Last night I enjoyed a rather large meal of tartiflette, charcuterie, salad and crème brûlée. This morning I ate a good sized breakfast. The result was that I was rather full as I started a steep, long climb this morning. Somehow my body does not like trying to both digest food and carry myself and my rucksack up the side of a mountain. After a short section of a gravel, riverside track with joggers and bike riders the path climbed up a rough, switchback through conifers passed a waterfall. Care with footing was needed due to tree roots and rocks in the path. I passed a few slower people which worried me. Was I pressing on too hard? On two occasions before, when I have climbed too much, too quickly I have suffered episodes of painful, debilitating cramp, where I am unable to move my leg for several minutes. Fortunately today was not one of them.
Leaving the forest I entered upland grazing land to the sound of the cows', clanging bells. Periodically there were "chalets", low farm buildings with wide roofs, a pick up and a dog lounging outside. Fingerposts marked the time needed to walk to the next chalet. In this way they made convenient milestones breaking up the day's walk into manageable segments. The grass lining the steep mountain slopes beneath the rocky heights, was full of flowers, of many types. Some species such as yellow rattle, preferred well drained, sunny mountain slopes, others, like the purple geraniums liked shaded areas. I kept seeing flowers that were new to me such as purple betony-leafed rampion.
Not all today was climbing up or down, and there were some level forest tracks. Looking down into the valley I could see villages of "Alpen" style, wooden houses with their wide, sweeping roofs, as well as roads and a large car park. It is not a remote area, there are settlements within a few kilometres, however, they could be a thousand metres below you. Eventually I reached the Col de Bassachaux where a road crosses the pass, there was a restaurant and many people about, taking a short walk after their lunch. A little way beyond the Col there was a chair lift, but lacking snow, instead of skiers being transported to the top there were people, with their bicycles in a cradle attached to the chairs. Once at the top these mountain bikers raced down special tracks constructed for them. I guess it saves cycling uphill.
I am now at the Refuge de Chésery waiting for diner, a fixed menu served on a long table for everyone. Fairly basic and pretty full, beside a lake coloured green by the reflections of surrounding mountains, called appropriately Lac Vert. Camping is no longer allowed by the lake as it once was, which is why I am in the refuge. My allocated bed place is on the top level of the dormitory platforms, and someone has taken the ladder to dry their clothes on which I thought a bit inconsiderate. Could be difficult getting to the toilet in the night!
Later, after dinner a Taiwanese group shared their photos of flowers while a French lady and myself tried to identify them. The French names are often the same but pronounced differently, although "dent de lion" sounds more romantic in French! Meanwhile the rain poured down outside.
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