Hey all,
Really enjoyed the day – if you ever take do this walk I would recommend you do the Alpine variant, which is supposed to be tough – I didn't, and the low route was a bit boring in the middle – I didn't have the legs for the high variant, and the weather was iffy – spoke to two French blokes who did try it (one of the “He's not very funny” comment) – they got all the way up, but it started raining and the rocks were slippery – it is another stage with fixed chains because it is that steep – anyway, they came all the way back down again and did the regular route because it was too dangerous. But weather and legs permitting, it would probably be the way to go.
Left the refuge this morning with nothing to eat but half a loaf of bread from the previous refuge – I preferred the idea of walking all day on a bit of bread alone – just so I did not have to give the tall bearded ogre at the refuge any more of my money. At my first break I realised that I also had the remains of an army ration pack I have been carrying around forever, just in case – and if this wasn't a just in case moment then I don't know what was. So I had bread, with a bit of apricot jam squeezed on top, and sugar sprinkled over that. Was better than it sounds. I needn't have worried – the midpoint of the day was just above a village and is a quite famous spot, with a road, heaps of day trippers and restaurants. So I had spaghetti carbornara for lunch – the way they serve it here, and I have had it a couple of times, is with an egg shell containing a yolk sitting in the middle of the pasta and sauce, which you then tip onto it. Was delicious. A lot of people choose to spend the night at this village, have a shower, a real bed, and so on, but my guide book rated this last refuge. So I kept going and found out that the trusty guide book was right again – this refuge is pretty rough and ready, but the location is just magnificent. I might stare at the cliffs for an hour or so in the morning if the weather is good and there are any climbers to look at, dangling on ropes – apparently a pretty common sight. Also, the guy who runs this place is polite.
Bumped into a Belgian couple after lunch on the path – I did not recognise them, but they did me – he had helped me by playing the translator at a hotel in Corte – they are planning to do this walk next year, but came here this year to do a bit of recon on a couple of stages, get some idea of what it would be like. They take this walk pretty seriously over here. I can't confirm his figures but he said that only 20-30% of the people who do this walk do it all – and then congratulated me that I was (barring something awful happening tomorrow) going to be one of them – so I felt pretty chuffed about that. Chatted with a German couple and two French blokes over dinner – one of the French guys (again, the “he's not very funny” comment dude) has invited me to his village (we got talking bikes – he has not one, but two BMW 1150 Dakars), which could be good fun. Lying in the hammock now, quite comfortable, though it is shockingly windy and I think I might have to get up in a moment do some repairs on the fly – I had one corner of it held down with five head sized lumps of granite – which it dragged across the ground. How the strings that hold it together have not snapped is a miracle.
Photos. 1. The view from lunch. 2. The other view from lunch. Many people pull up here in their cars, get out, walk ten metres or so, take some photos, have a coffee, go home. I would have scorned such behaviour a couple of weeks ago. Now it strikes me as fairly sensible. 3. I sincerely hope that ridge is not what I have to cross in the last two hours of (I kid you not) “mostly unstrenuous” walking after lunch. 4. Here it is again, up close, as I crossed it. 5. It was relatively unstrenuous (comparitively speaking). This section of the trail is on a path that has been used for centuries – the granite slabs were arranged into rudimentary steps, and in other places, cobbles. This made it easier. What made it even easier was the fact that, centuries ago, people were more interested in getting from A to B without dying than in wild romantic prospects – so the path took the line of least resistance, which is a bit of a rarity. 6. Intermittent rain all day has its advantages. 7. Me, trying to be artistic. 8. The view from the refuge. I have seen photos of people dangling from ropes in that little hole up there.
Cheers, B.
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