I woke up around 7h00 as usual to the human alarm clocks. I haven't used an actual alarm clock since the second week I've been with this family. I started the day as I normally did; ate some cereal, made a latté. I only had to take Gregoire to the creche this morning while the other kids left with Céline.
When I got back home, I folded the laundry from the dryer and threw another load into the brand new 15kg washer. I made the kids' beds and headed to centre ville. I had trouble finding a parking spot as always so it's a good thing I left early. I got to the Augustins apartment around 11h10. Danielle, Molly, and I changed into our hiking attire and headed out. We stopped by Paul's to grab some sandwiches for the hike. I bought two of course, so that I could eat one immediately and save one for the top of the mountain.
The three of us met Liza, Jen, Kendra, and Kari at the bus stop. The ride to the trailhead was just 1 euro even though it was outside of town. Danielle told the bus driver where we needed to stop so he made sure to let us know when we got there. We walked on the side of a road for about 10 minutes before we actually got to a trail. We walked about 10 minutes longer before we started ascending. I didn't bring any tennis shoes to France so I was wearing shoes from one of the kids I nanny. They were a few sizes too small so my toes were curled up in there.
Liza led the pack up the mountain. She's the type of person that sets a pace for herself and doesn't break from it. That's normally me, but this time I was at the end. I never knew how awful it felt to be the last person until this hike. But I would never want anyone to wait for me. I regularly hike alone at home so it wasn't a big deal. There wasn't anything I could do about it anyway. My feet were in agonizing pain and I was out of shape. Though I've always had exercise-induced asthma, it really only acts up when I go from no physical activity to hard physical activity.
We took the blue trail which was supposed to take 2 hours if you were to go on a leisurely hike. It took us about 1.5 hours even at the slow pace that I was going. There were a ton of rock scrambles and the ascent was steep, we practically climbed a third of it.
The view was beautiful all the way to the top. First we crossed a dam. The water on both sides was a serene blue/green. The lakes were so picturesque with the mountains and forestry in the background. The geology was pretty diverse. Though it's a limestone mountain, there were a lot of red rocks and clay on the way up. At the top of the mountain is an old abbey. We stopped there for lunch and met a few older french gentleman up there who were extremely nice. As soon as we got to this 'checkpoint' I took off the shoes and let my feet rest. My toes felt like they were bleeding and my feet felt like they were broken. It was absolutely horrible...
Even though I felt like Hell, I joined the rest of the girls in the rest of the ascent. We climbed to the highest peak of the mountain, about 5-10 minutes further from the abbey. As a marker for the peak, there is a cross known as the Croix de Provence. The view from the top is absolutely beautiful. You could see countryside all around, other mountains surrounding the area, bodies of water, and small towns. It was breathtaking, especially with rays of light shining down on parts of the land.
We started to get cold after sitting for awhile so we shot a few pictures and headed back down the mountain. The trek down was absolutely awful for me. It was painful going up the mountain with my heels rubbing against the back of the shoes and my toes curled inward, but with going down the mountain, my toenails were being pushed back into my toes. I've never known such awful, dull pain. At some points I was barefoot.
We eventually got on level ground and walked through a forest alongside steams. There were horses on the other side of one creek. It reminded me a lot of home. Anyone who's been to the Shenandoah Valley knows that it's very scenic. We eventually got to a body of water that we couldn't cross and these are the comments that followed...(Borrowed from Molly's page)
“Is that a stream?”
“Yeah, this is definitely not the way.”
“GOOGLE MAPS!”
“Alright. Who are we gonna drown first to be the bridge?”
“Does this mean we missed the bus?”
“I can’t feel my hands.”
“Whose farm is this?”
After some back-tracking, some running, and more picturesque views we found the appropriate exit and made it onto the road just as our bus was driving by!!! Danielle immediately flagged the bus down and we all started running to the bus stop. I took my shoes off for this. I had just spent the past 4 hours with my feet twisted in a 10 year old's shoes. You have NO idea how much pain I was in. I feel sorry for any woman that's ever endured foot-binding.
The bus stopped about a quarter of a mile down the road so we had a bit of distance to cover. I have no idea how the people in the cars passing by reacted, but we probably looked like crazy people. Not a big deal though. The point is that we made it! Once I took my seat, I took my shoes off and let my feet relax.
When the girls and I got back to town, we hit up Crepes A GoGo. We were all planning on going out that night but nearly all of us stayed in. I was still sick when I climbed the mountain so I felt quite worse afterward. The stress on my body probably killed my immune system even more because I felt like death after that hike. I tried to relax my muscles with a bath but that only lasted so long. I was getting odd extra-muscular body aches and had a high fever so I went home. I felt like I was getting the flu and didn't want to get anyone else sick.
As soon as I pulled into my family's drive, they opened the door to let me in. They thought I had come home because I had a bad time out with my girls. Little did they know that this hike would wreak havoc on my mind and body...
No comments:
Post a Comment