It’s hard to believe that we have been walking for 8 days and have ‘conquered’ the Vosges Mountains, which dominated our thoughts during planning. We have walked 178 kilometres (110 miles) and climbed a total of over 4100 metres (13451 feet, or 3 times the height of Ben Nevis). In that time we have raised £778.75; a huge thank you to all who have donated so far. We have walked 263,850 steps and eaten enough fromage et jambon sandwiches to feed the entire 1914 British Expeditionary Force.
Before we left, friends would ask “what on earth will you talk about for all that way?” In truth, we weren’t sure ourselves and so had prepared with a fully loaded library of audiobooks and podcasts ready to help pass the time. As yet, we haven’t listened to a single one. There are times when we talk non-stop for several hours, and others where the kilometres tick by in companiable silence. On the steep climbs we each retreat into ourselves, and few words are uttered beyond “next stop, third tree on the left” or “five more fence posts” as we break the climb down into however small the chunks need to be, in order to maintain our forward momentum. The descents are equally silent as we both concentrate hard on maintaining our footing-a badly twisted ankle could easily derail our plans, which we are both obviously determined to avoid as we have another 800 km to go.
As we leave The Vosges and the well-maintained and frequent memorials, military cemeteries and remains of The Front Line, we have both reflected that perhaps had we such visible and visceral reminders of the horrors that occurred on British soil rather than over here in France, then perhaps our own young might feel a little more connected to their past and a little less worried about issues that really don’t matter.
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