We finally found the ultimate question to go with the ultimate answer of “42”–On what day will Pam and Curtis begin the second half of the GR10? Only Douglas Adams fans (of which my editor Pam is not one) will understand, but trust me, this is hilarious.
We could smell the coffee brewing at 6, so even though we had said we didn’t want breakfast until 8, we were awake. Pam took a shower while I tried to ignore the smells coming from downstairs. Eric was still there while we were eating our breakfast, so he and I started talking a bit about gear. Bottom line, we didn’t get on the trail until 10.
Fred is getting a bit frustrated with our late starts and frequent stops because he is a very goal oriented person. If the guidebook says 2 hours and 10 minutes, he will do his best to meet or beat that time. We just double it and have another cup of coffee. When we got to Melles (almost 3 miles of easy walking), we found a restaurant willing to make us some coffee…
Can you believe we climbed 4400′ today and didn’t whine at all? I don’t either because there was some whining near the end when the rains started. For the most part, all three of us were dragging a bit today. It took a constant effort to keep lifting our feet and moving upward and onward. It didn’t help that we were back on a part of the trail where the designers don’t believe in using switchbacks. I noticed that I am making noises like my grandfather used to make when he was straining.
To pass the time and distract us from the effort required, Fred and I started talking politics. Who are the most passionate people in the world about politics? Probably the French. Who is the most annoying and prodding person you know? That’s right, Brad Butler, but who is second? Like Brad, if I get a soft spot, I keep pushing. There are two things I was hoping to change about myself on this journey of ours: 1) to gain patience, and 2) to learn to keep my mouth shut (even occasionally). I’m pretty sure that Pam will back me up on this one–I haven’t improved on either count.
My trail name is “Easily Forgotten” unless you spend some time with me and then 99.999% of people agree that it really should be “Best Forgotten.” Fred has been a great asset for us these past six days acting as interpreter and guide. He has taught us many things about France and the politics of the country. For the most part, we agree politically. Except for Kujo, I don’t think I’ve discussed as many issues with a person as I have with Fred. We did agree to drop politics from our trail discussions.
As I said earlier, the rains did start again around 3. A group of French hikers in their twenties had passed us up and said they were planning on staying at the same Cabane. As we were approaching the plateau where the cabin is, two of the guys came back down and said they were climbing down to get some wood to build a fire but we were only about 30 minutes from the cabin. The fog was coming in waves again and we were afraid we might pass the cabin. The wave receded and we heard voices behind us. We had passed the cabin, but not by much.
The cabin sleeps 9 and there were 5 in the younger group. Pam and I decided it was best to set up our tent and not take 2 spots because it was so early. We are in France and the cabin was built by the French with French dollars. If some more French people came in later and they couldn’t fit inside because of a couple of Americans were inside; I don’t think this would be a good situation. This is probably just me over analyzing as, I hear, I tend to do, but we set up the tent.
While we were setting it up, two more groups came up to the cabin–one French and one Belgium. I’m not sure where the other French group ended up, but the Belgiums felt like we did and set their tent up next to ours. In between rains, I got water, made hot tea, and cooked supper while my lovely wife laid in the tent trying to get warm. There were two fireplaces in the cabin and the young people had built fires in both. I hung up some of my wet clothes to dry and put our boots inside so they might dry out over night.
I also cooked our supper inside and talked with them while I was waiting for the water to boil. I could hear them working together to figure out some English words and then the guy with the best English in the group started a conversation with me. The French are incredibly friendly and try to make us feel welcome at all times. I am continually amazed by the friendliness of the people here. When I told them of our 5 year plan, they were all amazed that a couple of old people would be so adventurous.
I took our hot tea and three soup mix back to the tent to entice Pam to eat. It was just what the doctor ordered, but the Snickers for dessert was still her favorite part of the meal. We didn’t leave the tent again except for the necessary water releases through the night.
Mystery specimen probably a horse hair worm. They are parasitic, their eggs are probably found in the local water. Good thing you have that filter!