In which we rebound, do a lot of up and downs, wade through muck, and find that a swim in a lake is better than a(n ice-)cold shower.
I ended up not falling asleep after blogging yesterday, because I was still too cold. I just lay there and shivered. I had actually eaten after we arrived, but it didn't seem to do any good. Russell, always taking care of his brother, came in and piled another couple of blankets on me, which helped, but I kept shivering. The solution was, as it turned out, a hot meal. After the first course of dinner (a large bowl of pasta, tomato sauce, sausage bits, and parmesan cheese) I felt normal again. And we had a really nice evening -- plenty of food, good conversation, some singing, and afterwards, nobody snored!
The following day we woke up to rain. In fact, it poured while we were having breakfast, so we were a little concerned... but then it stopped and we were able to walk for the first couple of hours without rain-gear. The trail was very up and down -- oscillating between passes at over 2700m and mountainside traverses dropping down a few hundred meters lower. We couldn't see into the valley much of the time because we were in the clouds, which was a pity because when we could see it was spectacular.
After a while it started to rain, but it wasn't very cold and it didn't rain very hard, so we were able to hike just with rain-jackets, which isn't much of an irritation. A greater irritation was the poor state of the trails towards the end of the day -- muddy and used, unfortunately, by cows at least as often as hikers. Yuck.
But all in all it was a nice hike. We arrived about 15:30, and found that we didn't have to take a cold shower (yay!), because there were no showers at all (urk!). Several of the more robust members of the group headed off to the nearby lake for a swim... while Corinna and I opted for the sink. The swimmers came back and announced that the lake was much warmer than the showers had been the night before, although Glen was heard to say that he travelled all the way here from Finland to swim in a cold lake?
A few images from earlier days that I forgot to mention:
o after reaching the col yesterday (after a climb of some 1430m), we were feeling quite pleased with ourselves and spontaneously broke into a rousing chorus of Don MacLean's American Pie accompanied by the music playing on my cellphone.
o a few days ago Jean-Paul said, upon hearing that the first and third day's hikes were rated as "easy", and I quote, "And my ass is chicken?" ("Et mon cul est du poulet?" in the original French). It has become an oft-used phrase on this hike :-).
o Kristof, each day at lunch, making espressos for us all with his portable coffee maker. We decided that we would like such a device... but only if it came with a Kristof:-).
o drinking the "cup of friendship" the second night at the Maison d'Antan -- a complicated concoction withsugar, several different types of schnapps etc. and coffee, in a large covered bowl with several spouts, which is then flambé-ed and passed from hand to hand for everyone to sip.
The weather hasn't been perfect, but it hasn't been terrible either... and the company has been great. Thus far the H3H Part 2 has been thoroughly enjoyable!
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Saturday, August 02, 2014
Friday, August 01, 2014
Stage 5 -- Balmes to Rifugio Cuney
In which we are put to the test, and pass, just.
What a great rest day. A warmer reception than at the Maison d'Antan I don't think I've encountered elsewhere, and the food and rooms were also excellent. There are times when one regrets having a plan....
After a copious and very good breakfast we set off shortly after 9AM. We were now seven, having added Kristof & Corinna and their son Benni, Arnulf, and our cousin Glenn. A tough hike awaited us: after a short initial descent of 175m, there woukd follow an unbroken ascent of over 1430m, at times quite steep. And once at the 2780m pass, we would still have about 2 hours of hiking still to do, including a couple of hundred more meters of ascent (almost 1700m all told). For those who haven't hiked in the mountains before, this is a ton.
To cut a long story short, because I'm exhausted and lying in bed covered by four blankets typing with one hand, we made it, but I think that a few of us, including me, were near our limits when we got here.
And why four blankets and one-handed typing? Because the showers here were not just cold, they were glacial, and that plus being close to hypoglycemia gave my system a shock from which it has yet to recover.
I think I'll take a nap.
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What a great rest day. A warmer reception than at the Maison d'Antan I don't think I've encountered elsewhere, and the food and rooms were also excellent. There are times when one regrets having a plan....
