Once More, fate intervenes with our hiking

I didn't expect my next post would lead with an image of Cunard Line's Queen Elisabeth, but there she is in Quebec City. We rearranged our Appalachian Trail backpack at the last minute to give flood waters from Hurricane Irene time to recede. The plan was first drive to Quebec City and Montreal and then back to Connecticut to hike its section of the AT. That part worked.

This was my first visit to Quebec, and it made quite an impression on me. At an intellectual level I knew they spoke French, but had always thought of them as a part of English Canada. Now I know in my gut that this is a different place. They are so thoroughly French, not as in France, but a different French speaking country. A sign at the cathedral in Quebec City welcomed pilgrims. It wasn't till I got home that I found out that there are many pilgrimage shrines in French speaking Canada.

Towards the end of our stay in Montreal, Susan had a 3am visit to McGill University Hospital emergency, where she stayed for some 15 hours. All is fine now, but that experience plus some powerful meds  made us decide that the Appalachian Trail hike could wait for another year. We converted our hiking trip into a drive around New England, but did manage to at least do a day hike on the Appalachian Trail, so we have set foot on it, but not yet did an overnight.

So, no more planned hikes for the year, but who knows!

Appalachian Trail - River Road in Connecticut