I was too tired after our 19 mile trek yesterday to think. At one point I declared that I was NOT going to walk 17 miles from Nîmes to Saint-Gilles, not realizing that I was already engaged in a 17 mile walk, that became 19 somehow and to Saint-Gilles will “only” be 15.

Maybe our host Thierry had something to do with it. He’s very appreciative of where he lives and all it has to offer within short distances. One of which we just had to see and it was a 7 minute walk from the house and he would take our backpacks to a meeting point in his car, join us on the walk, and then drive us to a Chemin starting point. It would only add 30 minutes to the day. HA!

Thierry offered to drive us two towns over to make up time, but we were committed to the walk. A boulangerie in Dions was not too far for sandwiches. However, no sandwiches on Sunday.

Hoof it to La Calmette where a Lidl would be open til noon thirty. Arrived at 12:28. Closed. It actually was not bad hiking without lunch. Thierry and Catherine had provided us with a more than ample breakfast. Thierry also loaded us down with a small jar of his fait maison confiture and a small bottle of his fait maison rhum arrangé, a digestif.

This long long lonely road went on and on and on. Quite a bit of gradual elevation gain. Thank goodness for some cloud cover and a breeze.

The thing about walking long distance with a pack is that after a period of discomfort when you wonder if you should call a cab, if only you could, so it’s good you can’t, things settle in, or on, more pertinently.

There was lots of impressive stonework along the way.

Last year we took a rest day after two days of walking. This year – 12! I’d say our training in the Sandias and Manzanitas was effective.We are here in Nîmes til the morning of the 28th when we walk to Saint-Gilles, our final day and end location of this Chemin. A few people though have suggested we walk to Arles. “C’est pas désagréable,” said one woman we met hiking in the opposite direction. I don’t know as that’s a ringing endorsement. On verra.

Two last photos, which reminds me. We saw about 5 wild boar running across that path in the photo above, followed by about 7 boar-lets. Very impressive! Those adult boars, however, had no adult in the rear to ensure the piglets were following.

Wild things…

Touristing in Nîmes today, but taking it slow.

May your days and nights be awash in wonder. Bisou.

We began this trek among pastures, went into the mountains,  and are now among vineyards.

Got to speak French three times today: at lunch in Moussac, with a pilgrim along the way,  him headed north and staying in Ners tonight Chez Fanny where we were last night, and with our hosts tonight, Catherine and Thierry.  Lovely older couple in a verdant and quiet location on the edge of town.

The first 10 days of walking we saw a poppy here, a poppy there. Suddenly today there are fields of them.

Have only seen three of these crosses. Protestant churches here are called temples. They are never open. Nor have Catholic churches been sin ever left the Cevennes. Curious.

That’s all I got for today. Except to say that 15 miles is long and tomorrow will be longer. But a few breaks here and there,  even short ones, make it all do-able. Not to say that it’s tiring as all get out, and my feet and legs will be happy to take a break in Nîmes. We’ll probably still walk a lot,  but not with packs.

Voilà.

We walked 14 miles yesterday the 22nd with an unexpected amount of elevation gain. And getting into Alès, several tricky descents that were steep and on unstable ground. Worst part was the 2 Mike walk through the city of Alès on pavement.  For some reason my right foot has decided that it can’t abide pavement and hurts hurts, especially after a long day. I was asleep by 9 and slept til 7. I was out.

Photos from Le Pontil to Alès…

Mushrooms are big here.  Not a large as the sculptures,  but the ubiquity of the sculptures tells the story.

It truly is jarring and jangling to suddenly be in a city after spending days among villages and walking through hamlets. Sometimes going for miles without seeing anyone except men in tractors. Will miss the Cevennes mountains and trails,  but not the rocks.

We had a pleasant surprise today, the 23rd, with the medieval town of Vézénobres. Part of its fortifications still present.  The trail took us along the ramparts.

We are lucky to have a place here in Ners for the night. Our host Mdm. Gras has 25 people staying across the street at her dorm style Gîte. A big birthday celebration. We are staying in a building near her home. It has 3 bedrooms,  kitchen/living. It’s farmhouse funky. She is generous. Welcome beer. Free use of washer n dryer, though we couldn’t get the dryer to work and so used the dryer rack. Great dinner. Salad with olives, corn, onion, green pepper, black and green olives. Galette de Bretagne with courgettes. Flan. Bread – of course.

