The new Treo 750V

Popped into Vodafone Cambridge this morning to find they have just taken delivery of the new Treo750V . (Picture is of their dummy phone taken with my Treo650). It will be released this Sunday, 1st October, but they refused to release pricing details.

Looks and feels really sleek, slightly smaller and Nick will especially like the lack of an aerial, although I alwys found it handy for tugging the phone out of your pocket.

It presents me with a real dilemma as in some ways the windows OS might be better, especially since most digital maps used with GPS are only available for Windows :-( It might also integrate better with Outlook etc).

However, Eatwatch and OnlyMe only run on Palm and I suspect lots of the other nifty apps, dictionaries, Metromaps etc may not be available on Windows. It also uses mini SD cards so My Tom Tom software will be obsolete unless I can do an exchange somehow.

Just received my replacement Treo650 for the one I smashed (see the cute bulge) when I fell over catching the bus in Nice (Please don't laugh having walked 350 miles over rough terrain - couldn't hack a walk to the bus!).

Will be interesting to see what I do....

Worlds biggest coffee morning

Here's Fiona McLean doing her bit for the worlds biggest coffee morning here in Cambridge. Free coffee is provided by The CSL group with Macmillan nurses collecting if you want to make a donation.

And the next one is....

Whilst wandering around Nice I was enticed intothe Papeterie Rontani shop by the IGN map poster. Came out with the brand new FFRP (www.ffrandonnee.fr) 15th edition of the Topoguide to GR20 Á travers la montagne corse. A quick nip down to the harbour confirms that in mid June (about earliest that snow should be gone) there are 5 sailings a week to Calvi (www.riviera-ports.com or www.corsicaferries.com ) that take about 3 hours.
It seems like a 15day hike with a first day out of Calenzana been a 1295metre climb.
Anyone want to join me :-)

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

The Nice Sea

Made it the Med at 6pm and threw my stick in. Must say the Nice people keep it well hidden took ages wandering the streets, thank goodness for GPS. Now for a beer and somewhere to stay.
Fly home Wed arrive midday..
Cheers to all

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

A Nice Day...

The weather is not at all nice on my Nice day. Its been raining cats and dogs with the odd roll of thunder and flash of lightening since I left Utelle 3.5 hours ago with most of the track converted into a watercourse

Currently I am holed up in a Rapido cafe in Levens with a cheese sandwich, still over 6 hours of walking before i get to see and feel the sea.
My RAB event jacket must have a leak as I get a little river down the inside of each arm. Otherwise as dry as can be expected. Maybe it will brighten up soon........

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Day 22 St. Dalmas-Valdemore to Utelle

Interesting 8 hour day covering the 16 miles and just under 3000ft of elevation in around 6 hours of walking.
Spent most of the day with my head (and body) in thick cloud with visibility only at 5 metres or so, great for vertigo sufferers as most of morning was walking along a ridge.
I met by first party of VTT (mountain bikers) also in the morning, fortunately on their way up. One of my little fears is meeting up with them when they are bombing down.
At Les Granges it turned into a lovely forest stroll complete with mushroom pickers.
Imagine my surprise on turning a corner to be confronted with Bréche du Brec an impressive lump of limestone with a 500ft climb along ledges with those vertical drops I so hate. The path twists and turns across flimsy bridges etc eventually dropping 2200ft into Utelle. Utelle had a full blown street party complete with accordion and choir happening. Eventually I found someone who took me to the Gíte's guardian to extract the key. However, no food tonight I weasled a baguette and fromage from the bar but it looks like the grand opening of the sardine tin later.
Tomorrow is about 2000ft of climbing and then toes in the med :-)

Changed my flight so that will be in Stansted on Wed lunchtime.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Days 20&21 Auron - Roure - St. Dalmas-Valdeblore

Yesterday was another long day, 23miles with over 5500ft of ascent due to me being told that one refuge was closed and the other full.

I started with another piste, going up the hard way, to Col du Blainon then a lovely descent to Roya (whose gíte apparently has the best chef on the GR5) it then turned into a hard slog upto the Col de Crousette where you then have to continue climbing upto Stele Valette at 2590m (the last time over 2000m!), couldnt see The Med as it was to hazy, after which a further 5 hours of walking bought me to Roure, where Karen had booked me into the delightful Auberge Le Robur (003393020357) which literally clings to the hillside overlooking the 2000ft drop to St. Saveur- sur-Tinée. The chef rustled up a masterpiece veggie meal for me. A good ending to a hard day.

Today was lets take it easy day with a mere 10miles and 'only' 2600 feet of ascent mainly on tracks with several bar stops on the way.

