Dit zijn de afstanden die er per dag gefietst zijn. Dag 4 was de rustdag.Dag 5 en 6 waren de dagen dat we rond hebben gereden in de Veluwe zonder bagage.

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Haute Route - Day 4
We woke up tired, knowing today would again involve lots of climbing. During the night, the glue between one of the ridges of Diane's Exped mattress had let loose, meaning there was now a big bulb in the middle. The main Haute Route would be climbing up to a glacier and involve a massive 1149m of elevation gain. To make it a bit easier, we took an alternative route involving "only" 741m of elevation gain. We walked uphill for hours through increasingly steep and rocky but beautiful terrain. Diane had a difficult time but was still going strong. We eventually got above the tree line, and it started to rain, but fortunately, not for long.






We reached the summit in the afternoon and had only a short descent before reaching another mountain hut, where we stopped to rest and eat. We enjoyed the view with some pie, cake, and hot chocolate. The hut was also a cow farm.




The descent that followed was very long and steep, with many loose rocks. After several hours we reached another mountain hut, but unfortunately, it was closed. We were both getting tired and for the first time in days, we passed several nice and remote camping spots in a forest. However, my parents were staying at a campsite in a village further ahead and we hoped to get there before dark so we could have another beer together.



Due to the rocky terrain and all the climbing, reaching the village took much longer than planned, and we were both pretty exhausted. We reached the campsite just before dark. We were confused as to why my parents weren't there. While looking at the map, a Dutch man approached us and explained that there was a second campsite in the village, two kilometers back uphill. He was just closing his car, and instead of offering us a ride, he told his wife how we had missed it and that if we hurried, it would be only a 30-minute climb.
After walking the extra hours to see my parents, we were bummed we had passed the first campsite. It wasn't indicated on either of our maps, and there hadn't been any signs. We were too tired to walk back uphill for another half an hour, only to descend again the following day. The campsite was just a field of grass but still cost 40 euros. That was ironic as we had passed many much prettier and free campsites earlier that day. Still, we quickly pitched our tents and cooked dinner while it got dark.
