Food FOOD food

As promised. Copious food and daily notes, from St. Vianney to Lac-Cascapedia :).

Total distance covered: 94 mi (~157 km)

Day 1: Walked to St. Vianney in the morning. Ate huuuuge breakfast/brunch. Carried 6-7 dry dinners (Knorr Pasta Sides; noodles) from Amqui, because they are cheaper at the bigger town; got poptarts, box of Fruit Loops, and Nutrigrain bars in St. Vianney at noon.

Rained all afternoon. Walked through Camp Tamagoda, bought 6 chocolate bars and a tiny bag of cheese puffs.

Dinner, at Abri de la Riviere Matane: 1 bag cheesy puffs, 3 ranch-topped kaiser rolls warmed in the fire, with Knorr pasta sides Spinach Artichoke pasta (prepped w/ dry milk). 1 hot L chamomile tea; most of an Oh Henry candy bar. Some lovely human had left a board over the wood, so it was slightly more dry.

The river was glorious here; and also full of fisherpeople.

Day 2: Woke up. So nice. Walked 1km from the shelter, back to Camp Tamagoda, drank copious amounts of their coffee. Spent morning writing. Fruit loops or poptarts for breakfast, but I forgot to take notes today, oops.

Left after a leisurely morning; hiked 12 km (7.2 miles) to Ruisseau-des-Pitounes. Bag is heavy.

Day 3: Breakfasted on many Fruit Loops and… unclear. Walked quietly to Lac-Tombereau (<13 km). Errything is wet. I played a video game as a kid where if you made your person carry too many things, he’d say: “Help! I’m carrying too many things. Let’s use or throw something away.” I thought of this as mountains went by.

All you really had to do was eat your cheese, but if you let it go moldy, you’d lose hp, you goose.

Dinner: 2 Thai noodle packets (Bankok curry) mixed with 1/3 c. peanut butter. Huge Kitkat bar, mint tea. One beer, found in the shelter. Found crazy man in woods; bonded over winter hiking; can now start fires with flint and steel.

Was gifted with flint/magnesium fire rod, excellent advice, and a wonderful soir. Thanks, Joss!

Day 4: Breakfast is 2 strawberry poptarts, a snickers, 1 nutrigrain bar, chai tea.

Walk from Lac-Tombereau to Lac-Matane. Found Nova Scotians. Was offered much food, they were missing one person and thus filled me, instead. Dinner of cheese mac and a bit of apple crisp; then made package of pizza dough mix with dehydrated veggies, creamy soup mix with dried milk, 1/2? block of cheese, and last 3 large pepperoni slices.

Makes 3 rolls; baked on rock in fire. Ate two, saved one. Total distance covered: 15 km (9 miles).

Day 5: Breakfast is oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup, coffee! Lunch is my pepperoni/quarterblockofcheese/veggie roll. Granola bar.

Was scheduled to hike from Lac-Matane to Mont-Craggy. Arrived at shelter junction and thought about how I could either climb mountain now, or have mountain to climb in the morning, with an extra .6 km uphill tacked on from the shelter trail.

Hmmmm… well… present me is pretty tired. But future me will be so delighted.

So I ate poptarts and then about 1000 calories of peanut butter with a spoon, and climbed the mountain, but missed the memo that refuge Mont-Blanc is locked and/or no longer used as a refuge. Blast. Wandered in confused “it’s been a long day hurgh trail brainn” circles before camping carefully, and slept.

Distance: 20 km (12 miles)

Day 6: Mist and mist. Kept to the schedule that I had been told was appropriate, which meant sleeping in, then tromping cheerfully down out of the clouds, and purposefully dousing myself and my sweat-soaked clothes when crossing a brook.

Arrived to Lac-Beaulieu before noon, lunched with Knorr Pasta side (butter and herb) with most of my creamy vegetable soup mix ( makes 4c. of soup) and extra dehydrated veggies. Apricots. Watched two beavers swim by, about 20 ft away.

Dinner of two Thai noodles (lemongrass chili!). Was too much food. Also, apple tea with maple syrup mixed in (Thanks, Nova Scotians!)

Distance: 5 km (3 miles). whahaha

To be continued…