Tuesday, April 21, 2026
End: Dury
Kilometers: 21.7
Total: 39.0
We slept in a bit, needing some rest after a long first day. We all agreed that it was cold at night. I felt a bit cold despite a number of layers.
Right after packing up our tents, I got the boats out. We were next to the canal and it was a good time to test them again. This time, Isa and I took a boat each, and loaded them up with packs. This allowed those walking to carry a bit less. We tied everything down and got underway.
I was in the yellow Ultralight boat, and as I knew, it had a small leak. I had to reinflate the boat quite often, otherwise it became incredibly slow.
Even well-inflated, I was not moving fast. I made an effort to keep paddling, and looked for any small current, but the water was mostly stagnant. Occasionally, a wind would pick up and push me forward, but mostly I just crawled along.
It probably took us over two hours to complete four kilometers. We then took the boats out and had lunch. The kids played in the boats a bit, and I took Daniel out in the red one.
Then it was time to pack up the boats and get hiking. We started off with a wrong turn and had to backtrack. We finally made it into the town of Seraucourt-le-Grand, but the store was closed. We hiked on.
I was with Daniel, and I carried both boats and the paddles. It was a heavy load. I kept Daniel moving as best I could, but at the aerodrome I missed a turn. Our group was spread out, and I didn’t see the others in front turn.
Daniel and I hiked on towards Artemps, oblivious to our mistake. Near the town, Timothy and Isabelle caught up to us, and we realized we were off the trail. We walked the road into town, then the road out of town to Saint-Simon.
Finally we arrived in Saint-Simon, and rejoined the rest of the group. Guy had found a public office open, and a very nice woman allowed me to refill our water bottles and Daniel to go to the bathroom.
We donned our packs again and hiked out of town. I was hoping that we could make it to a spot just after the village of Pithon, but our group was tiring and the sun would be setting soon.
Alex and Guy were ahead, and when Alex found a spot behind a field just after the village of Dury, she wanted to pitch the tents there, so we did.
The children of course immediately found more energy to play, and I set about cooking dinner. Day 2 was complete.
