Hiking
A few days of good hiking in the mountains with Pascal and Hervé from Marseille. We stayed in Hervé's flat in Embrun, a cathedral town on the banks of the big river Durance as it comes down from the Ecrins and the Alps to the Mediterranean near Marseille.
The big lake is the Lac de Serre-Poncon, one of the series of waterworks that supply Marseille with plenty of water from the Alps. The little lake is at 1460m altitude and supplies just the village of St-Apollinaire, whose church you can see in my picture top left. The GR50 is the long distance footpath tour of the Lac de Serre-Poncon.
The rocks are the Aiguilles de Chabrières, 2403m. We didn't get that far as the weather was building to a storm for that afternoon and we had to descend after enjoying lunch at just over 1900m.
Here's my postcard from Thursday's hiking. One of these is a sheep! That was an exceptional day both for the weather and also it is many years since I have hiked 750m up (and down) over 8 hours. That's what happens if you train in the Alps (last week) and then try the Lakes.
On the picture bottom right, I hiked up the valley on the left, around the ridge to the peak High Street, 828m, which is on a Roman road, though not much trace now remains of the Romans, and scrambled down the ridge on the right, Riggindale.
I hiked Haweswater, Gatescarf Pass (666m), Mardale Ill Bell (750m) and High Street (828m).
And not forgetting my physio exercises for my triceps. Some gym views are better than other though I need to progress from a 1l water bottle to a heavier weight! And not my best form.
Hiking up with the Ibex and the clouds above the limestone rocks of the Vercors! The Pas de l’Œille (1960 m.) connects the Vercors with the valley of the river Drac. It’s a steep climb, the haunt of shy animals like marmottes and the long-horned Ibex, which we were careful to observe but not disturb.
Another big hike in the Lake District: I had an early start yesterday and got up Grizedale Pike from Whinlatter. That's a serious straight climb for more than an hour solid. Bimbled around a bit at Grizedale Pike waiting to see what the weather would do: just dark clouds, no rain so I went on to Grasmoor, which overlooks Crummock Water and Buttermere, where we were on Saturday.
I came back via Grizedale Pike, I had planned to drop down to pick up a bus but I reckoned that, having got to Grasmoor, I couldn't comfortably make the 1503 bus at Lanthwaite farm.
Nice touch: I saw an oldish lady with a white stick and an assistance dog walking the low level tracks in the forest as I walked in to the trailhead. I think she and the dog were enjoying the cool morning air and sounds and smells.
That was a big hike, about 750m up and 750m down. There's a significant descent and reclimb between Grizedale Pike and Grasmoor.
So I'm hiked out for the moment. Whatever the weather, I won't be hiking today. There are a couple of fronts on their way as well for Wed & Thursday.
A couple of hikes in the Vercors in Dauphiné in France: the mountain rockscapes near La Grande Moucherolle (2284 m.) above Villard-de-Lans. In the south west of the Vercors region, the Tête de la Dame (1506 m.) near the Col de la Batalille (1313 m.), with views to the Ecrins, the Savoie Alps and even the Corniche of the Cévennes far away in the haze. Summer is late here so as well as the green grass, the flowers are at their best about now, thanks to lots of rain.
