Day 27 – 4 miles to Scy Chazelles

This was meant to be my resupply day, where I collect my parcel that has been posted out and prepare for the next 500 mile stage. However yesterday’s news was that the French delivery company had other ideas.

Last night was spent considering options. I got it down to 3.

1. Wait for the parcel, which could be up to a week.
2. Go home, and when the parcel eventually turns up get my French hosts to reject it so it is ‘returned to sender’ in UK.
3. Try to get a guidebook in Metz for the next section. Take a bus ahead then walk back to Scy Chazelles, by which time the parcel would arrive, then get the same bus out again.

Option 3 looked like the one to try. However, I didn’t hold much hope. This part of the trail is not a great hiking area. Not even sure there is a French guide. Mine was Dutch.

Option 1 would drive me crazy, and eat into my available time. So this one wasn’t going to happen.

Leaving Option 2. As I trudged slowly the 4 miles this morning, I was resigned to trying Option 3, failing and then resorting to Option 2. Hike over.

Got to Scy Chazelles about midday. My parcel had arrived this morning!!!

Spent the rest of the day preparing. My kind hosts Christian and Chantal took me to Decathlon to buy important resupplies – cooking gas, a new water bottle and some much needed new pants.

Then everything was washed. The order is

1. Clothes
2. Food related stuff (mug, spoon,water bottles etc)
3. Camping stuff (boots, rucksack, tent etc)
4. Me

There is plenty of mess in a rucksack…

Tomorrow looks like a sweaty day. Weather says it will be 27degC, and I have two eight hundred foot climbs in the afternoon. But I am still here!

Today was also a sad farewell to an old friend.

The perfect water bottle – a 750ml Gatorade bottle that has been with me since the Pacific Crest Trail in 2015. Has everything you want from a water bottle – wide base so doesn’t fall over, short height so easy to fill from taps, clear plastic so you can see what’s floating inside it, fits neatly in my rucksack side pocket, and it’s free. Sadly it has gone mouldy, and I don’t think I can clean it properly. So it had to be replaced by a new bottle from Decathlon. Farewell my faithful companion. Rest in peace in France.

Final photo – this morning I took a snap of what Metz campground initially offered me as a camping pitch.