Hey all,
cracker of a day – hard work, but magnificent scenery – it was similar in a lot of way to day 2, which was the one that just about wrecked me – hard climb in the morning, then along a ridge for a few hours – then a hard descent to end the day. Going along a ridge is not what it sounds like – it is the hardest part of the day, as the ridge is very rarely flat, or even close to it – was another stage with sections you had to negotiate with the help of chains bolted to the cliff, which are no joke with a full pack on. Anyway, the ridge was this kind of semi-circle around the top end of a multi-level valley with lakes in it – the pass that you clamber through to get to the ridge is the highest point on the entire route.
Hired a tent at the refuge tonight – there were no trees at all, and the guide book talked about strong winds at night, so did not want to be lying under a flapping tarp all night – so am luxuriating in a space the size of my own body that is strewn with all my gear – bliss just to be able to chuck things on the ground, stop organising everything for at least one night.
The two crusty old Swiss guys from yesterday were here as well – it turns out they have a bit of English, at least when not trying to shout about a raging torrent that we have to somehow cross – got talking to them – they are amazed at how difficult it is, and the fact that, in addition to the physical side of it, there was not one point for the entire day when you could stop concentrating on where your feet were – you are always standing on a sharp-edged granite boulder of some kind. I said that I came from Australia, that I looked at the map of Corsica, saw how tiny it was, thought it would be easy. One of them snorted and said “In Switzerland we have the Alps. In Switzerland we also think 'Corsica – bah! Is peanuts!'” He shook his head ruefully and added, “Corsica is not peanuts.”
Got half a signal on the laptop tonight, long enough to load a little bit of the page telling me I need to recharge my net account, which is a bit rich considering it never works. Then I lost the signal. But maybe am heading into an area covered by that network, so might be able to post a few of these blog entries, answer some emails, so on. The stage the day after tomorrow ends in a village – I am going to give myself another rest day, take a train to a bigger town and hit a teller machine if there is not one in the village. Looking forward to it. The couple of stages after that has my guidebook again apologising for the yawning tedium of verdant green forest, but promising the possibility of some “excitement” if one takes the alternate “high” routes.
I know what I'll be doing...
Photos: 1. The climb this morning had its attractions. 2. The highest point on the GR20 – looking back on where I have come from. 3. An example of why “walking” along a ridge here is so difficult – the contours on the map make it look flat. It isn't. 4. On the ridge – the view to the left. 5. On the ridge – the view to the right. 6. That tiny little U shape in the middle of the shot is the highest point, where I was a couple of hours before taking this shot – the ridge curves around from it to the left of the photos around to where I am taking the shot from. 7. See the little shadow of my head, way down there? 8. The view from the tent.
PS: Something I learnt last night: if you are ever camping on the ground at the edge of the tree-line in Corsica, you will need more than a blanket for a mattress.
Cheers, B.
No comments:
Post a Comment