And now time to fait dodo.😴

Aah! It’s already 10:36. We arrived between 4:30-5. 13 miles today, not the most difficult terrain, but today I felt it. (Could have taken a nap in the shower.) Especially the last hour and those dang rocks and roots. A serious lack of balisages didn’t help, having to deduce the route and hope to see a marking. Good news is, it always worked out.  I then think of pilgrims in the middle ages – how did they follow a route? Was it more obvious back then? Were they on the well traveled commerce route and not traipsing through the woods? Though it would have been through woods. We think we were on another bit of Roman road today.

Seems we entered Protestant country today. Saw one Protestant church and a stylized Huguenot cross on a house. No photo of that, but there was also this building.

Stayed at the above in Génolhac last night. The night before in a similar faded glory Hotel Balme in Villefort, though Balme was better. Still the dinner at Chalet was great (rogail de saucisse) and thank goodness for that as it was the only place to get a meal.

A lot of these small towns we walked through have well maintained homes that are closed up. We think that, like in Luc, many are vacation homes as the Cevennes National Park is so close.

Creative people:

Time to call it lights out. 😴

Re above: there was a big sign on weathered wood. About a tuilerie.  And a chief Camisard. A staircase going steeply (of course) up. A gate to the staircase with a sign to close said gate due to animals. Surreal

I have written a few times (a lot?) about rocks and the challenges of walking on them. So, yes, more today. What i haven’t written is how that challenge keeps you focused. In the moment. If you want to look around and see the scenery,  you’d  best stop, and just do that. Otherwise,  you could be over a cliff, rolling into a sprained ankle, or landing on your butt.

Only started seeing these signs since Villefort.

Another sign:

Oh! Speaking of signs, a black snake crossed, right to left, in front of me yesterday. Omen? Portentious? Positive or Negative?

So many streams, rivulets, and waterfalls today. Ah, the sound of water…soothing.

While some broom is still in evidence,  the massive amounts of two days ago are no longer.

The day started off cloudy and drizzly, but had turned to just cloudy when we hit the trail. Mid day looked ominous and a wind was whipping. It soon cleared. All in all, a gorgeous day for trekking. Even up that 55 degree grade. It was long too, making it the first time on this hike that I trilled the Rocky theme song at the top.

Long day tomorrow, about 13-14 miles . Bye for now.

Hello wondrous wonders!

Top photo of the day, even though it won’t capture the majesty of the view. Hint: if you can, view the photo in landscape or at least expand it.

We encountered the above just before arriving at La Garde Guerin, a fortified 12th C “city”. It’s  very small and is now renowned as a lunch and gift shop offering local ingredients honey, confiture,  wine, beer, lentils and more) as well as high quality handmade items like wool slippers and incredible hand knitted thick sweaters from local wool. I would have bought both if traveling in a car.

You can tell from the photos that it was overcast today. Rain and thunderstorms threatened, but never materialized. It was comfortable weather for walking. On the other hand, walking was not comfortable at all. Compare: walking from Langogne to Luc, almost 8 miles. We got there in 4 hours. Meanwhile,  Prevenchères to Villefort was about 9 miles, and it took a whole hour extra. Which, now that I think about it, is not bad, given the nonstop rocky terrain, including long stretches of the rippled undulating volcanic rock.  We did have a few respites – walking on cushy pine needles for a too short while and another short bit lakeside.

I wonder about these homes in the woods. Were they once farming homestead? Were they abandoned during the religious wars? Was it a Protestant or Catholic family forced to flee?

I’m going to take a bath now. This hotel has a long and deep tub that i must use to my advantage. I leave you with this image, the other name for this route.

Beau rêves …

In no particular order, here are memories of the day…

Breakfast/le petit-déjeuner is generally coffee, bread, confiture, honey, butter. No plates. Just make a mess on the table.

I wish I could transmit the fabulous aroma of the broom in bloom which has always been with us on this walk, but no more so than today.  Oh, so sweet, but not cloying. When the going got a little tough, I breathed deeply and smiled.

Broom, as in Spanish Broom or Scottish Broom,  but these grow more closely to the ground.  Same flower though.

We sat on a trailside berm for lunch with the above view for our dining pleasure.

We walked on quite a bit of petrified lava today. The ripples and undulations make for trippy walking. Though neither of us tripped a bit. It also has a beautiful silvery sheen in the sunlight.

I probably mentioned that our trail sort of parallels the Robert Louis Stevenson trail and at times intersect. There are many references to RLS along the way.  The above being one of my favorites. 

Some people think it’s worth over 600€ to rent a donkey for a 14 day hike. Then they wear a backpack instead of having the donkey carry their stuff. Who’s the ass?

