After eating breakfast at the hotel I blast hoping to leave behind the noise of the city. The morning has me walking along Canal du Midi. It's pretty boring until later in the day once I'm back on gravel roads. Today is not too hot and water is easier to find as the villages I pass have working fountains. In the evening there is a large climb up a hill with a nice panorama of the surrounding low-lying regions of southern France. I meet three southbound HexaTrek hikers, a French hiker named Robin and woman from NZ and a man from Australia who've I've both met in stage 1. I end the day in a sketchy shelter.
I planned it perfectly as there's severe thunder and rain overnight but I stay nice and dry. The hiking in the morning is very damp obviously and my shoes get waterlogged. The light clouds linger all day with the occasional spittle of rain. It is welcome as the temperature is kept cooler and water sources are all flowing. I blast hoping to do 60km(37.2mi) to a bivouac spot listed on the app. I arrive there tired in the evening and it does not exist. It points to a steep hill face... I am forced to push on for a kilometre or two until I find a spot along the hillside that is just wide enough to accommodate me for the night.
It is extremely windy today as the overcast sky remains but rushes overhead in a furry. There is plenty of climbing and I have a beautiful walk through a stunning limestone gorge. The constant up and down continues interspersed with narrow overgrown paths littered with thorns. I end up getting scratches everywhere, looking like I fought with a cat. I push another 60km(37.2mi) today.
Today is mostly flat, boring and thorny. I'm desperate to reach town where I resupply and eat a French lunch. Nothing of note as I end the day camped on the side of the trail.
The morning is cool as I fly down the trail. Again there is a ton of overgrown thorn bush to navigate. At one point I trip and fall into thorn bramble. I'm stuck for a while since I need to push my self out but that requires pushing off of the thorns. I'm bleeding from cuts all over.
There are a few small climbs and I get covered in hanging worms. I arrive to the town of Le Rozier which is super touristy. I pay for a spot at local campground for the night. In the evening I try to order a new pair of shoes on Amazon but I get locked out of my account. I get my sister to buy them for me and ship them to locker-box for pickup but then her account also gets locked out and the order cancelled...
The route takes me up the side of the gorge I'm in onto the plateau in the morning. I do a little side trip to check out a rocky outcrop that is accessible by ~100 steps on a rickety metal ladder. I eventually arrive alongside the Tarn river, which there is the possibility to kayak down if you are heading southbound. Since I'm going north I have to walk and thankfully the path is decent.
The afternoon is filled with the shouting and noise of the tourists filling the gorge. I'm taken back to climb to the top of the plateau which is hot, boring and exposed. Not able to make up it's mind, I'm sent once again down to the river for the end of the day where I just camp along the trail.
