Day 35 – Faramas to Beaurepaire (20km) – Friday 04.08.2023
I left the campsite early and set off in light rain. At the next bakery I bought a chocolate croissant and some cheese pastry. I sat down on a covered bench and ate both while I made myself some coffee.
I then left the small town and walked for a long time along dirt roads between corn fields and horse pastures. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t particularly good today and the rain got heavier as time went on.
I took a short break at a viewpoint. Theoretically I could have seen Mont Blanc from here, but due to the weather I couldn’t see very far.
Afterwards I walked for a long time through the forest, where the rain was hardly noticeable. But it was even stronger when I left the forest again. Since I had spent the last week completely in a tent and I didn’t want to sleep in a tent again in this rain, I looked for accommodation in the surrounding towns on my cell phone. When I found a small hotel not far away, I made my way there. I left the Way of St. James and descended to the next town. Today I took a detour of around 5km to get a dry room and tomorrow I will get almost 3 extra kilometers for it. Since it was worth it to me in this weather, I continued my hike in what was now heavy rain.
I arrived at the hotel at midday, soaking wet. I bought a few things to eat at a supermarket and used the remaining time to save pictures from my phone. In the evening I got a pizza from a nearby restaurant. While I was eating these, I watched a movie, something I hadn’t done in a long time. After many nights in the tent, this evening felt like a wellness vacation for me. Later I fell asleep in my dry and soft bed while it rained again and again outside.
Day 36 – Beaurepaire to Assieu (27,1km) – Saturday 05.08.2023
Today my day starts with breakfast at the hotel at half past eight. I ate my breakfast for a while and then relaxed and packed everything up. When I finally started walking, it was already 9 o’clock.
Because of my detour to the hotel, I had to get back on the Way of St. James. Since I didn’t walk directly back onto the path, but rather diagonally, I was able to save myself a bit of a detour. But I had to walk the first few kilometers on a country road. I made quick progress on the flat road and while the cars drove by next to me I looked at the fields before I arrived in the neighboring town. After almost 10 kilometers I finally got back on the Way of St. James and was able to follow the signs again and no longer had to walk on country roads.
After just a few minutes I passed a beautiful viewpoint. I use this for a little break. I ate a little something and drank something. As I was about to leave, a couple came by and asked if I needed help. They are here with the camper and have water etc. with them. If I need something, I’m welcome to have it. I politely declined and chatted with them for a bit. Turns out they also walked the Camino del Norte on the north coast last year. They thought it was beautiful and said that it was the right decision for me to want to run this path. It is less crowded and there are wonderful spots right by the sea, especially for people who are traveling with a tent. They then wished me a safe journey and then continued walking in the other direction with their dog.
On my further journey I passed a small monastery and filled up my reserves for the night at the water source there. I then descended following the water, only to be allowed to go back up again immediately afterwards.
As I continued walking, I kept looking for a suitable place to sleep. However, it was difficult to find one in the forest and when I left it, I was already at the entrance to Assieu. So I walked through this place and then came corn fields and pastures. I looked for a place for my tent in an unused pasture. Since it was still too early to set up my tent, I cooked myself something to eat and took a little rest. Passers-by kept walking along the field path. Only when the sun slowly set did I start to put up my tent and lie down. Then I briefly enjoyed the sunset from my tent and then quickly fell asleep.
Day 37 – Assieu to Clonas-sur-Varéze (9,6km) – Sunday 06.08.2023
After a very restful night, I woke up in my tent in the field. Starting today, my cousin Julian will accompany me on my hike for a few days. Since he was only arriving via Lyon today and we wanted to meet at a campsite nearby in the afternoon, I had a very short tour ahead of me.
So I quickly packed everything up early in the morning so as not to be discovered by passers-by and then returned to the path. After just one kilometer I sat down on a bench and had a relaxed breakfast. The planned meeting point was almost 10 kilometers away. So I took it really slowly.
But since the path didn’t offer any great viewpoints and I didn’t want to just stand still, I arrived at the campsite at 11. I reserved two pitches for our tents and set mine up in a secluded spot. Then I washed my clothes and took a nap. Later I cooked 2-minute rice for lunch and ate it at a small table at the campsite. I used the time afterwards to do a little strength training, which mainly consisted of push-ups and sit-ups. After training, I wrote on my blog and reserved a table in the pizzeria at the campsite for this evening. Otherwise I just rested while reading.
Julian arrived at the campsite around 7 p.m. After he set up his tent and we exchanged ideas briefly, we went to the pizzeria and had something to eat together. After that it was time to go to sleep because we wanted to get out early the next day.
Day 38 – Clonas-sur-Varéze to Bourg-Argental (33,2km) – Monday 07.08.2023
Although Julian got up at 6:30 a.m. to take down his tent and put everything in his backpack, I stayed there relaxing until 7 a.m. Then I packed everything up too. Since Julian still needed a bit, I made myself a relaxed coffee. Afterwards we set off together to the west.
At the beginning of the day we walked along the road and crossed the Rhone with a car bridge. In addition to the cars that drove past us, we were also able to see the city’s nuclear power plant.
In the next town we bought a sandwich in a supermarket and ate it on a bench in a playground.
After that it went straight uphill. We climbed further and further up through the forest. In between we passed a chapel from where we had a nice view back. In addition to the Rhone, I could also see the path of the last few days. Afterwards we continued up.
We took our lunch break at a seating area in a small town. We ate the rest of our sandwich and filled up our water at the fountain. Since we still had food, we unfortunately didn’t treat ourselves to a baguette from the machine. But at least he made it clear to us that we were really in France.
After that it kept going up. We first ran through the forest and later along field paths. In between we passed very small places where time seemed to have stood still.
In addition to the small villages, there were also small towns, which apparently didn’t have a real supermarket and the restaurants were all still closed.
Then we continued through nature again. Because of the height we gained, we could always look back and enjoy the beautiful view.
Towards the evening, there was a small descent before we arrived at our destination. There we settled at a campsite. We bought dinner at a nearby supermarket and ate it. After a shower, it was time to slowly get ready for bed. I planned the next route and wrote the diary. We then went to sleep around 10 a.m.
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