Cévennes

Out for a stroll before breakfast, I noticed a plaque for a member of the resistance who had been killed at the Mairie on June 5, 1955 (at the age of 22). There were fresh flowers on the memorial.

After leaving the hotel and some shopping, we started out about 9:30 a.m. and retraced our steps to climb the mountain across the river. This was a long road - 7 kilometers - and it turned out that that another path might have saved considerable time. It took us until 11:00 a.m. to climb from the le Collet-de-Dèze to the top of the mountain at le Pendedis. It was a beautiful day and there were green vistas but I was concerned how far we had to go to complete our circuit to Anduze.

At the top we continued on route D13 a slightly rising road (and past a turnoff to les Ayres) until it intersected the GR 67. Here the trail mounted steeply in the woods and then it again joined the road descending for a while. Then it again climbed, mounting a trail of shist that seemed to be freshly bulldozed. We climbed the Montaigne de la Vielle Morte with some vistas off to our right.. It was now warm but as we got higher mountain breezes cooled us. At the top we crossed the GR 44 about 1:30 p.m. and decided to stop at a rocky lookout over the valley, left of where we would be headed. It was a precipitous lookout with warm sunshine.

After lunch, the trail began a schisty descent into woods and then joined a road at the col. Here to our delight was a round cement reservoir which had a running source of water. As we were low on water, we refilled and drank as much as we wanted. Here we passed a mas and grassy grazed fields with dark pink foxglove and large green chestnut trees.

We continued on a woods road with occasional vistas back up at our luncheon spot and then came to a junction in the road where our route crossed a ridge. We now looked out onto a different valley to the south with a craggy cliff to our left and a precipitous drop in the trail. We could shorten the trail by jumping but opted for the slower descent through steep switchbacks where the road was cemented to channel the water. The road continued along the mountain and we looked for critical juncture for us to continue on GR 67. It was poorly marked and but we found the trail further on where it left the road mounting sharply through schist to our right. The next two kilometers was very hard going climbing on schist and descending on a very dry hillside with heather. The schist rose vertically and the footing was very difficult for now weary hikers. At one point we lost the trail but Bon found where it descended on loose schist for a stretch until it reached the woods. It passed a totem pole and then it bordered a small dammed pond (mud hole) where we saw an unusual conifer looking bush with bright red flowers. Suddenly, the trail was nowhere to be found but we continued on and soon rejoined it. We descended to the road over rock which appeared to be a draille but with a steep drop and then a narrow grassy way between stone walls into a sparsely populated area above the upper part of Mialet.

After crossing a bridge we again lost the trail. Signs in both directions were crossed out indicating these were not the trail but we could not determine where it went. I reconnoitered up a hill while Bon found the trail which turned down just at the edge of the bridge. This mounted a wonderful grassy draille which passed some buildings where everything was mowed except the trail (perhaps a protest at having it pass too close to the houses). It became a stony walk by some buildings and under an arch (at L'Eliziere) we passed two gentlemen who confirmed we were on GR 67. It continued on through another area with stone walls that wasn't mowed and then it hit a long stretch of old draille where the stone of the path was just rubble. This followed the side of Mont Camp and was called Malboissiere. It was very tough walking and hurt the feet. Occasionally there would be flat rocks but mostly it was rubble. I could not help, however, being amazed at the engineering of the trail which on one side for over two miles was stone wall and must have had cobbled stones in an earlier time.

Finally, at Mialet, the draille took a steep drop to a road which led downhill with a wall on our right and houses above. This descended above a river, the Gardon Mialet, where people were swimming and it looked delicious. We were on the main road and we crossed a bridge over a tributary of river and then walked the main road out of town with the river on our right. We came to where people parked their cars to swim. Bon and I quickly changed into swimming clothes behind some bushes and crossed the flat stones and into the surprisingly warm river. It was a great refresher and I wet my shirt as I left which kept me air conditioned for a while.

After our swim we walked along the busy road passing a bend in the river which led to the Pont des Camisards an arched stone bridge from the early 18th century. Then we walked up through the town of Mialet which had a square with sycamores and was generally a well kept, prosperous village. As we left, we passed below their war monument and followed the main road. Then I found a stairway down to the river walk which was grassy, away from the traffic with pleasant views of gardens, fields, and stone buildings across the river. Soon the trail mounted away from the river along some small streets where it joined the main road.

We were tired but kept a steady pace along the busy route for a stretch. Then it led to a smaller street which came to a T with no directional markings. After a false start we turned away from the river to a road which passed the train station for the Bambouseraie - a popular bamboo forest. We passed the Bambouserie and turned under the train bridge.

We were now about 2 kilometers from Anduze, walking along a busy route looking at the white cliffs above with the evening sun striking them. We passed under a bridge at the north of town and could see the bridge into Anduze. Families were swimming in the evening - it was about 8:15 p.m. We crossed the bridge into a busy town where a crowd had gathered to award prizes to runners who had competed in a race. We had walked 24.5 miles and felt we deserved a prize too!

We went directly to the Sabastien’s gîte which was busy with families and people of all ages. We sat at a little table on the covered patio with a cheerful yellow tablecloth. Madam brought us an aperitif of sweet wine followed by couscous, lamb, vegetables, a salad course, a cheese course and wonderful iced brownies. This was accompanied by a pitcher and a half of red wine which soothed many of our aches and pains.

We waited for Sebastian’s parents who drove us out to their house providing us with an unusual room which had a ladder to the bed, with the bathroom also two steps up but open to the room. We both took showers and fell asleep quickly.