Ascu Stagnu to Auberge U Vallone

Today was the longest day so far on trail in terms of mileage and time spent on trail. Everyone in our group started at different times today, so that meant I was going solo for the entire day. The breakfast buffet at the hotel was amazing, and definitely needed. I filled up on eggs, sausage, and so much bread. With a full belly I packed up my stuff and hit the trail.

Since we had dropped a fair amount of elevation yesterday when arriving at this place, it meant I had to go up right away after leaving the campsite, but I'm not complaining. It was through a lovely forest with clear views of the world around me as I went, and the trail was very well maintained. There was one big river crossing, but I hopped between the rocks with ease as I crossed it. Once I was out of the trees it was time to start the hard part of todays hike, and going up to the highest point on the whole thru-hike. This meant lots of climbing up rocks, and using chains to assist when they were provided.

Lots of people were struggling to get up the areas that had chains, and weren't using them to their full advantage. As I got higher and higher I had to start moving slower and slower, but I still kept a good pace. I was hiking through mountains now and loving it. The areas that needed chains started to become less frequent, and the trail transitioned to part rocky path part climbing over rocky obstacles. About 90 minutes later and I was at the first of two cols today, the latter of which would be the highest point on the thru-hike.

I stopped to explore the plateau and found a waterfall within a short walking distance and proceeded to head there in order to quench my thirst and fill up my water bottles. It was really buggy there, so I didn't stay long.

Once back on trail it would take about another 90 minutes to reach the high point. On the way there the trail did a bunch of switchbacking on loose scree, and we had to walk over snow patches here and there. The part just below the top had fresh snowmelt flowing down it which made it super slippery, and there were no chains in this area. Combine that with a bunch of scrambling and climbing in this area and it was a tough job getting to the top, but I eventually made it safe-n-sound.

Amazing views from up here! I'm as high as the clouds are right now. I could see the rest of the trail on this high portion in the distance, and it didn't seem that far, but the way down was tricky. There were some areas that were nice and wide and flat, and other areas that you could only get a single toe on as you had to walk across this near-vertical wall of rock. It was nerve-racking.

After making it through the risky tricky part, the trail now began going down loose scree and sandy dirt-like materials. It was slippery. And this meant my shoes would be full of this material as well given how fine it was. It would take about two hours to make it down this long and slippery way. I did get lost at one point, due to the markers being hard to find sometimes. I wasn't the only one though, and we ended up finding the way back to the trail.

I made it to Auberge U Vallone by 3:00 pm in the afternoon. This was a nice little place that had good views on their front dining area, but the entire area smelled like animal droppings. I checked in, orderd dinner/breakfast, and then went to find a spot to set up my tent. I found a good spot, with trees for hanging my clothing line so that I could air and dry my stuff out. The showers were nice and hot as well.

There was a small waterfall with a tidal pool right next to the Auberge, and lots of people were taking advantage of its ice cold waters to go swimming or dip their feet in. I joined in and found a spot in the lower area that was less crowded and set about icing my feet up nice and good. When I got back to the tent I saw that Charles and Sophie had arrived, and learned that the others had decided to stay at the refuge about 60 minutes before this place.

I had veal for the first time for dinner. It's amazing how fast I've become non-vegetarian on this hike and with Corsican cuisine. It tasted good though, and I didn't feel ill afterwards or anything like that. I might, I stress, I might have a hotel room for tomorrow night. Charles and Sophie slept in a hotel room last night, and had another one reserved for tomorrow night but decided they'd rather camp, so they offered it to me and I accepted it!

I'm starting to get some blisters on both of my feet. I wrapped them with the gauze I had brought as best I could. These toe socks I chose to wear for this hike are not so good, and I'm going to stick with Darn Tough from now on. And some stronger hiking shoes. I don't know what happened to the quality of Altra shoes but these trail runners are already falling apart.