La Valla-en-Gier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Hey Actifitters,
Yesyerday, after our now usual breakfast on the balcony before the heat wave hits, we were thinking about a hike. Going up in the local hills, my favorite hills, sounded good to avoid the 40+ C temperatures expected for the afternoon. We took our time to make up our mind but here we were driving on the way to the Col de l'Oeillon. You might remember that Col, it's almost a tradition now and we hike there almost every time I visit. The plan was a fairly easy hike, about 10k without too much elevation gain. My mother is quite healthy, but she's 80+ and with that heat especially, we should be careful. Turns out not everybody walked the whole thing but that was the route and elevation profile:
So, like we did several times in the past, we parked our car just below the big antenna at the Col de l'Oeillon and started with the steepest part of the hike. You quickly get to Col de l'Etancon and several other cols.
Barely two kilometers in, and the first one to show signs of weakness was Sam. He was clearly tired, and looking to cool himself every chance he got. That was actually a bit worrying when he just laid down in the bushes.
Luckily we soon found a section in the shade, and after plenty of water, he looked more like the usual Sam.
That shaded part wasn't too long though and we were back to very exposed trails.
Beautiful of course, but very hot in the mid-day sun.
So at our planned halfway break, la Jasserie (more on that later), we made the decision to split: I was going to quickly hike back while they rested and hydrated. It was safer for poor Sam. I took a slightly different route on the way back, so at least I could get different scenery. By myself, I could pick up the pace and go almost twice faster. But I still stopped here and there to snap photos, especially since it was a bit different, more like an alpine forest.
There's also this small monument to honor the soldiers that died when an American military plane crashed during WW2.
And finally the antenna. I don't know what it is about it, but I just really like it!
As you get closer, you see it from below and it looks even cooler.
I was back at the car in no time and started the drive quickly, so they wouldn't wait for me too long. Hiking, it's only about 4km, but by car, you have to go around and it takes about half an hour on the small mountain roads. I couldn't resist and made a quick stop for this view.
And I finally found them, back at La Jasserie, all rested and hydrated. It was time for the rewards, tarte aux myrtilles, one of the specialty with local berries, and ice cream. We deserved it!
Sam looked much better than when I left them, and back to the happy-go-lucky Sam we know.
We enjoyed a little more time on the patio at La Jasserie and finally made the drive back, getting back home just around 5pm, with the temperature now at 42C! Definitely wanted to go back there where it was almost 10 degrees lower.
Sam, although much better than before, was still very tired and this view was pretty common the rest of the day.
We didn't do much either, so it's all good, Sam can rest. My mother was of course quite pleased to see she could handle such hiking, as she knew that she could have walked the whole thing if it wasn't for Sam. I can only hope I'm that mobile when I'm her age.
Well, that was another good day, and I almost forgot I had all these meetings later in the evening and night. These hikes around Col de L'Oeillon never disappoint, if you ever visit the area, you can go there with confidence, you will have fun!
As always, thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.
