Stage 8: Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Montvert, France
Happiness of happiness, there was cereal and yogurt for breakfast along with extremely flaky croissants and wonderful, crusty French bread. Bags down and off by 8:45 am, ready for a big day up and across Mont Lozere nicknamed "Bald Mountain" because of its bare plateau. We thought we knew exactly what we were doing by following the usual written directions and red and white blazes. How wrong could two people be!
IF we had not gotten lost, the correct trail would have climbed to the Col Santel, and headed to the Mont Lozere chalet, a small ski resort. The trail then leads to the Col de Finiels, continues upwards to the summit of Finiels at 1,699m/5,574'. goes down through the village of Finiels, and finally descends into Le Pont de Montvert. But....
Somehow, we began by taking a right turn off the main road up to Mont Lozere, following directions and the red and white markings which led to a very long bushwhack through high weeds, wildflowers, nettles, wild rose bushes and across fields. (It should have been a left turn off the main road!)
Do you think we're lost...duh?
I knew deep in my heart that we were headed in the wrong direction away from Mont Lozere and, sure enough, two hours later we came down into the town of Osieres! Showed my map to a local, and he told us to head for Mazel and take a right (a droite). At Mazel, I looked at a road sign and discovered we were only 2km/1+miles away from Le Blaymard! Two and one-half hours of walking (or bushwhacking) with no shade in the heat and we were only a little more than one mile away from where we began? What a debacle! It seems that we were following the GR 68 signs instead of the GR 70. It would have been another 20km/12.4 miles of walking to Le Pont de Montvert and ex-Marine's feet were killing him. A consultation. An argument. An agreement. We walked back to Le Bleymard and took a taxi to Pont de Montvert. (There is no public transportation and try $60 U.S. to go 12 miles.) You win some...you lose some.
This was probably all for the best. As the taxi drove up the road to Mont Lozere and down the other side, the entire day's trail was out in the open and we probably would have dropped from heat exhaustion.
At the Hotel Aux Sources du Tarn, the bags were here. Le Pont de Montvert is the most charming, scenic town we've visited on this trip...View image... but nothing compares to Conques, Estaing, etc. on the St. Jacques and all the towns in Alsace stretched out from Colmar to Strasbourg. Now, THOSE were some of the most drop-dead gorgeous medieval towns I've ever seen.
