The farmer never showed. We tried to get up early, but it was raining so we waited for it to stop. 15 minutes later, the sun was out, so we started to move a bit and then the fog rolled in. Next a drizzle, followed by the sun, then some fog, then the fog lifted and it was just overcast. While we were eating, it started to rain while the sun was shining (and no clouds overhead–I still don’t know where it was coming from unless the farmer was on the other side of the barn messing with us). The weather is more schizophrenic than Sybil.
We got packed up and went to the town center to leave our impression of the welcome we received last night. They were setting up for an all day music festival hoping to get lots of outsiders to come spend money, but not us. The cafe was closed when we tried. We just left town as quickly as we could.
Had we had the energy (or the mental capacity) to continue last night, after about a 30 minute climb, we came to a crepe shop/cafe at the pass before Bareges. This was a prefect location–views in all directions (when the fog lifted for the third time). We had some coffees and talked with the college guy that was working there. He lives two villages down hill and walks to work in about 15 minutes (which we spent the better part of two hours doing).
We are going to finish the GR10 no matter how much bitching and complaining we do. We’re going to try to be more positive in our outlooks (at least I am, I have no control or influence over Pam no matter what certain people think). We looked more in depth at the guidebook (something we probably should have done before committing to the trail) and found a few days that looked reasonable and doable for us. We’ve just learned that we are not in that great of shape even with doing 750 miles of walking before this trail. We are getting stronger albeit at a slower rate than we would like. Crossfit teaches me that we will start seeing true gains in about 6 weeks after starting an activity. We have been hiking this trail for 4 weeks, but we are older, so double the 6 weeks and you get 12. We should complete the trail in 11 weeks, so we wont actually see any gains–crap.
The trail down from the pass to Bareges was the type we really like–not to steep, not too rocky, just right. We were stretching our legs and feeling good about our speed and progress–then a runner passed us, then another, and then 10 more. Sers was having a trail run in conjunction with the music festival. The guys were in great shape and running to Bareges–great for them. What really bothered me is that 15 minutes later they passed us again. It was a round trip run and they were going there and back in less time than we could walk 1/4 of the way.
Bareges was another cute oversized village with a ski town feel about it. We lounged around and ate lunch before heading on. This is when we discovered our positivity didn’t last very long. The GR10 has been rerouted so it didn’t agree with the guidebook or map we were carrying. Pam just kept on going while I wanted to study things out so we wouldn’t have to backtrack again. Long story short, big argument. Pam was vindicated in that this was the correct trail.
A couple hours later, we had the same thing and Pam wanted to continue on. This time, the trail we were on was the wrong one after we studied things a bit. It makes sense to slow down and make sure you’re right before plowing on–engineer in me (and laziness because of my pack weight).
We ended up breaking up our big climb in half. We did about 1600′ today and we’ll do the other 2600′ in the morning. We are going to pass over the highest point on the trail tomorrow (8300′ pass) and we’d like some views, please.
We found a great spot in a corner of the valley. We’re in a slight depression so we have some wind protection. The big win is the stream below our tent. When we picked the site, there were about 30 people hanging out above us so we were (I was) reluctant to set up the tent. Bivouacs are allowed, but everyone seems to think you should go to a refuge and pay–they just don’t get the way we camp and hike and I didn’t want questions in a language I can’t speak.
Instead, we went and soaked our feet in the stream and rinsed out our clothes. This was the coldest water I’ve felt in quite a while. I tried to leave my feet in while rinsing my clothes, but it felt like an electric shock going through my feet.
Everyone eventually left and then the weather started it’s schizophrenia again. Just typing this entry, we’ve had fog, rain, blue skies, rain, fog, and, god help me, thunder in the distance. Pam already has her head buried under the quilt.
