Monday, August 29, 2022

Now it's time to start the GR 52. We won't be able to shop for about five days, which means we'll have to carry heavy backpacks... (including 5 kg of water and 1 kg of milk for our morning muesli, along with enough bread, cheese, sausage, carrots, and bell peppers).

Today's route:

St-Dalmas (1245 m) - Col de Veillos (2194 m) - Col du Barn (2451 m) - Vacherie du Collet (1843 m) - Col de Salèse (2031 m)

A long, five-hour ascent to start the day, often in full sun. (Yes, we're quite tanned and no longer use sunscreen.) The now heavier backpacks put pressure on our shoulders; in the evening, we feel them. The official advice to bring enough drinking water does not seem necessary at least on this first day: after Col du Barn, we drink without worry from a mountain stream, and the Vacherie further down, where we buy additional, actually unnecessary, but wonderfully fresh cheese, has a well.

Wallone Edgar catches up with us on the way (and of course overtakes us). Another determined hiker, a Dutchman who camped next to us, is already far ahead. Otherwise, we now encounter significantly fewer long-distance hikers. The summer season in France is over, and all schools start again on September 1st.