Our hiking trail is famous. Lots of people hike on it, some with donkeys. We crossed about 200 people everyday. It became famous through the writer Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island"). He hiked our trail, the GR-70, from north (Le-Puy-en-Velay) to south (Saint-Jean-du-Gard) in September 1878 with about 100kg of luggage and a donkey. He wrote a book about it ("Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes"). It's therefore also called the "Stevenson Trail".
We hiked with about 20 kg for 3 persons in the opposite direction from south to north and started in Alès (24km before Saint-Jean-du-Gard). Before the highest mountain, Mont Lozere (1,699m), we decided to change direction and hiked the GR-72 and GR-44 towards the east. In contrast to the Stevenson Trail, we now encountered very few hikers, although the trail is just as beautiful. On the 7th day of hiking, we finished the hike in the Cevennes.
There were three of us, Jean Claude, Aim'jie and I. We had invited few people because of the pandemic. But that should change now. For the next hike in southern Spain (July 2021) we will invite again via the newsletter!
Aim'jie and I drove to Paris and walked 54km from Paris-Bercy north to Persan. If you click on the following photos, you will see them in better quality:
Friday, 28 May 2021:
After 5 months of separation, we're happy to meet again.
Beautiful forest behind Alès
Sleeping place in the forest
Saturday:
We find many
Arbutus trees. The fruits are tasty, but unfortunately not yet ripe.
What a beautiful back 😁
Another kind of forest
Sleeping place under a chest nut tree
Sunday:
We find cherry trees. Wild cherries are mostly not so tasty like cultivated ones, but good enough on a Walkabout.
We discover a snake.
The sign of "Toro". For understanding, you need to watch the comedy "Mandibules".
Jean Claude, Aim'jie and I (Meenhard)
We get some raindrops in the night. But this terrace of an empty house protects us.
Monday:
We take drinking water from clean brooks.
We load our smartphones with a foldable solar panel.
In Cassagnas, we see people of a marriage and make a funny photo with them.
We would like to buy food. There's no shop in Cassagnas. But a shepherd in 2km distance...
He sells us apples, tomatoes, lettuce and home made cheese. And nature gives us wild herbs for free.
Sleeping place. Jean Claude has built up his tarp.
Tuesday:
We discover a camel in the mountains (please click and zoom...).
Before Le-Pont-de-Montvert, there's a beautiful landscape with flowering broom.
Beautiful house for goats
Le-Pont-de-Montvert
Explanations about the mountains...
...and the birds of the area
Collecting wild plants
The GR-72 leads us to a river that flows in an altitude of more than 1.000m.
We walk on the wrong side of the river. Here I check if we could cross it, but we decide to take another path.
It's raining. We make a long break in a kind of refuge in Belecoste, a tiny abundoned village.
We walk a lot. I build up our tarps at 11 pm. Jean Claude is already further. We walk in a different rhythm, but we manage to see each other once a day.
Wednesday:
Beautiful chestnut forest
The GR-44 leads us on a beautiful ridge of mountains.
There are a few small villages in this secluded area.
On a peak of a mountain, we find this construction for wind protection. Our nicest sleeping place of the Walkabout.
Thursday:
Beautiful stone
We enjoy to walk on the ridge.
Butterfly couple making sex...
... The goats are a step further: 4 children!
Behind Brahic, we find delicious cherries on an open meadow...
... I climb in the trees. The owner comes. He's fine with it, we have a nice chat.
On the way, we find more tasty cherries.
We get in an area with many stones.
They built walls along the path.
Friday:
In Les Vans, we sleep close to the GR-7 (E4), a beautiful path. Next morning we go by bus to Montelimar and Paris.
The bus makes a break and stops just in front of a tree with ripe cherries.
Saturday;
Aim'jie and I walk 54km from Paris-Bercy to Aim'jie's parents in Persan. We sleep in a big park.
This lake is in the park.
We pick and eat cherries by the roadside. A resident sees it and gives us these cherries as a gift.
Amelanchier lamarckii, planted for decoration, but the berries are sweet and tasty.
Suddenly we're in a calm agriculture area.
Next night
Sunday:
In a forest we find a car that should no longer be roadworthy. Aim'jie poses as the proud owner.
Lactofermented berries. Lactofermentation is a wonderful method to conserve vegetables.
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