International Appalachian Trail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Appalachian Trail (IAT; French: Sentier International des Appalaches, SIA) is a hiking trail which runs from the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Mount Katahdin, Maine through the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec to the northernmost tip of the Appalachian Mountains at Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador.
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[edit] History
The IAT was proposed in 1994, by Richard Anderson, to traverse the portions of the Appalachian Mountains in Maine, New Brunswick, and Quebec that the Appalachian Trail did not cover, since its northern terminus was in Maine. Following route selection, construction of the trail took place through the late 1990s.
The first person to thruhike the IAT, as it then existed, was John Brinda from Washington State, in 1997. He did this as part of his thruhike of the Eastern Continental Trail starting in Key West, Florida. He was the first person to thruhike the entire Eastern Continental Trail.
The Newfoundland extension to the IAT was proposed in 2003 and is still under construction. When complete, the Newfoundland extension will double the length of the existing Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec portions of the IAT with an additional 1,200 km of trail. The official opening of the first trail section of the IAT Newfoundland was September 23, 2006.
There are currently proposals to extend the IAT in a branch from Mount Carleton, New Brunswick southeast through northern Nova Scotia and across Cape Breton Island to connect with the Marine Atlantic ferry to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Also, a section of the IAT will ultimately be found in Prince Edward Island.
[edit] Route
The IAT runs northeast from the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Katahdin, Maine to Mars Hill before following the U.S.-Canada border north to Fort Fairfield, Maine, where it crosses the International Boundary into Perth Andover, New Brunswick. Upon crossing the border into Canada, the IAT continues up the Tobique River valley to Mount Carleton before crossing the Miramichi Highlands to the Restigouche River valley in Quebec and along the Chic-Choc Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula, ending at the peninsula's easternmost point, Cap Gaspé in Forillon National Park.
From Cap Gaspé, the IAT skips over the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the island of Newfoundland where the trail picks up again at Channel-Port aux Basques and follows the west coast of the island up the Great Northern Peninsula before terminating at the island's northernmost tip, Cape Bauld. From there the IAT skips over the Strait of Belle Isle to the actual northern terminus of the Appalachian chain at Belle Isle.
[edit] Scenery
Scenic highlights along the route include:
- Mars Hill Mountain (Maine)
- Saint John River valley (New Brunswick)
- Tobique River valley (New Brunswick)
- Mount Carleton (New Brunswick) - highest elevation in the province
- Restigouche River valley (New Brunswick and Quebec)
- Matapédia River valley (Quebec)
- The Chic-Choc Mountains (Quebec)
- The Cap-Chat River and Matane River valleys, near Mt. Nicole-Albert (Quebec)
- Mt. Jacques-Cartier (Quebec), highest mountain of the Gaspé Peninsula
- Codroy River valley (Newfoundland)
- Anguille Mountains (Newfoundland)
- Lewis Hills (Newfoundland) - highest elevation on the island
- Humber River valley (Newfoundland)
- Long Range Mountains (Newfoundland)
Parks include:
- Baxter State Park (Maine)
- Mount Carleton Provincial Park (New Brunswick)
- Parc de la Gaspésie (Quebec)
- Forillon National Park (Quebec)
- Sir Richard Squires Provincial Park (Newfoundland)
- Ship's Arm Provincial Park (Newfoundland)
- Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Hughes, C.J. (September 27, 2002), "After 2,169 Miles, What's Another 690?". New York Times. 152 (52254):F1
[edit] External links
- International Appalachian Trail
- International Appalachian Trail - Newfoundland and Labrador
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy
- Information center for the trail in Quebec
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