Monday 4th July: Blue skies with a few fluffy white clouds, 15°C to 24°C
Larche to Fouillouse: 16k walk: 8.20am to 2.50pm: 6 hrs 30 mins
Accommodation: Auberge des Granges
Up through meadows
A stunning day in the Alps. Highlight was climbing 800 metres to Col de Mallemort at 2558 metres and having coffee while looking back to Pas de la Cavale, yesterday’s col. Then 600m down to Vallon de Fouillouse through meadows and pine trees, following a stream to the 7 house village of Fouillouse.
Graham was first down to breakfast - no WiFi as a distraction at the Relais d’Italie. Breakfast is a nice surprise as our host has made a simple breakfast very nice. The bread's stale but he's toasted it and the croissants have been heated. There's butter and home made jam and coffee with hot milk. This demi pension only cost 62 Euro ($100 pp) - good value considering dinner was chicken with roast vegetables.
Looking back at Larche
Blue skies and fluffy white clouds
More meadows
Clouds dissipating
And the views get better
10 metres from the col
Baraquements de Viraysse
Coffee at Col de Mallemort 2558m
Jenny and Graham not far behind
Col de Mallemort 2558 metres
Fat marmots in the meadows
Second col today
Lunch at Col du Vallonnet
Green valley down to Fouillouse
Beautiful flower filled meadows
Streams, meadows and pine trees
Yellow spring flowers
At 8.00am we leave, and see a mobile mini grocery van parked across the road to catch the early morning day hikers. The bread is fresh from Italy this morning, and the cheese looks better than what we bought yesterday. Two hunks of bread and a slice of cheese later and we're on our way.
The climb through flowery meadows is steep but cool with the sun behind the alps. We pass memorials for events of WW2, then wait for Jenny and Graham for morning tea. The track steepens then crosses a flat meadow then steepens again up a stony track. Ian and I are at the Col de Mallemorte at 2558 m in 2 hrs and enjoy a cup of tea with a magnificent 360° view of the alps waiting for Graham and Jenny who have done well to climb the 800 metres in 2hrs 30 mins at Jenny's pace of 300m ascent per hour.
It's an easy walk down 200 metres on a stony path to the old military ruins called the Baraquements de Viraysse built in 1885 to defend France against an invasion from Italy. It was the highest military post in France at 2,512 metres with a clear view of Italy. It's marmot heaven with big fat marmots everywhere. Through the ruins, then down an old military road before joining a narrow track across a boggy spongy basin. The track rises to Col du Vallonnet at 2520m. It's a beautiful spot for lunch with snow patches around and views down the Vallon de Fouillouse to a back drop of alps. Lunch is fresh Italian bread with cheese, 2 tomatoes and Presidents cheese bought yesterday from the caravan park Les Marmottes.
We follow a stream for 6k through fields of flowers, pine trees and more war bunkers. Soon the village of Fouillouse comes into view but it's another hour’s walk and it’s getting hotter with no breeze. We're glad we're not walking the GR5 in the summer heat. It’s only a small village but has several car parks for day trekkers. And there's a shop! It stocks cold beer, meats and cheeses - a pity because yesterday, we bought our lunch for tomorrow at the caravan park, not expecting anything here.
I’d booked the Auberge des Granges on booking.com after not receiving a reply to my direct email, but finally our host replied and insisted I cancel booking.com and book directly with him, saving him 15% commission. We have a beer in the beer garden overlooking the stream before going to our rooms which are tiny but comfortable with communal showers. Then it's time to shower and wash our clothes which we can hang on the clothes line in the sun at the side of the Auberge. There's a brochure in the lounge room depicting in cartoon form how to handle sheep dogs. It says, don't cry out, don't throw stones, don't threaten with a trekking pole, don't outstare them, DO give them a big swerve - exactly what did to avoid being attacked 5 days ago on the track from Longon to Roya – we gave them a BIG swerve!
Dinner at 7.30pm is nice, not great - green soup, potato pie, cheese with a glass of gennapi on ice to finish off. 4 French hikers next to us are walking south, but they hadn't been able to start near Modane because of heavy snow in late March. We’ve been lucky as the snow in the southern alps was light this year, and we've encountered only a small patch on the Pas de la Cavale a few days ago. The GR5 guide book says there's several cols which could hold the snow even into early July. After dinner, it's bed at 9pm.
Yellow spring flowers
Don't cry out
Don't throw stones
Don't threaten with a trekking pole
Don't outstare them
DO GIVE THEM A BIG SWERVE
Beautiful sunset in Fouillouse