Had such a fun encounter with folks today. We were heading into Prevenchères and heard/saw some folks outside. I called to them to ask about the Auberge we were headed for. Well, that went into an extended conversation with 3 good buddies of 40 years who all worked for SNCF, the French RR company. That turned into an invitation to try some Verveine alcohol. Yes, of course. More conversation in a mix of French,  English,  some Spanish. Did I get a photo? 😦

I’ll  end with some images of Prevenchères.

Finally, two photos of trees that are hundreds of years old. They are so venerated that there are plaques describing their history. That’s what I love about rural France 🇫🇷.

And with that, I wish you bonne nuit or bonjour  – whichever makes sense for when you receive this missive.

What a day for walking… We started on pavement getting out of Langogne, then onto gravel. It was a pretty steep climb out of Langogne. Throughout the day a mix of gravel and earth trails. Less road walking today than yesterday,  more walking by fields and through forest. Oof, then a steep decline, picking our way through rocks, to Luc.

Just before that steep decline, we came upon the remains of a chateau. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about having a meal there in 1878. He was served an excellent repast by an old woman in a veil. I think he ate some mushrooms…

Luc is the first small town we’ve stayed in on this route that I really like.

We had a short walk today, made even shorter when we found a shortcut on the map – cut off about a mile. Plus it was a nicer route through woods and not on the road.

À demain

I was too tired last night – felt like I was coming down with a cold so went to sleep early.

Felt fine today for an 11 mile plus hike through more meadows and pastures, lush green grass, and more wild flowers.  When wind blows over the grass it undulates and looks, especially from a distance,  like water. It’s mesmerizing. When the morning sun shines upon it, the brilliance bedazzles.

Cold start to the day. It was about 36 degrees with an icy wind. Thankful for the sun. It did make for comfortable walking!

Noticings: roadside crosses here often have a Christ placed on them. Not something we saw hiking the Chemin de St Jacques.  How calming it is to walk amidst a vast amount of green. Wild birdsong nonstop! The great rush of wind in the trees. The comfort of having a warm buff around my neck to keep that wind out.

12th C! The 1100s. Catholisme was well entrenched here. Then Calvin, a follower of Luther, trained a bunch of priests to spread the ‘Truth’. It got ugly. The Catholics routed out the Protestants by burning their homes and farms. Many escaped to Switzerland where it was safe. The Protestants of course retaliated. The above church was damaged. The Camisards fought back, but in the end were subdued. The area Robert Louis Stevenson walked through is still Protestant territory. Please excuse the truncated history lesson which is certainly not deeply researched.

Most people we’ve met at Gîtes are walking the RLS. Have only met 1 guy from Bretagne, walking La Régordane.

We spent last night in Langogne and the night before in Landos. There are not many villages on this trail; there are hamlets – clusters of homes. They are very quiet…we don’t see people outside, save for a few men working in the barns. A few cars when we’re on road,  tractors off road.  Roads/farm trails are so narrow we stand well off to allow vehicles to pass.

The trail is mostly well marked,  though at times we have had to retrace our steps due to confusion or missed ballisages – the marks used here are a white line over red for straight ahead.

Today we head to Luc. Signing off…

It seems odd, yet this was our third time here. In Fall 2023 we arrived to bgin the Chemin de St Jacques. It was hot. The Chemin was crowded. So we left to spend a week in the Dordogne. We came back, but just for the night. Now here we were to commence La Régordane. While we didn’t need a full day in Le Puy it’s a good thing we had it. Charlie had come down with a cold in Paris and needed a recovery day.

I explored and found a wonderful park.

We attended the Pilgrim Mass the morning of the 14th – yesterday.

It was a bit of walking on pavement leaving Le Puy which then morphed into Le Puy en Vals before leaving city behind for a long, I mean looooong, uphill climb. Most of the day was uphill until a long, rocky decent.

We walked through pine forest, paths lined with a glorious assortment of wild flowers, and fields of rapeseed.

Our lodging for the night was in an apartment in an old stone barn. Dinner in the home with another couple from Orleans staying there – not hikers. Had a dinner of local food, sausage and paté from Viviane ‘s brother, salad from her garden, Le Puy green lentils, local cheeses, flan. A feast, in other words. Best sausage ever! Also a really strong mustard that puts Grey Poupon to shame. Gotta have it!

Slept well. Those old stone barns converted into living spaces retain heat well. As opposed to tonight’s room which is cold!