I'm just back from hiking the GR4 route, I started at Grasse and finished at Manosque. My basic memories are of rocky paths, steep as you may like it, sunny days but cold nights, beautiful villages, great food, wine, cake and coffee. What more can a human being ask for?
I flew to Nice, then caught a bus to Grasse, the busfares are up this year from 1 Euro to 1.5 Euro's! Arrive at 2, had a meal and just started hiking. This time I wanted to try Tarp and wild camping! Well that did'nt work out, I will not be repeating Tarp camping (too basic for me) and only wild camped 5 times.
I met an English bloke on the bus to Grasse who lives there permanently, he looked and spoke like Allan Sugar but it wasn't him, told me he was into 'Finance'? The first advice he gave me was to watch out for the Wild Boar and the Wolves! Yea, right!
I had a meal and at about 2.00pm I started hiking. At near dusk I reached a small hamlet, St. Lambert, no one around, just a grassy area between the V of two roads with a couple of three seater benches.
I walked on up towards the top of a hill, lots of boulders, narrow rocky path and I zig zagged to the top. Just about to pitch my Tarp when I saw below me mooching under a tree, was four boar, two adults and two young ones! As I looked they started slowly moving towards me. I decided to head back down the footpath and then saw a small grassy area, I quickly pitched my Tarp. I then crept back up the hill to see where the boar were, they were still coming towards me. In single file shuffling along the footpath.
Well, I did the only thing a hero could do, I lost my nerve, gathered up everything and retreated back to the two benches area in the hamlet. It was now dark, the air was still, no clouds and silence! I decided to lay my groundsheet on a bench, blew up my Thermarest matress and got into my sleeping quilt. I slept until about one in the morning and then woke up cold. It fact it was bitterly cold so I put a layer of warm clothing on and went back to sleep.
At dawn I realised I was covered in frost, a really white crispy kind of frost. I didn't want to hang around so quickly packed, went back up the hill, not a boar to be seen and I walked until about 9am. The terrain was flatter at the top and aparts from the boulders there were many areas of nice dense grass. I lay down my groundsheet, hung my sleeping quilt over a rock to properly dry, had a shave a breakfast. By now the sun was fully out, it was hot so I thought I would have a short sleep. I woke up two hours later!