Friday, April 19, 2024
End: Turretot Soccer Field
Kilometers: 19.6
Total: 170.1
The night on the cliff was actually fine. The wind was not a real problem, and I felt warm in my sleeping bag. When we got up out of our tent, there were a couple people working on the golf course right next to our tent.
It took two people to hold the tent after we picked up the tent stakes, the wind being fairly strong. Thankfully the weather had changed and rain was no longer forecast. We said our goodbyes to the coast, turned our backs, and marched off inland.
I was a little sad to leave the coast. At this point, leaving the cliff edge signaled that our hike was nearing its end. In just another day we would be in Le Havre, if all went according to plan.
For this day, however, we were hiking in the wind through a series of villages. I was thankful that the wind was no longer in our face, and was sometimes even pushing us down the trail.
In Le Tilleul, the kids got something warm from the bakery to enjoy. There weren’t too many breaks to be had, because every time we sat down, we became cold very quickly. The section South of Le Tilleul was much appreciated because it was down in the forest, out of the wind. I was glad it hadn’t rained in awhile, because we passed through many muddy sections that could have been much worse.
We hiked right past a Carrefour Market at Gonneville-la-Mallet, and I got some drinks and snacks for us. Chips keep the kids hiking fast for awhile as they catch up to the chip bag to get another.
The kids were getting tired of walking with no breaks as we embarked on a cold and windy tour of the farms. We started to get some light rain, and our shoes and socks got wet from walking through the wet grass in the fields.
We persevered, and got to Turretot. The rain stopped and the kids played at a playground for a few minutes before we got too cold and had to go.
My plan was to set up our tent behind some buildings at the local soccer field, where I had seen another hiker post a video of his spot. We made it to the exact spot I was looking for, and set up our tent.
It was early in the afternoon, but our hiking day was done. The kids have done fantastic with this hike, today being another great example.
We took naps, except Miriam, who had too much energy to contain herself. There were a few visitors to the soccer field but they didn’t mind our presence. It’s difficult to find a really good stealth campsite on this hike, and this spot was another semi-private one.
Later, Miriam and I went into Turretot to get baguettes from the bakery. It started raining and we ran back to the tent, diving in as it started to get heavy.
The kids had already eaten and I worked to steadily reduce the mountain of food I had bought in Fécamp. We spent all evening in the tent, but that was fine because it wasn’t so cold there. We got to sleep, knowing the next day would be our last full day on the trail.
