Refuge de Chésery to Samoëns: E2 Day 176

A long descent in the rain after climbing up and down to few passes.

The general view of the people I spoke to at the refuge was that Samoëns was a long way to walk today. My plan was based on the daily stages in the Cicerone guide to the GR5 over the French Alps. The author, Paddy Dillon, said the distance today could "be covered quickly and easily". But then he has been accused of being an ex-member of the British Army's Special Forces, the SAS (which he was not). I found the day taxing due to the effect of the long descent on my knees. Slippery mud caused by the rain did little to assist. It rained periodically most of the day and so it was on and off with the waterproofs. Leaving the Refuge, which was at almost 2000 metres, for a while the path went up, down and along the grass slopes overlooking Alpine style chalets lower down, crossing various passes. Cattle munched on the grass overlooked by towering grey cliffs. There was some interesting geology in the cliff faces on the other side of the valleys I visited. I speculated that the strata were folded over on themselves to produce a "recumbent fold". It took me a few minutes to unearth this term from a dusty corner of my brain.

For the first few hours other people from the refuge passed me, or I passed them, sometimes both as we exchanged places in the running order. My last sighting was when I stopped at the Refuge de Chardonnière for a morning coffee and tartlette. A lady from the refuge I stayed at last night had arrived there before me and was planning to stay the night (possibly put off my the heavy rain outside). I borrowed her map and on it Samoëns did seem a long way away, I consoled myself that it was a large scale hiking map.

Another hiker leaving the Refuge de Chésery, I met him again weeks later.

In truth the distance was not so great and I arrived at the town a little after 3 pm, but the descent was long. Leaving the grass slopes and Alpine meadows, first there were winding forest tracks dropping down through conifers, then stony and muddy paths through deciduous trees which were working hard to keep hikers off a minor road.

Rainy weather.

Samoëns seems a pretty, tourist town, entertaining skiers in the winter and holiday makers in the summer with shops, cafes and places offering outdoor related activities. After a late lunch I headed for the campsite where I put up my new tent (fortunately I had practiced erecting it in the garden back home).

Samoëns.

The spot I chose was not the best. Heavy rain resulted in a puddle forming under and around the tent, a successful test of the groundsheet. However I decided to move the tent onto ground very slightly higher that avoided the puddle but was still within my allocated plot. I noticed on the map of the campsites there were instructions on what to do if the site became flooded (basically leave your belongings and get out). This did not fill me with confidence...Maybe all the climbing reduced my appetite as I failed to finish a pizza.