Topsy

A topsy-turvey couple of weeks, walking-weather-wise.

First it was so cold that the winter dressing dilemma arose - the amount needed for the first hour was much too much for the rest of the walk.

Then the snow was getting so deep it was really strength-sapping. Then the bits where I had to walk at the side of the roads became impassable because of piled-up, melted then frozen-again snow.

Then the temperature rose just a few degrees above freezing and the snow disappeared as if it had never been here.

I think we need these very cold spells so that when the temperature, as now, creeps up just a little bit, it feels positively warm. If we had come down to 8 degrees from, say, 20, we would think it was cold.

Still, it's nice to think that, in a couple of weeks, we shall be in the southern hemisphere for a final burst of warm weather training for the Big One.

Thank Goodness I Was Born In July

Just walked 34 kms from Puivert. The only people I saw - one man and child in the village of Rivel, after 27 kms. All the way it wasold, wind in the face, slip-sliding at various points on packed snow and re-frozen snow melt.

But a happy thought struck me. Thank goodness I was not born in February. Then I would have been starting VBW in December and looking forward with trepidation to a possible 10 weeks, 30 kms a day, of such winter walking!

Girding Up The Loins

A shorter walk than normal today. My usual thing on Sunday, after the shopping trip to Esperaza market, is to drive to Quillan, have another coffee, gird up my loins, and walk back to Puivert with the usual climb through the woods. Although almost all of the route is off-piste, there is one section of quiet road, about 2 kms. The edges of that road (which of course are where I walk) consist, at the moment, of packed snow, shoved aside by snowploughs and traffic. This makes the middle of my 16 kms route dangerous and to be avoided.

So Gay dropped me off at Nebias (pictured above) for a 6 kms amble through the countryside to home.

Despite the weather I have managed to walk 68 kms this week, which takes me over 4,500 kms for the year. Clearly, as it is December 20, I will not be adding much to that before we hit 2010. But it is a bit of decent groundwork, is it not?

Laughing

More snow is falling. Conditions are too dangerous for walking today, so we have spent some time on mapping out some of the French section of VBW.

I mentioned some time ago that I have bought scores of maps, nearly 50 for France alone. But there is a problem. Because of the serious and deteriorating disfunction of my eyes, I can not see the dotted lines (on some maps - on others it is a solid line, of a different colour! - these maps are all part of the same series!) which represent the Grandes Randonnees, or walking tracks.

Gay can see them, so she has been highlighting the tracks in bright and broad yellow. At the moment I can make that out - I just hope that I will still be able to do that between May and July next year.

I will have the same problem with the English Ordnance Survey maps, but once I get to Oxford and move onto canal towpaths, I shall be laughing, as the lines are wonderfully clear, and of course there are not as many chances for taking a wrong turn.

Stowing Away

After yesterday's experience, I stocked up with a decent pair of gloves at Lavelanet market before setting off for the 24 kms march back to Puivert. The temperature was -7 degrees Celsius.

It is 2 kms from the town centre to the start of the track which takes me most of the way. At the start of the track, as usual, I paused to extract from my rucksack the camera, the tiny tape recorder, the telephone, the pedometer, all of which I hung about me in accessible places.

Then I started walking. Then it started snowing, heavily. I stopped again (had to take my gloves off!) to stow away all that vulnerable electronic equipment.

Lavelanet is in the Ariege, whereas we live in the Aude. Surprisingly, there had been no snow on the ground in Lavelanet when I set off. This quickly changed as it snowed for most of my way home. Fortunately, because the temperature was below zero, my equipment (apart from my shoes) did not become wet.

The picture above was taken just before I came off the Voie Verte, with about 8 kms to go before reaching the warm and dry.

It continues to snow.

When Will I Be (G)loved?

Here is another snow picture. Further falls are not now forecast for today but there may be some on Saturday. What we have is not enough to be a nuisance, which is more than I can say for the temperatures.

As I took this photograph of the chateau de Puivert during my walk this morning, the thermometer stood at -4 degrees Celsius and my gloves felt useless. I think it is the first walk during which I have kept my (begloved) hands in my pockets.

Apologies to the Everley Brothers for the title of this post - they get worse, don't they?

Snow Good To Us

"talesfromagarden" commented thus on my blog yesterday:

"Oh lucky you to have snow to go home to!Please post some photos!I know it will not help your walking but it would look so nice for christmas coming!
Keep up the good work and happy walking!"

Well, by the time we arrived home from Italy yesterday there was not so much snow here. Presumably it had thawed away a bit but then the temperature plunged so much that last night was a record in France for electricity consumption.

I took the above picture while walking home from Quillan this morning. There is more snow on the way tomorrow, when we were scheduled for a 100 kms round-trip to Pamiers for a car service. We have just managed to get that changed to this afternoon. Snow may look pretty, but it is pretty hazardous, especially in a hilly area with every road being twisty and every turn is on a rise or fall in the road.