Today was 13 miles,  with 2,000′ of ascent, giving us 29 miles and 4,200′ of climbing, total.

The morning started well, misty and cool with the well-marked trail right across the road from our night’s stay! Awesome!

We walked for 2 miles, enjoying the quiet, the beauty and each other. Our plan was to stop in the village of Charly, just after 2 miles to see if we can find a small store to get some snacks. What we didn’t notice was that 100 yards before  Charly, our desired trail (we think) turned right … away from Charly! Oops! We walked into town (nothing open) and continued following “signs’ for another mile, steeply descending, until we “ran out of trail” at a medival amusement park! This doesn’t look right!

Not good!  Stopping for about 15′ to figure out where we went wrong, along with Google maps, Bill figured alternate way to intersect with the trail. Two miles of paves roads later

We were back on the trail! So, how did it happen? Eagerness to get to “the town’ was a factor. We weren’t looking diligently enough to see an indication that our trail turned.

The second factor was confusing signs. The “scallop shell” is the official sign for our path, but our path is also known as “4” for the first 30 miles of so. Also, multiple city, regional and French national trails join our trail for a period of time then disappear.  You can get lulled into thinking that those signs will “always” lead you to the right place.  Here’s a typical sign post:

The final factor is the approach the guidebook uses; mostly focused on facilities available in different towns, rather than course directions.  Here’s an example of today’s path. Pretty limited on details:

Ultimately, the biggest factor was the first; you simply have to pay attention all the times to where you’re going!

At the end of it all, getting lost is just a story.  The real value in these trips are the beauty you see, the dedicated time with your hiking partner (spouse), and the people you meet on the way!

There were the Brits, in a Lotus car club, doing a circumnavigation of France in 10 days.  Interesting stories!

The German couple also walking the Via Gebennensis. Actually, the only other trekkers we’ve seen, so far.

The British ex-pat cyclist who stopped to have a chat with us.

And of course, the numerous hosts we’ve had the pleasure to talk with while they suffer through our French.

There is no better way to get to know a nation, or region, or lifestyle, than taking the time to talk and listen. We’ve been blessed!