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Monday, Sept 3rd, 2007
Low clouds and cold at first, clearing later and warming up somewhat, today's hike was another nice balcony hike followed by a 1000m descent into Modane. After an initial steep climb, the rest of the day provided no obstacle to conversation and we chatted merrily.
Lunch -- in another refuge -- was excellent (have I mentioned often enough that one really does eat remarkably well in France?) and then as we headed down to Modane it happened: Mel's left knee started to give him trouble, a lot of trouble.
Apparently he had felt a twinge after a training hike a couple of weeks earlier, but now it was much more than a twinge. Those of you who read my C2C report from last summer's hike across England (you can find it at c2c.eurohiker.net if you like) will remember how my cousin Oliver walked; that was how Mel was walking now.
We made it down to Modane, but it wasn't fast (which is ok) nor pleasant for Mel (which is not). Oddly, as soon as we reached the flat ground at the bottom of the descent, the pain went away, so it seems as if no harm was done. As a result he plans to hike on with us on Wednesday, after the rest day in Modane. Both of the next couple of stages either have little descent or have options with little descent and so we hope he'll be ok.
In Modane, which is another place that was left out of the lists when urban-planning skills were distributed, we find our hotel and with it Russ, Sally, and Christine! By a process of elimination Christine found out in which hotel we were staying and had met up with Russ and Sally at midday.
We are now complete, but it is soon clear that this is only temporary: Russ and Sally have decided to take the next three stages off as well to give their injuries more time to heal. They will rejoin us in Briancon, where we have another rest day, and will thus have six days in a row without hiking. I am crossing my fingers that this will prove sufficient....
It had been a relatively easy day and a merry dinner provided me with enough energy to stay up until the midnight hour of 9:45 :-).
