are a few references: http://www.internationalatmaine.org/pages/index

http://www.iat-sia.com/ http://www.samohtw.blogspot.com/

Trail
03-25-2013, 10:17
Thanks for the info guys. I will do some research with those threads.

I think the funny part with reading about the IAT is that you would expect that hikers would be travelling deeper into the wilderness. Almost like it would be the 100 mile woods all the way to Quebec. However, it seems like it is almost worse than the regular AT in that a large part of the hiking is on roads. Maybe because the area is so unpopulated that don't have the support for trail maintenance.

jimmyjam
03-25-2013, 11:51
There is a journal out there of a guy who walked starting in Key West, walked the Florida Trail, then NOBO the AT to Katahdin and then the AT way up into Canada. It's either on postholer or trailjournals. I forget which, I read it last year- but I'm thinking it was a 2010 journal???

Snowleopard
03-25-2013, 12:36
The International Appalachian Trail has fascinated me for years -- some day soon, I hope.

There are a few IAT-SIA trail journals on trailjournals.com. PluggerJohn did it in 2009 and put a lot of info in appendices to his journal: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=328010
I think you have to pay for shelters in Quebec; it seems both very wild and tightly regulated there.

The chapters section of iat-sia.com has info on parts of the trail even beyond Newfoundland (Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, etc.)http://iat-sia.com/index.php?page=chapters

The Newfoundland piece goes from the southwest tip of Newfoundland to near L'Anse aux Meadows in the northern tip. It's still incomplete, but I'll bet even the road walk sections would be interesting. There are significant sections of existing trails in Iceland that should be spectacular.

Seatbelt
03-25-2013, 15:02
This is a good book about the Fl Keys to Quebec trip by Nimblewill Nomad

http://www.amazon.com/Ten-million-steps-M-Eberhart/dp/1585920398

It is a good read.

waveglider
03-27-2013, 00:47
There is a journal out there of a guy who walked starting in Key West, walked the Florida Trail, then NOBO the AT to Katahdin and then the AT way up into Canada. It's either on postholer or trailjournals. I forget which, I read it last year- but I'm thinking it was a 2010 journal???

I believe you're talking about this. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=12694

jimmyjam
03-27-2013, 11:33
I believe you're talking about this. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=12694

Yep, that's the one. One heck of a long walk.