Half Time

In the morning I say my good-byes to the other three and then head to see Murray. Murray lives just outside Briancon - he's a mountain guide and I've known him for almost 40 years - and I'm going to spend the day with him and continue the hike tomorrow. I've enjoyed hiking with the other three but I'm also looking forward to hiking by myself.

I have a nice day with Murray (and wash my clothes!). In the evening I phone up to book accommodation for the next few nights and I see the big problem to complete the hike. The southern half of the hike is wilder (less villages, no towns, fewer hikers) than the northern half, so there are less refuges and gites. For a lightweight hiker this means longer days with fewer choices. At this time of year the huts and gites are starting to close and this compounds the problem. 

But I can now see that, despite the gites advertising a closing date (they have to, to be included in the guide), the closing actually happens 'flexibly'. A gite will stay open if it has a reservation for 10 people, but is less keen on a reservation for one person. So when I phone up to ask if I can reserve accommodation, the first question is always 'for how many people'. So I might have some long day's hiking in my future...