day 20: cahors to lauzerte. wait, what???

Today was supposed to be a 33 km (20.5 mile) trek from Cahors to Montcuq. But it was also one of those weird logistical situations, where I was going to stay in Lauzerte – 15 km (9.3 miles) past Montcuq – for two nights. So I was supposed to walk to Montcuq, take a taxi to Lauzerte to the hotel, and then take a taxi back to Montcuq the next morning to hike to Lauzerte.

So of course I opted to instead walk all the way to Lauzerte in one day. I basically did a marathon – and climbed the equivalent of the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco three times – all in one hike. It took almost 11 hours. I got a blister on one foot because I hadn’t brought spare socks and my feet had sweated so much my toes were rubbing together. I thought I was going to fall over a couple times in the last few miles. Hiking poles FTW!

Did I mention that Lauzerte, unlike most of the towns I’ve stopped in for the day, is on TOP of a hill?

But I made it – and, I actually felt better at the end of it than I did after my 31 km stretch to Cajarc last week. And now I have a rest day in Lauzerte! Which I probably wouldn’t have needed had I not walked all the way here. Oh well.

Speaking of logistics… I have mentioned that some businesses have already closed for the season. Yesterday I passed two other hikers as I left Cahors, and then didn’t see any others the entire trip. There is only one other room occupied at my hotel.

The luggage transfer service I have relied on to cart most of my stuff from hotel to hotel closes down for the season on Friday. Initially, I had planned to just carry everything in my own for the final 10 days. But these last segments are some of the longer, most strenuous segments as I start heading up into the Pyrénées. Realistically, I don’t think I can manage them with additional weight. I’m also just not very motivated to do it.

By Friday evening, I will have covered close to 480 km (300 miles). It’s not 740 km (460 miles) – the full Chemin – but it’s an accomplishment nonetheless. I’ve had fun, I’ve had challenges, I’ve regained some of my French, I’ve seen amazing scenery and architecture and a lot of churches… and I’m ready to go home. On the weekend I will take the train to Toulouse, and then fly home on Monday.