Only two more days left now tomorrow should be Utelle and the then its Nice on Monday. Each day having around 2000 feet of ascent.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

GR5 Days 18&19 Fouillouze-Bousi?yas-Auron

My grand tour of Alpine ski resorts continues with a stay tonight in Auron 1600.
Yesterday was an epic day of 7.5 hours walking in a day out on the road of 10.5hours. I covered 21 miles with ascents totalling 6200ft or so. Chris, I did arrive knackered at 7.15 but actually very exhilarated too. Standing alone on the Pas de La Cavale (8763ft) surrounded by 1500ft feet drops on both sides and the most incredible views, total silence and failing light was magical in the extreme. It was my lucky day as well, the guardian at Bousiéyas was serving veggie food, even though the refuge guide said no food was available. I was contemplating having to break into my sardines!
Peter, not sure wether it was brave or foolhardy. Never contemplated any experience as bravery, I guess it was a word missing from the West St. Vocabulary but in hindsight it was a good decision and lets face it probably safer than nipping over Hills Road to the Co-Op. (btw great news about the new hip walking 14miles in a dayand no more Docs for 4years.)

Todays walk from Bousiéyas to Auron via St. Etienne-de-Tinée was epic for a different reason. Its the first time I walked back on my self after going wrong and restarting the trip!
I covered about 15miles with 3500ft of ascent in totally glorious conditions. I just want to stay wandering these southern alps. The flatlands of Cambridge are going to be really hard - 1000ft climbs are mere pimples now.

Todays thought for the day was why the Alps I'm crossing are made of such rubbish materials?. My Creswellian days of walking on pit tips and slag heaps is the best training for over here. Not a decent bit of millstone grit or granite in sight. Its all crumbly shale and small rocks. Which is why the path keeps on disappearing into landslips - which adds to the scare factor if you happen to be day dreaming :-) I bet this is the first time The Alps have been compared to pit tips - Interestingly it also contrasts mans puny efforts to the forces involved in pushing up a few hundred miles of shale to heights of a couple of miles or so.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Sorry Michael...

I settled on the pression grande and fromage baguette (notice how my French is galloping on) and decided to press on through the Lauzanier valley rather than the bottle of red wine.
My excuse is there where no pretty girls about. Hold on who is that coming towards me? You could have been right Michael they are heading towards the village.....

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Larche or beyond

Arrived in Larche recreated in 1944 after the village was dynamited by the retreating forces. Now who is against the EU? Personally I don't understand the anti EU brigade at all! If it means that we can live peacefully without frontiers (and it is VERY noticeable all the abandoned frontier posts, castles etc along the GR5) then I'm all for the EU. Here's hoping that the EU does expand to fill the whole of Europe without any borders or controls on population movement. Remember passports were only invented in the last 100 to 200 years.

The really big questionhowever is . It is now 1.45pm, by the new church clock (yes the church was flattened to) and according to the guide its 6.5 hours to Bousiéyas (and yes I have checked the Refuge is open!) Continue or not? Its the most glorious walking day....

David S sorry I didnt include you previously :-) past emails are all on my blog www.geoffjones.com/blogger.html

Anthony will try your instructions although I suspect Ibrofen etc are 98% due to the placebo effect anyway.

Jacqui and George thanks for your nags its good to know that the Bleaklow day with Fred still resonates with George and to think we 'only' did 15 miles and 2500ft in our youth.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Day 17 Ceillac to Fouillouze

The perfect day, the day you only dream about, walking across landscapes that Doc Searls gets to photo out of aeroplane windows. Incredible weather blue skys low 20's doesnt get any better than this.

Great 3500ft climb first through forests then around the vivid turquoise Lac Sainte-Anne in blissful silence (even the Marmots were quite today) followed by a zig zag ascent to Col Giradin (where my pet hornet - who buzzes me whenever I stop proceeded to buzz me). The way down was total scary, I'm really going to miss these adrelanin rushes, back in Cambridge, ( no nanny state here - you live or die by each footfall) on virtually vetical descents on soft shale.

Eventually through the village of La Barge ( a real old original dilapidated french hamlet in the Ubaye valley) then over the Pont du Chatelet - google it - the most amazing bridge with a 107 metre vertical dropinto the gorge and only 2 foot high side walls with nice gaps at each end for the kids to disappear through!

The gite in Fouillouze www.gitelesgranges.com is an interesting old building, beautifully restored and adorned with potted plants. Looking forward to dinner as the dining room has a vaulted ceiling. It took ages to get the guardian to understand my pronuciation of vegetarian :-(.

Whilst walking now I can smell the gorgeous scents from all the wild herbs etc also the bushes are more prickly.

Will be on the final FFRP guide tomorrow and the GPS is showing only 70 or so miles left..

