This morning, at breakfast, we discussed the day's walk. Felicity announced that it was going to be 24km, starting with a 700m elevation, it was going to rain all day, temperature would be around 4° C and there would be gusts of wind of up to 69km/h. Her comment was : "It's going to be great!". Now, I understand that there are nuances between North-American English and Proper English, but this was a whole other level. "It's going to be great!" did not at all cover the picture that came to my mind after this description. I was thinking more along the lines of "It's going to be terrible, is there a train I can take to our next stopover?".
1 and a 1/2 hours later we had climbed 400m and were starting to get wet, so we stopped in the last cosy chalet before the summit to have a coffee and assess the situation. A couple of hikers, came in and sat us with by the fire. They were also going to Pont-de-Monvert and mentioned they were going to take the alternative easier route, skipping the summit, as there was a weather warning in effect. Sadly, by this time I had been so indoctrinated, that the possibility of taking an easier route was not an option to be considered. And so Felicity and I set off for the summit. We trekked along a path marked by ancient standing stones, on a bare mountain top with howling winds and driving rains... "It was great!"
4 hours later we arrived at our Hotel in Pont-de-Monvert, cold and drenched but relieved that it was over. I believe the worst is now behind us (although I have been saying that every day since we started).
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