And more preparation

I must admit I started planning this almost as soon as I returned from Burkina Faso/France last spring. Vacations, even walking ones, are always fun, and planning for them is half the pleasure!  As I am a member of various camino-related Facebook groups, I learned of a bargain backpack at REI, which someone raved about on the CAMIGAS page, and is now retailing for as little as $38.  Really quite a steal. 

It is the same size as my old one, which I covered in Via Podiensis patches, but whose belt pockets are now torn and non-functional. It has been a good friend and has held up well for the 6 years that I've used it.  On the other hand, this one is bright and cheerful and will be better for walking in hunting season this fall, even though I will still have my flame orange red hat and shirt which I will definitely be taking with me again. Hunting season now, unfortunately, starts in September rather than October.  It started in October when I walked the Via Podiensis from 2014-2017, which was a lot safer, and only last year was moved up a month. And if you recall my post from last September, I was quite taken back leaving Arboras on a Sunday morning, when I ran into no fewer than 8 hunters early on. Quite unsettling, even if they did have walkie-talkies. They, themselves, were all wearing fluorescent orange vests so I was glad for my flame colored hat and shirt...

And after last year's heat, I've decided that hiking skirts/dresses/skorts are the way to go in warm weather, and the weather is likely to still be quite warm. Some years are warmer than others, but heat waves are becoming more and more common with general global warming, and last September was no exception.  Again on the CAMIGAS page someone recommended a dress, also on sale at REI, which, I decided will be the perfect accompaniment for Toulouse. This particular dress can be converted into a normal length dress which is a plus, as it is lightweight, washes and dries in a jiffy and doesn't wrinkle. There is a barely visible cord hidden near the top of the hip which runs through the pocket around the garment and it can be drawn to create a shorter hiking-length dress with a somewhat blouson top, or it can be worn knee-length.  I bought it in black and the color shown below which I can wear in the evening with a pair of lightweight Merrill flats while spending time there in Toulouse, my final stop.

 Since I will be ending my walk in Toulouse, I decided to take an extra day there.  My friend Judy, who has traveled with me several times in the past, will be joining me the day I arrive so we can visit the town together.  She quickly discovered a piano concert at the Cloître des Jacobins in Toulouse which we've now bought tickets to attend.  The dresses will come in handy because they will be both multi-purpose and extremely lightweight and I can carry them with me in my backpack without adding extra weigh and bulk. After all, every ounce counts when you're carrying it on your back. I've been weighing most items on my kitchen food scale whenever I need to compare two items, etc.

To go with the dresses, I've also bought a colorful long scarf that I can use as a shawl if necessary.  It can also serve as a towel and a privacy curtain if needed.  This tip came from Robert Forrester of the Via Podiensis FB group who shared with the group one of his wife's favorite and useful accessories.

This means I will have two dresses and two lightweight hiking pants, and plan to wear one of the latter the day I leave. I'll take my flame red shirt, another light blue short-sleeved technical shirt and a long-sleeved one as well. I froze last year on the way back to Paris, so this time I'll also bring along a summer-weight down jacket that I can wear under my rain jacket as needed for extra warmth. Toulouse is in the south of France so the temperature can be a lot warmer than Paris at the same time of year. It is difficult trying to prepare for all kinds of weather variations and possibilities and trying to keep the weight and bulk down in my backpack at the same time!

I've mapped out the trail with the help of Gronze, and have created a spreadsheet with the names of the gîtes, and alternates, along the route where I plan to stay, with addresses, phone numbers and other contact information. Gerard Zeger's Via Tolosana FB group has been a tremendous help with suggestions of lodging options, sites to visit, variants to take, etc. It's a small group, and few have done the whole route, but it's helpful to have even the most rudimentary information, and the ability to message a member for additional information as needed. I've found these forums extremely friendly and helpful, and the with members more than willing to share their experiences and expertise. 

For example, to give you [the reader] an idea of what is involved in researching a route, the following is a map from Gronze [cited above] which shows what I will be confronted with the day after I arrive in Lodève to continue my walk. I have been trying to decide which way to go as taking the normal path is too long to walk in one day at 28+ kilometres, in my view, given the topography. The reason to visit the town of Joncels would likely be to see the remains of a 7th century Benedictine Abbey (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Joncels) and, possibly, to visit a more recent Orthodox Monastery where I understand that they make [and sell] a local cheese. I understand that you cannot visit the latter, and the [orthodox] church is only available for visits during normal services. In addition, I cannot find much information on the former at all. I also learned from someone in the Via Tolosana group that there was no one hosting pilgrims, but maybe that was because the hosts were on vacation and unavailable. Normally I would contact any place I hoped to stay a couple of weeks before I went by email. On the other hand, I could just wait until I get to Lodève and ask my hosts...

 
    I also recall that one of the women I walked with last year who continued on from Lodève said that she took the GR7 where it intersected with the GR653 (the Voie d'Arles) and went straight to Lunas, which is now what I am thinking of doing unless I can find additional compelling information on the Abbey.  If the abbey is interesting enough maybe I can get a ride (or take a bus) there and have a look around.  My research shows that there is a bus twice daily...

unfortunately the hours of the bus aren't the best...

 Someone just posted information on his walk from Lodève to Lunas on the [French language] Compostelle FB page along with photos. He said it was a choice between 28km vs 20km. and there is no way I can walk 28km of difficult terrain. At any rate, I shall reserve a place in Lunas if there's space. He also suggested the name of a gîte that wasn't in the Miam Miam Dodo (along with fantastic photos including one of a swimming pool !) which I was glad to know about.  Another person had just posted in the Via Tolosana page that the gîte communal there was pretty basic and recommended that I walk further, so it is good to know that I do have options.

For several days I misplaced my copy of the Miam Miam Dodo (cited above) and was afraid I was going to have to shell out another $22 to buy another copy, only to find that the publisher is out-of-stock (apparently the new edition comes out in December).  I was in distress because it is almost indispensable as the most reliable up-to-date guide with helpful readable maps, but it has now resurfaced and I am back to planning...

I've been packing and repacking my backpack to see if everything I plan to take will fit, and have been weighing it from time to time to ensure that the weight falls within reasonable limits.  I was horrified when I weighed it the last time, finding that it was weighing in at 18 lbs, but that is including all the clothing that I will be wearing along with my walking poles, but doesn't include water in the bladder of my hydration pack which could easily add an additional 2 lbs.  Sixteen lbs is what I was aiming for, so we'll see.