This is Eco1...
Have crossed the New Brunswick boarder and entered the Atlantic Time Zone.
Have set camp 5 km north of Grand Falls in the nosiest site yet. Set on a the TransCanada (#2) hill embankment with my head about 7 metres from passing transport trucks, and a soya bean field crop about 5 metres from my feet.
This is black bear country if I've ever seen it. I could've maybe set camp on a patch of grass at the foot of a nearby, dense forest, but figure that's just asking for trouble, Skipper.
Was too hard to find a suitable tree to cache my food up, so decided to just put the waterproof food bad beside the EcoRocket - the side farthest from the tent. So I'm hoping the really loud noise of nearby dangerous trucks will keep bears clear. Got the bear spray in the tent and Swiss Army knife ready foe emergency exit creation. Let's face it - getting caught outside with a bear at midnight with pants around my ankles is something I only want to do once.
I just hope I can sleep.
Many thanks to the warm hospitality of Catherine and Denis (last night's campground manager) for inviting me into their home for breakfast. Catherine is a fabulous cook. Three (or was it four?) Pieces of French toast with maple sugar and syrup, blackberry yogurt, and gourmet coffee set the mood for my dreamy ride down La Route Verte.
This trail ride realized the romantic vision I'd always had of rural Quebec, and served as an ideal farewell. The old railway line hugged the shoreline of sparkling Lac Temiscouata with the occasional corridor cut through high rock. Every half kilometre there would appear a neat little shelter with cedar shingle roof, picnic table, garbage bin, and great view. Every quarter kilometer, a cedar rail and steps lead down to a small private beach for swimming or sun-tanning. Now and then I'd pass someone riding north, wave and say, "Bonjour!". And the weather was perfect.
Returning to the highway at Edmundston, the long, rolling mountains (I can never get their name right...) returned with a vengence. It also became one of the hottest days so far. Punishment almost to climb the mountains one after the other. Unlike the BC mountain highways, here the TransCanada hasn't yet found a river valley to follow. Instead, it' over top of the mountain we go. The sun has set and I'm still sweating in the tent.
Locals tell me there's heavy construction from Grand Falls to Woodstock, so I can't accurately say how far I may reach tomorrow. I'll do my best.
This is Eco1...Out.
-- Major Dude
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
3 comments:
Eco 1... This is Mission control...
Congratulations on your arrival in New Brunswick! Already! EcoRocket, indeed.
Impressive. Most impressive...
MD, keep watch for the bears... I can't tell you how I worry! Keep that bear spray handy! Congrats on the border crossing into NB.
Wilshy
Thank you! It's kinda lonely on the road - it's so very nice to hear from you guys.
I survived the night with no sign of bears. Maybe I should try out the bear spray to make sure I know how to use it first.
Boy, it's hot and humid right now (1640 hours in Florenceville). Will get back on the road, but not sure when this evening.
Florenceville is 'The French Fry Capital of the World'. They have a McCain food plant here is perhaps the reason why.
The highway shoulders are mostly good with only spots of construction. Truckers seem a bit more reckless 'round these parts with some close calls. Long, steep climbs and really fast descents. Hours of slow grind followed by moments of terror. There's less speed wobble without the trailer and co-pilot.
Knee is improving.
Seems the French speaking is fading out. Edmundston was French. I thought the deal was that after the border - zap! - all English. Not so. I'm still poorly constucting French sentences in my head and trying to translate them back into English.
Until the road, I'm playing with a boarder collie puppy in the shade!
-- Major Dude
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