International Appalachian Trail New-Brunswick

Le lieu

The New Brunswick section of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT/SIA) is the Canadian continuation of the Appalachian chain beyond Maine, running roughly 298 km from the US border at Perth-Andover to the Quebec border at Flatlands, near Tide Head. The route follows the Tobique River valley through Plaster Rock and Nictau into Mount Carleton Provincial Park, home to Mount Carleton, the highest peak in the Maritime provinces at 820 m, before crossing the Miramichi Highlands via St. Quentin, Kedgwick, and the Upsalquitch Valley to the Restigouche River. Much of the corridor outside the park follows gravel logging roads and quiet secondary highways through forested, sparsely populated country, with the Mount Carleton massif providing the only sustained, rugged mountain hiking on the route.

L’intérêt

Mount Carleton summit (820 m, highest in Maritime provinces). Tobique River salmon fishing. Acadian coastal villages. Chaleur Bay and its Acadian cultural heritage. Old-growth boreal forest.

Itinéraire détaillé

Le sentier débute à la frontière canado-américaine à Perth-Andover, accompagne la rivière Tobique par Plaster Rock jusqu'à Nictau, puis oblique au nord-est vers le parc provincial du Mont-Carleton. Il repart ensuite vers l'ouest en direction de Saint-Quentin et Kedgwick, tourne au nord-est en franchissant la rivière Upsalquitch, traverse l'embouchure de la rivière Restigouche à Tide Head, puis vire à l'ouest pour passer au Québec à Flatlands.

Un peu d'histoire

The IAT was conceived in 1994 by Dick Anderson and Gary Browne, extending the Appalachian trail concept northward on the recognition that the Appalachian Mountain chain continues through Maine into New Brunswick, Quebec and the maritime provinces. The New Brunswick section was developed in the late 1990s–2000s by volunteers.

Y arriver

Mount Carleton: car from Fredericton (3h) — limited public transport. Baie des Chaleurs: Bathurst has a VIA Rail station (from Montreal 10h). Car or taxi needed.

Matériel recommandé

Tent (mandatory — remote sections). Bear canister. Water filter. GPS. Insect repellent (black flies in June).

La saison

June to October. Black flies severe in June. September–October ideal: colours, no insects.

Jour par jour

1. 1
   J1 · Perth-Andover → Tobique First Nation / Riverside15.00 km · +110 m
2. 2
   J2 · Tobique First Nation → Plaster Rock18.00 km · +130 m
3. 3
   J3 · Plaster Rock → Three Brooks16.00 km · +140 m
4. 4
   J4 · Three Brooks → Oxbow17.00 km · +150 m
5. 5
   J5 · Oxbow → Blue Mountain Bend16.00 km · +180 m
6. 6
   J6 · Blue Mountain Bend → Riley Brook15.00 km · +170 m
7. 7
   J7 · Riley Brook → Nictau14.00 km · +200 m
8. 8
   J8 · Nictau → Mount Carleton Provincial Park (Armstrong Brook)15.00 km · +340 m
9. 9
   J9 · Armstrong Brook → Mount Carleton summit → Bathurst Lake13.00 km · +780 m
10. 10
    J10 · Bathurst Lake → Mount Sagamook → Williams Brook14.00 km · +650 m
11. 11
    J11 · Williams Brook → Mount Head → park east boundary16.00 km · +500 m
12. 12
    J12 · Park boundary → Miramichi Highlands (Gordon Meadow Brook)18.00 km · +280 m
13. 13
    J13 · Gordon Meadow Brook → St. Quentin20.00 km · +200 m
14. 14
    J14 · St. Quentin → Kedgwick River crossing19.00 km · +190 m
15. 15
    J15 · Kedgwick River crossing → Kedgwick17.00 km · +150 m
16. 16
    J16 · Kedgwick → Upsalquitch Valley18.00 km · +170 m
17. 17
    J17 · Upsalquitch Valley → Restigouche River approach25.12 km · +167 m
18. 18
    J18 · Restigouche River approach → Tide Head16.00 km · +100 m
19. 19
    J19 · Tide Head → Flatlands (Quebec border)8.00 km · +40 m

Refuges sur le parcours

• Katahdin Lake Camps
• Big Spring Brook Hut
• Haskell Hut