Our Adventures

Still hot in Hotsville France

With temperatures hitting the high 9os we did indeed abandon ship. We found the unicorn: an uber driver in rural France! He took us to the lovely town of Vesoul and our air conditioned hotel room.

From Vesoul we took an air-conditioned fast train to meet our son and daughter-in-law for a few days in Paris. We looked at sites both old and new and ate our body weight in chocolate mouse at our favorite Parisian restaurant.

After Paris it was back to the boat, and slightly cooler temperatures….

…. before heading to Alaska for Roberta’s 50th high school reunion and to visit family and friends.

We are back in France and suffering under the 5th heat wave (canicule) of the summer. Seriously, this is a natural disaster for nearly the entire country. Rivers are drying up, crops are suffering and large fires are raging in the south. We have abandoned the canals, most of which are closed because of low water, and are currently cruising south on the Saone toward Lyon.

Full disclosure: We are taking a three-day break, hiding in a hotel in Macon in a minuscule room with the best AC we have ever felt in France.

And now for the weather…

We interrupt our regular programming of misadventures to confirm that, yes, it is hot o’clock in Hotsville, France.

You may think these are photos of a French canal but they actually show the face of the sun.

We have so far avoided being in a red alert area but that may change considering the forecast. (For those still using the antiquated Fahrenheit scale, 35C is 95F).

It’s all the news here. The inside article is about how a Carrefour grocery store chain is allowing pets into its contactless grocery area so they don’t overheat.

Not to worry, we have strategies to cope. Cruising starts early (7:30 AM) and ends early (noonish) to avoid the afternoon furnace. We’ve pulled out our little RV AC which cools our berth effectively.

Compare and contrast the temperature in the main salon with the one in the sleeping area. A 8C (14.5F) difference.

Our hero, below, with able assist from even more fans.

With temperatures predicted to go even higher we may abandon ship and check into an air-conditioned hotel in a nearby city. In the meantime you can find us hiding behind this door in our cool little cave.

Off the Boat….to Beaune

We moored Decize in Epinal and took a train south to visit friends. Ana and Frank moved to Beaune a few years ago and we see them more now than we did when we all lived in Houston. Bonus: our hiking buddies, Claire and Joe, were visiting at the same time.

Beaune is the epicenter of the Burgundian wine world. We spent the weekend eating, biking and helping Beaune with its wine surplus.

Some of these vines will produce grapes that will produce $1,000 bottles of wine, i.e. wine we can’t afford.

On theme, we had an amazing dinner at La Lune, a French-Japanese fusion restaurant that seats fewer than 20 people. Highly recommended – make reservations months in advance.

Other culinary highlights included a real martini and popcorn ice cream.

We joke that Ana and Frank are land people because they grow fruits and vegetables of all types (and keep bees). But Frank is building a dory sailboat from a kit to keep his handmade kayak company. It is beautiful.

After our lovely visit we met up with our latest expat, but longtime Houston, friends, John and Michele. They were heading south to their new home in Vaison-la-Romaine.

They were still a bit stunned with the whole moving to France thing, but their very good boy, Hansel, was very excited to be welcomed everywhere.

Roberta and Michele indulged in a bit of retail therapy. Matching shoes!

Too soon it was time to head back north to the boat. We consoled ourselves by a visit to the bar car on the TGV.

Canal des Vosges

After enjoying a few days with frequent cruisers Jackie, David and their lovely daughter on the Haute Saone we entered the Canal des Vosges at Corre. We attempted this canal several years ago but had to turn around because of low water.

First stop was Fontenoy-le-Chateau which was the last stop on our previous attempt. It’s a lovely little town with, yes, ruins of a chateau, a bar and not much else.

The canal is beautiful, unusually weed-free and with lovely spots to have a picnic or spend the night.

And locks. Lots and lots of locks. Not that we’re complaining…. they were all working.

We passed through two swing bridges that were built in the 1800s. The technology hasn’t changed: When a boat approaches a canal worker magically appears to push it around.

