I AM FINISHED! I have walked 2869.5 miles

So it has been an exciting week, I have finally finished the IAT or as they call it here "Le Sentier International des Appalaches" I walked 2869.5 trail miles but the actual real number of miles walked is probably more like 3300. I am so stoked to be headed back to Sara. I am ready to go home!

This is Route 132 it runs all along the coast of Gaspé peninsula. It reminded me of highway 1 in California along the coast. I have covered more than half of this road by walking or now hitching. I really love the ocean and coast.

Outside of Èpèe I lost the trail. It was the only time I actually lost it. Well I knew after 2km that I was off trail but I was so sick and tired of them not marking the trail properly that I refused to go back AGAIN. So I pressed on knowing that I was coming up on a road. At the dirt road I headed South to rejoin the IAT again. But at this point it was 7:15pm and almost dark. I decided I may have come out South of the trail and was going the wrong way. Just as I turned around these guys drove past. They gave me a ride the last 1km South to rejoin the trail. They were SUPER awesome trail angles.

100 miles to go! This is just before Village Madaline. I was pumped to only have 100 miles left!

The Moon rising out side of Gran Valleé. It was an awesome night sleeping on this beach. Luckily I was on the grass, the beaches here are all rocks.

The Sun setting at the beach near Gran Valleè. The sun on the ocean is magnificent.

Most of the beach/ocean front looks like this where the rocks have been pushed up and start building up to the mountains. It was kind of cool having all these vertical rocks

This is Ursela she is Swiss, we met on Monday. Besides Simon she is the only other thru-hiker I have met. She hiked the AT in 1997 with her husband and is now finishing the IAT. We only have 85km (51miles) left at this point. I was planning on finishing on Wednesday, and she was going to finish on Saturday.

This is Marconi light house, they call it "The world's most traveled lighthouse". It was built here then moved to Montreal then moved back here.

This is my rock chair I found on the beach. I loved it, it was really comfortable.

Here is a bear skull I found. I thought it was pretty cool.

There was this little old lady picking these in the woods. She didn't speak any English. But I gestured if I could eat these, and she showed me how to break open the green peal. Inside is a small nut shell, it looked like a tiny hazel nut shell then inside was 2 small nuts. They tasted pretty good but I would have needed like 1000 of them to fill me up.

This is on my last day. This is Gaspé bay and the town of Gaspé. You can't really see it though. If you look closely there is a REALLY long narrow beach that extends into the bay. It is natural. I thought it was kind of interesting.

That is Cape Gaspé. This is what I have been walking towards for 190 days.

Me on top of an observation tower. The view here was AWESOME!

On my way to the end of the cape there were tons of porcupines. This one just looked so cute I had to his picture.

In the last 8km the trail passed through this old cemetery. I thought that was kind of weird and rude. I don't know why it didn't just go around. There were only like 30 tombstones so it was quite small.

The last km marker. I don't know why they chose to put it on the privy door, weird.

THE FINISH. This is the light house on the tip of the cape. I was over come when I saw it. I screamed out and scared 2 elderly people just leaving, they stared me down but I scared them off when I started yelling at no one and running around. Turns out they gave me a ride out of the park and into town when I got back to the parking lot. These Canadians are nice people, you scare them and then they give you a ride.

My triumphant look. I have kicked the IAT/SIA ASS! I am done! TAKE THAT APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS!

I was excited....what can I say.

This is my porcupine friend at the light house, I was yelling and talking to him and screaming and taking pictures. I was excited and needed someone to share it with since all the people had left for the night. He was a very calm fellow though, cool as a cucumber, he just kept on eating his grasses... he was a good friend to me.

This is my Baxter peak rock and my Paloma peak rock. I carried them from Katahdin and threw them into the ocean! They made it!

This is my leather bracelet with a moon and dolphins on it. I found it in Colombia, and I vowed to wear it until it fell off. Well on the Restigouch river it fell off. But I felt it fitting for it to make it to Cap Gaspé. So I strapped it to the outside of my bag and vowed if it held on the whole way without my interference then it would get to go into the ocean. Well she made it and I threw it into the ocean. It was poetic since I left the NWO necklace Rachel made me at Baxter Peak Katahdin.

I was SO happy I was done! And the sun was in my face, but mostly I was happy to be done.

After I got a ride from the old people out of the National parc Forillon I had to sleep by the road. No one would pick me up. The next day an adventure tourism professor (coolest major EVER) gave me a ride to Ville Gaspé. Then good old Alain here gave me a ride 130km to Chandler. I hadn't even started hitching yet he just picked me up. He was really cool. He does IT work on computer systems at retailers and offices all around Gaspè peninsula so that was why he was headed to Chandler. He by far gave me the longest ride. All the others have been less than 40km so it is taking a very long time to get anywhere. I am now in Campbellton New Brunswick (again, this is where I bought the new shoes) and I am hoping that since I will be on a highway now it will go faster. Also more people speak English here so that will help. I plan on taking route 11 to route 17 which crosses into Maine after 140km or so. Then it turns into Highway 1 and meets up with Interstate 95 in Ft. Fairfield, Maine. That's the plan, hope I make it to Vermont by Sunday morning for Ben to drive me to Texas! Wish me luck.