Flight booked for next Thursday from Niceat 10am (thanks Nick) so I can be at Ems first sixth form parents evening. Will try and arrange an evening out in Cambridge on Friday at The Pig.
Cheers

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Day 16 GR5 Aiguilles to Ceillac

I (or more precisely the hotel owner) arranged for a taxi to pick me up at 8.30 and to drop me up off at Cháteau Queyras to resume my perambulations on the GR5.

My left knee still had twinges of pain so I breakfasted on Nurofen super strength pills and vowed to take it easy and stick to the track!

The cheese mountain (Col Fromage) starts of steep but is well marked and soon turns into a nice easy ascent of just over 3000ft the knee behaved itself and the weather was kind too (although I must get another hat if it starts getting sunny - lost the last one somewhere). Looking back across the valley I could see the full extent of yesterdays disasters - I must have been mad. Check out Googleearth to see the crags and slopes i was trying to turn into a shortcut!

The Cheese Col has a false top so I thought I was on my way down when I met a party of walkers, on their way up. They recgonised me from last night at the hotel (they were doing bits of the GR58 which apparently takes in 8 countries of the Alps from Slovenia to France see www.via-alpina.org) they dutifully informed me the Col was still to come!

I made it to Ceillac in fine form at 1.15pm AND DECIDED to stay :-) .

I'm now a couple of days ahead of myself so hopefully will get a flight a week on Thursday 28 Sept. and be back in time for the CRUFC lunch on Saturday and maybe a drink at The Pig on Friday night.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Day 15 GR5 Montgen?vre to Ch?teau Queyras

This was a very long day. I ended up walking over 23 miles and 4000ft of ascent in over 10 hours out on the trail.

Started off with the descent into Briançon making me thankful I hadnt attempted it the previous night as it took nearly 2 hours and i guess it would have taken ages to find a hotel. Its quite a fascinating place with heavy fortifications and impressive citadels perched high on the mountains. I stocked up with cheese, fruit, bread and the essential mars bars at Shopi, who dont seem to be doing free plastic bags anymore.

Proceeded to make the mistake of trying to walk up the Ayes gorge along a path which petered out to nothing, once I had scrambled around a couple of car wrecks I reliazed there must be a road up there! Crawled up the mossy gorge side to find the track was more of a racetrack for proud dads and there kids in 4x4s on their way to Chalets des Ayes (so many I thought it must be a town). At 4pm I eventually arrived at Brunissard where I should have stayed! But I continued on to Cháteau Queyras compounding my stupidty by trying to contour around the mountain through thick woods and the most horrendous scree slope ever (a good thousand feet drop - and perfectly smooth). My left knee then decided it was time to pack up....

I arrived at Queyras at 6.30pm to find a ghost village. Eventually I discovered a returning family who told me the nearest hotel was at Aiguilles. The look of horror on my face when I was told it was over 10km away, must have won the day as she offered to drive me there. So full marks to Sophies mum and the Hotel Bellevue for saving the day....

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Day 15 GR5 Montgen?vre to Ch?teau Queyras

This was a very long day. I ended up walking over 23 miles and 4000ft of ascent in over 10 hours out on the trail.

Started off with the descent into Briançon making me thankful I hadnt attempted it the previous night as it took nearly 2 hours and i guess it would have taken ages to find a hotel. Its quite a fascinating place with heavy fortifications and impressive citadels perched high on the mountains.
I stocked up with cheese, fruit, bread and the essential mars bars. At Shopi who dont seem to be doing free plastic bags anymore.

Proceeded to make the mistake of trying to walk up the Ayes gorge along a path which petered out to nothing, once i had scrambled around a couple of car wrecks I reliazed there must be a road up there! Crawled up the mossy gorge side to find the track was more of a racetrack for proud dads and there kids in 4x4s on their way to Chalets des Ayes (so many I thought it must be a town). At 4pm I eventually arrived at Brunissard where I should have stayed! But I continued on to Cháteau Queyras compounding my stupidty by trying to contour around the mountain through thick woods and the most horrendous scree slope ever (a good thousand feet drop - and perfectly smooth). My left knee then decided it was time to pack up....

I arrived at Queyras at 6.30pm to find a ghost village. Eventually I discovered a returning family who told me the nearest hotel was at Aiguilles. The look of horror on my face when she said it was over 10km away, must have won the day as she offered to drive me there. So full marks to Sophies mum and the Hotel Bellevue for saving the day.

Sent from Geoff's Treo650 on 07971428715

GR5 Days 13 and 14

Chris left me an email in his usual very positive tone reminding me that we had only one day of rain on the PW.