But locks. Lots and lots of locks. Our last morning we did 14 locks in 3 km. We were so efficient (and lucky), it only took us two hours.

We can always tell when we are nearing a city of any size because local artwork starts to appear.

We’re docking Decize in Epinal, sister city to La Crosse, Wisconsin, for a few days while we visit friends in another town.

Back in France

We started our 2026 cruising season by letting Air France wine and dine us across the Atlantic.

**Second course. Not pictured…. third, fourth and fifth courses.**

After breakfast (our sixth course) we landed in Paris where we joined the endless immigration queue. Only one hour in the priority line. Then it was time for what was for us a midnight snack …. coffee and pain au chocolate.

We arrived in St-Jean-de-Losne the next day and took a stroll around our town.

First stop, our favorite SJL dive. Jeanne, the proprietress, wasn’t serving food that day but we were only looking for a welcome drink.

And, miracle of miracles, Decize was in the water!

Long story short, jet lag sucks, every year, but we are still happy to be here.

2026 – Back to Burgundy

We are about a week away from returning for another summer of cruising the rivers and canals of France. We have gotten pretty good about preparing for our departure but we always seem forget something.

Status of the Network

We had big plans last year for a loop through Strasbourg, Nancy, Toul, Paris and Dijon. Unfortunately several canals were closed due to low water and we were unable to proceed and had to retreat back up the Rhine.

This year France received a lot of rain in January and February. In fact the Seine and our river (the Saone) flooded in a few spots.

While not good for everyone this was good news for the reservoirs that supply water for the canal system.

**Reservoir status in northeast France – April 2026. Green: >80%, Yellow >60% full**

Unfortunately other issues could present problems this year. The picture below shows the current closures that might affect us. The good news is the Canal du Centre, which was closed almost all last summer, is open again. The Canal du Loing, Canal du Nivernais and Canal du Rhone au Rhine are all currently impassable. And the Canal de Burgogne has restrictions and plans to close early in September.

**Red Xs are current closures, star is our home port (H2O Marina).**

2026 Plan (Tentative)

We want to start by going north to Nancy via the Canal des Vosges which we attempted in 2024 and were stopped by low water. After returning from Nancy we head to Alaska for Roberta’s 50th high school reunion.

After returning for France, we want to go west via the Canal du Centre. It’s been a couple years since we visited the Loire valley and thought it would be nice to return.

Dates	Destination	Comment
May 18 – May 24	St Jean de Losne	Provisioning/Checkout
May 25 – May 31	Corre	North on Saone to C. des Vosges
Jun 1 – Jun 15	Nancy	North on Canal des Vosges
Jun 18 – Jun 26	Port-sur-Saone	Back south to the Haute Saone
Jun 30 – Jul 4	Paris	By train to visit Francis/Emilie
Jul 4 – Jul 10	St-Jean-de-Losne	Back to our home port
Jul 11 – Jul 30	Alaska!	To Alaska – Roberta’s 50th HS
Aug 1 – Sep 25	Cruising west?	To Decize/Briare?
Sep 26 – Oct 7	Bucharest	Traveling through eastern europe
Oct 7 – Oct 17	Hiking	Vampire hiking in the Carpathians

Benton Mackaye Finished!

After two attempts, 289 miles and 68,000 feet I arrived at the northern terminus of the Benton MacKaye Trail. Last year I made it to mile 127. This year I started at mile 127 and, after 2-1/2 weeks reached the end.

My first night after leaving my re-supply in Cherokee I camped with the only other north bound BMT thru-hiker I met on the trail… Flyover.

Me and Flyover, just two BMT thru-hikers

On my shuttle back to the trail from Cherokee I saw a couple of elk on the side of the road.

This last section (from Cherokee to the end) was three days so I had a light pack for the one 4,000 foot climb day.

One of many pretty streams in the park

The last 8 days were in Smoky National Park and that was definitely the highlight of the trail.

