We started out about 8:20 and it was another long day. The 3 French women were going down today to get a bus because they needed to be home today, and the 3 Irish guys weren't sure they were going as far as Shari and I planned to. In any case, the only hikers we had any contact with today were the 2 Swiss guys from our room last night.
Today was easier than yesterday because there were no scary parts, and there was more flat area today. The last down was a killer though, and it took us about 2.5 hours to get to town. It seemed forever, and my feet and legs really hurt. We got to Arolla about 4:30PM (we were hoping for 3PM) and had no idea where to go to stay. We couldn't find the youth hostel and an English speaking woman recommended a hotel down the road. This town is a tiny little place with one small grocery store, so we bought a few things - chocolate bars, chips and tuna - before we went the the hotel, the Mont Collon. We would have preferred to stay somewhere where we could cook, but the people at the hotel are very nice. It's great to have our own room and to get to take a shower and wash out some clothes.
Today's hike was 16 kilometeres (about 10 miles) and there was one very steep up and that long down at the end of the day. It also rained on and off today, but the footing on the trail was pretty decent most of the day and it didn't get too slippery with the rain.
I'm definitely not into this kind of hiking though. It hurts a lot. My legs really bother me when I'm hiking and I don't think they will get much better until we stop hiking every day. My back hurts too from the heavy pack. Maybe my long distance back-packing days are drawing to a close. All I know is, I am so glad we decided not to go to South America.
We have 6 more days on this hike, and two of them don't seem like they will be too bad based on the description in the book. That leaves 4 challenging days for me. I don't want to quit because it is quite beautifful and all these little towns are quite an experience. I just wish it was easier for me on the uphills.
I went down to the bar to have a beer and write notes. It was a pleasant room next to a small dining room, and I sat at a table and there were a few people sitting at the bar. I enjoyed listening to the American pop music that was playing in the background as I wrote. Shari came down to join me after a while and it was so nice there we decided to sit in the dining area and have some dinner. We both got hamburgers and fries. A nice treat. All the staff in this hotel - the reception people, the bartender and waiters - are extremely nice.
9/07: We got up about 7:30 and had breakfast at 8AM. The hotel costs 50 Swiss francs for the room and breakfast for each of us. Breakfast was a buffet of cereal, bread, cheese, jam, butter, croissants, juice, coffee and crackers. We talked during breakfast about how nice this hotel is and how pleasant it would be to just stay another day. We were torn with staying or going because it is good weather and we thought we should take advantage of the dry, cool day to hike. After breakfast, we went out to talk to Marylor (the receptionist) and she said they had some English videos we could watch if we stayed. We talked about travel, the weather and the area around here and she was so nice, and we felt so comfortable here we decided to stay. I was very happy to give my body a rest day.
What a wonderful day! We started watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert (a very good, funny movie, made in Australia) about 10:30, then we watched a taped show of West Wing and then I took a nap until around 3PM. Then we went up to the store and Shari bought glove liners and I bought a phone card and called Susan (it is always so good to talk with her). We bought some candy and I bought 2 beers and we went back and watched more videos - Road Trip (kind of funny), Boot Boys (really good) and Jacob the Liar (also very good except the tape ended before the movie did). We sat in the TV room from 4:30 to 10:00PM watching movies and it was great. Just before 9PM, Marylor came in and asked if we wanted dinner, because they were getting ready to stop serving. She offered to bring food up to us so we wouldn't have to stop watching the movie, and I got a ham and cheese sandwich. The food is very good, and it is presented in a very nice manner. I was glad she asked, because it saved me having to make a cheese sandwich in my room later.
Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow because I know we need to move on even though I thoroughly enjoy being at this hotel. I don't think Shari and I have had a day just doing nothing since we left London, and we sure picked a great place to stay and relax today.
9/08: It was hard to leave the hotel today because I was so comfortable there and everyone was so nice, but it was good weather and we had to move on. Today's hike wasn't too bad. We left at 9:20 and got to La Sage at 2:15PM. It was 120 kilometers today and not so much elevation gain as the other days. I'm still finding the hiking hard though. I'm not looking forward to the next few days.
We are staying at the Hotel L'Ecureuil in La Sage and we have a 4-bed dormitory room to ourselves. La Sage is a tiny village up in the hillside and there is a small hotel with dormitory rooms, a cafe and a bar. I took a shower and a nap when we first got here, and then Shari and I took a walk around the village. When we got back to the hostel, a couple from San Francisco, Carol and Steve (both pilots for United Airlines) were sitting outside, so we talked to them for about 45 minutes. They are also doing the Walker's Haute Route hike.
We came inside about 6:30 because it gets quite cool here in the evenings and went up to the sitting area to write notes. Then we went down to the cafe for dinner. We had paid just for the room, so we we could order dinner off the menu rather than have a fixed dinner included with the room. If you pay for a demi pension it includes the room, dinner and breakfast. We prefer just to pay for a room if we can because breakfast is usually not a good value and we are carrying cereal which we can eat on our own. Unfortunately, we can't cook our own dinner, but once we finish the hike we will hopefully be able to find hostels that have kitchens we can use for cooking.
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