So I left Modane yesterday to find that my head quickly becoming enveloped in thick cloud and dampness. However, arriving at Col de la Vallée Étroite at 8000ft I was confronted by horizontal rain like out of a Hollywood B movie. Two hours later and much thunder and lightening I arrived, like the proverbial drowned rat at the refuge. The kit held up well although the martini by the hot log stove cheered me more.

Today it was more of the same although for some reason it was more siling it down (siling is what happens when water goes through a colinder) I arrived at Plampinet at 11.30 which seemed much to early to stop, even in pouring rain. So I ascended another 3500 feet to Col de la Lauze, past a truly scary looking shepherd (only person I saw out today) to find the sun starting to peep through. Which cheered me up no end.

I pounded down to Montgenérve but in my haste and love of pistes I came down not only in the wrong town but in the wrong country! Arriving at Chaviéres in Italy. So I had to ascend, somewhat crestfallen, the N94 for half an hour or so. To reach, yet another French ski resort, Montgenévre.

So in 14 days away i've covered 213miles or about 57% of the total. According to Martin Collins book today should have taken 10.5 hours but in fact took me only 8.5 hours. I' feeling incredibly fit probably as fit as I was in the sixties when George and I went walking with Fred Heardman on Bleaklow.

So Nice is looking closer all the time and the sunset tonight indicates probably good weather tomorrow.

Ellee I'm pleased that Ian Dale ranks your blog so highly. I'm sure come the next election you will be hitting the mainstream news with www.elleeseymour.com

Many thanks for all the emails amd texts all very much appreciated.

By the way all these emails appear on my blog at www.geoffjones.com/blogger.html where you can comment etc.
Cheers and love
Geoff
and Em I WILL be home before end of month. Xxxxxxxxxx

Sent from Geoff's Treo650

Days 11 & 12 on GR5

Today the weather broke and I walked in rain all day to Modane , 17 miles in less than 6 hours with only one stop. The going was easy on the GR5E with only about 500ft or so of climbs all day from Lanslevillard.

I kept reasonably dry, the Scarpa boots kept my feet really dry (obviously made the right choice, especially since they are George & Jacqui's favourites too) The RAB Bergen jacket 'Dry Inside' tm. Didnt quite live up to its hype with both arms getting wet and the pocket contents (goodbye FFRP guide) getting soaked. I wouldnt count today as extreme either, being valley and forest walking.

The trip yesterday from Val D'Isére to the highest point on the GR5, Col D'Iséran at 9068ft was excellent (a 3200ft climb) I took the easy GR5E route from Bonneval-Sur-Arc down to Lanslevillard (great for cyclists, Phillip).

Body holding up well, all blisters gone and only a burning right heel, which a splodge of Nurofen max. Strength gel (thanks Pennine Way Chris) seems to have worked. Interestingly I can feel my heart working harder once I get over 2500m so maybe the Inca trail is not for me...

Caren no luck yet, although a couple I met a couple of days ago said I wouldnt stand a chance if I continued to roll two walking days into one!

Peter, pleased the new hip is working well. I remember Middleton well from the Pennine Way 6 months ago.

Tomorrow its back to the hard core GR5 with a 4500ft climb out of Modane followed by a 2500ft drop to the refuge, no more hotels for a while...

Think I'm about half way now. 175 miles in 11 walking days, so the 22 days on the sign near La Chappele seems feasible.
Cheers and love
Geoff
and for Emily (if you are getting these missives) xxxxxxxxxxx

Day 10 on the GR5

Made it to Val D'Isére today on my 9th walking day from St Gingolph on Lake Geneva. The new Scarpa boots I bought in Chamonix en-route are great, my heel blisters caused by the Raichle boots I bought in Cambridge have now disappeared.

The vertical ascents on this route are amazing. My prediction is it will be equivalent to 3 or so Everests by the time I reach Nice. Today it was a straight climb of 3600ft after breakfast followed by another 700ft from Tignes to here.

I've now walked about 140miles or around 37% of the journey in 9 walking days. So maybe i will walk it in 22 days as the sign said.

Tonight its deluxe comfort in a REAL hotel (The Hótel Le Relais du Ski -only one open in thus huge resort) with soap and towels, instead of a refuge with their communal dorms and single tepid shower! Question is will I wake up to do the 3200ft climb to the highest point on the GR5 and escape this valley first thing tomorrow.

Interestingly I have now met three sets of folks from Kendal on this trip.

Philip you are welcome to try it on a bike but the fixed ladders on a couple of the rock faces may represent a challenge as would the 2 foot wide ledge for about a mile with a vertical drop of around a thousand feet and dont forget the boulder fields as well :-)

The weather is great with rain and thunderstorms only at night. Lets hope it stays that way.

Many thanks for all your texts it is appreciated especially since I havent seen another walker all day!

Cheers and Love
Geoff
and especially for Emily
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx