Louiseville to Trois-Rivières  |   Campsite: 46.31290° N, 72.57173° W

Dawn arrives quickly. I open my eyes and there it is! I’ve slept through the entire night, and when I begin to stretch after eating breakfast, the regular achy stiffness of sore muscles is delightfully missing. I prepare for the day quickly, out walking by 5:30. The park I stayed in last night contains fountains, allowing for the water bottles to be filled before setting out. By 6:30 I am walking out beyond the city limits toward the open road. By 7:30 I have walked 8.5 km, arriving at the crossroads of the 138 Highway and an access road to the large Highway 40, once again close enough to the south to hear its traffic. I stop for some internet access and a coffee, some time to charge the battery bank that was effectively drained last night due to charging the phone, and to use the time for further note transcription. The morning is developing into a gorgeous day of sun and full blue sky! I aim to be back out walking by 9:00 after an Apple update is downloaded and installed onto the laptop. I walk a few hours down the highway with straight stretches kilometres in length. The day is without clouds, so the light is clean and I can see for kilometres into the distance. A stop briefly in a small town called Yamachich for rest allows time for photographing the town’s main street containing old red brick houses with white-painted wooden detailing around doorways, on columns, porches, and balconies. Two pints are purchased, as the heat of the day is beginning to rise. One is for the road to help keep me cool under the ever-warming sun, and the other is saved for lunch, which I will enjoy by 12:30 at the “Sea Shack au Bord du Lac”, a tiny canteen serving food for sight-seers that is perched right on the edge of the five-metre cliff of the river. Rice and a cup of hot chocolate are made—I’ve been thinking of this lunch all morning! This afternoon I am hungry, and absolutely relish the lunch when cooked. So far, 24 km have been walked relatively easily, as the morning exhibits near-perfect conditions. There are 15 km left to walk to the city of Trois-Rivières. I’m looking forward to seeing it. The canteen offers breathtaking views of the St. Lawrence River. This section of the waterway is quite wide and open, the current running quickly. I pack everything away and am back out walking by 1:15—a relaxing and quiet, scenic break. It is good that I have taken this time to relax and eat because the day has warmed considerably, and walking into the surrounding suburbs of Trois-Rivières has become hot and very bright. The community called “Village-des-Crêtes” is scenic and pretty. I take the time to take a few photos, however, the pace has slowed under the inescapable heat of the afternoon. The “Restaurant le Grec” with its massive graphic sign has persuaded me to stop with a simple question: why not? I enter, order a pepperoni pizza, and write in the journal as I wait for my order. The kitchen is designed around a fully open plan, with the scents of food freely wafting into the dining area. All of the actions of the cooks and the subsequent noises produced from the kitchen are on full display, with the cooks’ techniques for cooking food serving as entertainment. I eat my meal outside on a picnic table, watching a pair of sheep eat not more than ten metres away. I then walk to the city, toward a green space that I believe may work. Well, it doesn’t, as it is very open and revealing, however to the south of the street in the same area I spot a wooded area with grass under the Pont Laviolette, a large bridge extending southward toward the U.S. border. The tent is up by 4:30 and I am inside relaxing as soon as the air mattress is inflated. Today’s walk covered 37 km, a good distance. I have 136 km yet to cover before reaching Québec City, which I will see in four fairly easy days. That distance translates into four days of walking, each of which with no more than 34 km. I read 14 pages until my eyes are unable to stay open. Today, I seem to have gotten my shit absolutely rocked! Tired. Sleep will be full and deep tonight. So much so that I fall asleep from 5:00–8:30. I close the rain fly, zip all windows closed, and sink into a much-needed sleep.

Today’s distance walked: 37.04 km   |    Total distance walked: 786.80 km

“It was time for lunch, but I didn’t stop to eat. When I passed through the small villages along the Road, I spoke more softly and smiled to myself, and if by chance someone noticed me, they would have concluded that the pilgrims arriving nowadays at the Cathedral of Santiago were crazy. But this didn’t matter to me, because I was celebrating the life all around me and because I knew what I had to do with my sword when I found it.”

– Paulo Coelho, “The Pilgrim,” p.215.

Reflection on Week 3

• Seeing some days of good distance acquired.

• The poison ivy is close to entirely being healed.

• A few wonderful days of rest in Montréal are exciting, with great accommodations and food!

• Some very good gear upgrades made from MEC.

• Walking through Québec will be a great immersive opportunity to practice my French.

• The unbelievably amazing weather continues all through week 3 of the walk, with only one half-day of walking in light rain.

• Continuing to meet really interesting people!