Today, I will start the GR5. Or at least try to. Even one step on the trail would be good enough.
I say goodbye to my friends that run the Hotel Canal Banyuls, who are hikers themselves, and head to the beach for one last view of the Mediterranean Sea in this Paradise Promise Land of the post thru-hike, where (naturally) it’s perfectly acceptable to drink and be topless whenever and wherever you like. The French and Spanish don’t judge. Alcohol and the freedom of the body are some of their most beloved cultural traits! To protect and entertain, in party we trust.
And of course many of the best dance music aficionados hail from France. Daft Punk, Justice, and Madeon, to name a few.
To make it to that first, contractually binding step of the Grande Randonnee Cinq through the Alps, I only have to make it through four train rides with a mile-and-a-half walk and a bus ride sandwiched in between:
Banyuls to Montpellier, 1hr change
Montpellier to Lyon Part Dieu, 14min change
Lyon to Geneva, 40 minute change
2.3km walk to a different station
Geneva to Annemasse, 30min bus
Annemasse to Thonon-les-bains, the official starting point of the GR5 through the Alps.
Thonon-les-bains to Nice, 400 miles of the most resplendently pretty mountain walking (on any planet that we know of).
I make it through the first connection to Montpellier alright. I befriended a couple french girls, although they didn’t speak much English. It’s fun to try and communicate with people when they literally cannot recognize a word you say! Thank Nature for Google Translate.
Once at the station, they want you to pay a few cents to use the bathroom at the station, but some revolutionary soul was pressing the exit button on repeat to let everyone through for free. Viva la France!
The second train to Lyon also goes well, and arrives 5 minutes ahead of schedule, making the 14 minute layover feel a little less stressful. I pushed past the large group of kids and chaperones who were also getting off and was relieved to find that the train to Geneva was just one platform over! Ahhh. The sound of stress evaporation.
The third train led immediately into an immense canyon which goes up towards Lake Geneva, the largest natural lake in Europe, with several small towns along the way.
There were a couple Americans on board, from Seattle and New York. It was a treat to get to speak to people in a language that you comprehend! You truly don’t realize how good you have it in an English-speaking country until you jump feet first into foreign lands.
I hopped off the train in Geneva and had a nice 2.5km sunset march across the city to another station, Eaux-Vives, where I caught a bus back into France at Annemasse, and finally, the last train of the night at 9:52 going to Thonon-les-bains, the official start of the GR5.
I quickly snapped some start photos and made my way along the well marked path through town. Finally, after a another 2.5km, I came to a densely forested hunting reserve, which I took as the perfect place to pitch camp at around 11:00pm.
GR5, begun.