Day 2: The Climb

The Climb

Day 2: Monistrol to Saugues

April 15, 2017

Second Stage of Via Podiensis: Monistrol to Saugues
Statistics: 20.1 kilometers(12.52 miles), 26,545 steps, elevation climbed: 1,830 feet, 20-30 pilgrims, 40-50 degrees

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/nanNhiotfBY

10:30am Late start: Take first dose.
we feel terrific after a long first day. No blisters and things look bright.
10:50am Start the big climb. Today is short but a steep 600 meter/1,958 foot climb over 3 km. This is slow grind. One foot in front of the other. I use walking sticks which I usually set to 4. A steep hill is a 3 and a descent is usually a 5. Well this mountain is a 2! It's walk 10 steps and rest a second. Slowly walk up.

Right foot tends to drag ascending. Meet 'Pilgrim Peter' from Amsterdam. He has walked 3,000 km of Camino paths, visited numerous Unesco World Heritage sites and part of the Appalachian Trail. The AT hikers gave him the name ‘Pilgrim Peter.’ He’s a secondary teacher from Amsterdam.

11:20am Take second dose. A shorter interval between first and second dose is necessary to get decent medication concentrations in blood. This is especially true when training or working out.
Talk more with Christian from Lipsig, formerly East Germany. He use to be a technical writer. Run into Mike the Berliner. Walking a week of Podiensis. A 69 year old Berliner doing the Podiensis. For 70th birthday going to Hawaii and New Zealand.

1:30 pm Summit mountain. It's cold and stays cold the rest of the day! Take 4th dose. Right leg works great for rest of the day. I walk for a kilometer before I stop and put more cloths on. It's very cold and the wind is blowing.

Walk most of the day with Priscilla from Perth. Poor thing, she’s got a virus that is making her cough a lot.

4:00 pm Arrive in Saugues. My legs are exhausted. I lay down and fall asleep for a 30 minutes. There's a Carrefoure super market which I limp to with Maya. Buy chocolate, summer sausage, Swiss cheese and fruit juice. Back at the Gite the summer sausage tastes like an old sock….yuck. The cheese and bread taste mighty fine.

6:00 pm Take 5th dose for motor control for dinner.

7:00 pm dinner at the Gite. Eat with Priscilla and Joan. Joan is a teacher from Oregon. She's done some Caminos and trying to finish the Podiensis but her schedule is tight.