After a copious and very good breakfast we set off shortly after 9AM. We were now seven, having added Kristof & Corinna and their son Benni, Arnulf, and our cousin Glenn. A tough hike awaited us: after a short initial descent of 175m, there woukd follow an unbroken ascent of over 1430m, at times quite steep. And once at the 2780m pass, we would still have about 2 hours of hiking still to do, including a couple of hundred more meters of ascent (almost 1700m all told). For those who haven't hiked in the mountains before, this is a ton.
To cut a long story short, because I'm exhausted and lying in bed covered by four blankets typing with one hand, we made it, but I think that a few of us, including me, were near our limits when we got here.
And why four blankets and one-handed typing? Because the showers here were not just cold, they were glacial, and that plus being close to hypoglycemia gave my system a shock from which it has yet to recover.
I think I'll take a nap.
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Thursday, July 31, 2014
Stage 4 -- RIf. Champillon to Balme
In which we learn the truth of Korzybski's dictum that "The map is not the territory".
After an appalling night in Rif. Champillon we set off before 8AM the following morning under partly cloudy skies. The night was appalling because one of the people in the room was, as the Germans say, "hüttenuntauglich"... in other words, he snored. And not just a gentle, decent, civilized snore... no, this was a primal, bellowing, bestial snore that declaimed to all and sundry that here was a man with hair not only on his chest, but also on his upper arms, neck, and perhaps even on his back. Of course, I don't know if Jean-Paul actually has hair on his back, but that is what it sounded like.
Being a gentleman I will of course refrain from saying who the culprit was.
Ahead of us was a long day, but not as long as it might have been, because we had decided not to do the 8.75 hour planned hike over a high pass, but instead a variant along lower trails. Frankly we were tired when we started... in particular me, due to two and a half tough days of hiking, inadequate training and, I have to add, unnecessarily inadequate sleep. Not that I bear a grudge or anything against the b*****d responsible ;-).
Ahead of us was a long day, but not as long as it might have been, because we had decided not to do the 8.75 hour planned hike over a high pass, but instead a variant along lower trails. Frankly we were tired when we started... in particular me, due to two and a half tough days of hiking, inadequate training and, I have to add, unnecessarily inadequate sleep. Not that I bear a grudge or anything against the b*****d responsible ;-).
Still, even the shorter route would take us over 6 hours, and would have over 1500m of descent... very tough on the legs. And it started off with a bang: 1100m steeply down to village of Ollemont. Still, the weather was fine, and the day was young, so we arrived about 2 hours later in good spirits, which only got better when we bought large and heavily laden (cheese, mortadella) panini for lunch. Then we walked off further downhill, bottoming out around 1150m... 1300m lower than we had started the day.
We strolled along a traiil that followed a disused aqueduct before stopping for lunch at a place with great views of the valley, of a huge waterfall opposite, and stunning mountains all around. The panini were GOOD. All was well with the world again... until I stood up. Feet, back, legs... all were feeling beaten up: I was so ready for the upcoming rest day. But first we had to finish today's hike, and the trail led us off up the mountain.
It was a secondary trail, unlike the "major" trail we had originally planned to take, and we soon found out that this meant two things: the trail was much less well marked than a "major" trail, and it looked like it had not been maintained for a decade or more. At any rate, we were soon confronted with stretches where it was very unclear which way to go, and several times we had to bushwhack for a while (wander around the mountainside) until we found the trail again. We were not helped at these times by our unreliable map, which (we had already ascertained during the previous couple of days) bore only a passing resemblance to the actual state of affairs on the ground.
We eventually did find our way to Balme... but it took much longer than planned... about 7.5 hours of hiking time. At least the weather had been good. And a rest day awaited us!!!!
And now it is the afternoon of the rest day. The Maison d'Antan where we are staying is wonderful -- superfriendly and helpful service, excellent food at dinner last night (cooked by "Mama"), lovely rooms, comfortable beds, great showers, a sauna and a jacuzzi... the list of pleasures seems endless. Jean-Paul, who had a room to himself last night (:-) left at 9AM... we'll miss him! Except at night. On the plus side, our friends Kristof and Corinna and their son Benni showed up around 3PM and we are expecting our cousin Glenn and another couple of friends, Bea and Arnulf, to arrive in the next few hours. During which time I will be in the sauna and/or the jacuzzi working up an appetite for what will without doubt be another great dinner.
I love rest days.
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