Samoens

 

July 23 2009

Had a major setback today. The whole night was spent watching my tent bend and contort in the strong mountain wind, and then early in the morning a section of my tent pole snapped into two. It was tough trying to pack the tent up with the winds whipping about me like crazy, and not getting any sleep didn’t help either.

Got back on the trail and saw the couple with the donkey following me in the distance, and soon discovered I was going in the wrong direction. From up high on the hill, I saw the couple turn around and head the other way. I finally caught up with them, and they told me that the wind had turned the sign around, so I was following it right, but it was pointing the wrong way. Great. The wind screwed me twice. I wasted an hour, so I picked up the pace. My next destination was the town of Samoens, another ski resort populated by hikers and bikers in the summer. Despite the forty pounds on my back, I seem to be keeping time with the schedules posted on the trail. Every few kilometers the trail has signposts that point you in the right direction and also display the average time it takes to get to your destination.

One of my bigger worries on the stretch of the trail, especially if the day ends at a town, is finding a place to stay. The summer holidays have begun here and all the spots are filled. I got to the tourist office at Samoens, and the girl behind the counter rang the nearest gite in the area and booked me a bed there. I checked-in at the gite and found two other hikers in my room. I had hiked past them hours ago on the trail, and was wondering how they got to the gite before me. They sheepishly told me that they caught a ride to Samoens just after I saw them on the trail. Both the girls are from Holland, and we have dinner with a French couple staying in the room across from us.

Ran out to buy some bread for dinner, but all the boulangeries were closed. Managed to buy some from a hotel. The bread here in this country is amazing.