All my nights were spent at either designated (in the park) or random primitive camp sites. The sole exception was the last night, which was spent in a the lone shelter on the trail. This was also the only time it rained really hard.

And it was still raining (though not as hard) as I left the shelter.

I was joined in the shelter by four young men from Ohio doing a three day hike in the park.

I caught up with these fine gentlemen and they gave me a cold beer and a ride to Standing Bear Hostel. Now that was some real trail magic! I spent one night at the hostel before shuttling to the airport.

Laundry facilities, bunk and visitor at hostel

And no hike would be complete without at least one equipment failure…. On day 10 I blew out one of my crocs and had to do a field repair that lasted the rest of the hike.

Dental floss (and a needle) to the rescue

One final comment. While I was hiking deep in Trump country, both of my shuttle drivers were ardent anti-Trumpers and there were signs of discontent…

Sign of protest on one of the few road walks….

Benton Mackaye 2.0, BMT 192 to BMT 258

I left Fontana Village on my next section after a nice rest day, crossing over Fontana Dam…

.. and entering (finally!) Smoky Mountain National Park (SMNP).

Entering the Smoky Mountains National Park!

And saw this guy leaving Fontana Village….

This section (and the next) are entirely in the park and while the trail was pretty good (better than south of here), there were a lot of blow-downs (trees fallen over the trail).

As in the first week I was lucky with the weather – no rain and lots of sunshine. This was a five day section but the same distance as my 6 day first section so a few more miles per day.

Being in the park this part of the trail seems to have more maintenance. There were a lot of river wades but also these cool tree-bridges.

In the park you must camp in designated camp sites and some of them even have picnic benches!

And I saw more wildlife in this section…. Several deer…

And this weird guy, who never moved while I walked past.

And, unlike the first week where I did not see anyone for 4 days, I saw several groups of section/day hikers and my first Benton MacKaye thru-hiker..

On the fifth day I hit US441 and hitched the 8 miles to Cherokee, NC to resupply and take a rest day. I got picked up by the first car that passed, which was nice.

I especially like the Cherokee tribal billboard on the same street as a giant Confederate flag. Ahhhh… the South!

Benton Mackaye 2.0, BMT 127 to BMT 192

I exited the BMT last spring after 127 miles, forced off the trail by weather and difficulty level of the trail. I came to the BMT expecting to do 15-18 mile days but have learned that this is not possible (for me). These eastern trails are very hard. The climbs and descents are very steep and switchbacks are rare.

To return this year I came up with a plan that averages a little over 11 miles and 3,000 ft per day in the first section (6 days) and about 12.5 miles per day after that.

I have completed the first section and am preparing to enter the Smoky Mountains National Park (SMNP) tomorrow morning. I am currently taking a rest day at the Fontana Lodge.

**Me and the mayor of Fontana Village!**

This first section was six days. During the first four days I did not see another person. On the fifth day I ran into a couple of day hikers and later a couple of Forest Service guys. All very friendly. The other hikers here at the lodge are all AT hikers. I may be the only BMT thru-hiker currently on the trail.

I had great weather on the first week. No rain and lots of sunshine but not crazy hot. Low 40’s more nights and while it is supposed to rain later this afternoon (a week cold front is coming through), the forecast for the coming week shows no rain.

I am hiking with a lot of new equipment (tent, pack, poles, water filter) and everything is working well.

Looking forward to the Smoky Mountains but a little worried about the longer days. But hopefully I will do better than this guy…..

Back in Saint-Jean-de-Losne

After 1,100 Km, 408 locks and 90 days we are back in our home base of St Jean. Our hopes of doing a grand loop that passed through Paris were dashed by canal closures, most due to insufficient water. The farthest north we got was Metz, near the Luxembourg border and our westward travel ended in Toul.

Ironically the Canal du Rhone au Rhin near Besancon was closed a few days after we passed due to high water.

Cruising back in to St Jean de Losne