Tuesday June 28th Saint Cergue to Col du Marchairuz

Today was really hot - hot and sticky. According to my schedule the walk was supposed to be 28 kilometres but turned out to be only 18 which, given the heat, was a bit of a let off. Slightly worrying discrepancy, maybe I'll have to do an extra 10 kilometres tomorrow.

Anyway it was a really nice walk. Through a mix of woodland and open pasture with a view point every so often of the Alps to the south.


Meadows






Given the heat haze the Alps were not exactly clear, certainly not clear enough to get decent pictures but this walk must be one of the best places to see the full extent of the Swiss Alps. With the help of a friendly local I now know that I was definitely looking at the Grande Combin but other day but can also see other mountains I've stood beneath including further to the east the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch and more centrally the Weisshorn.

It's also difficult to get lost, the signs are brilliant. The national trail I following is route 5 and it's very unusual not to be able to see a sign post. Even the European Trail is marked.


Going the right way

Without the heat haze the highlight would probably have been the Cret de la Neuve, which at 1494 metres was the highest point on the walk and on other days a brilliant view point. Adding to the haze were three young men, sitting underneath the Swiss flag, whittling sticks and sharing an enormous joint. Looked very relaxed.

By the way there are lots of walkers on trail, more walkers than any trail I've been on along the E4 other than the bits of the St James Way I travelled on in France.

Given the heat I walked slowly and what was supposed to be a five hour walk took six. Arrived at the Col du Marchairuz at 2.30. It's a sort of walkers hotel and the accommodation choice is a dorm or the whole of a family room to yourself. I chose the family room, an extra 20 Swiss francs, and I'm feeling a bit guilty about the indulgence.

1 comment:

  1. Hi John,

    Thanks for the great updates and images - really appreciated! I am following you daily now!

    Regards and hope the weather holds out over the Alps - the heat with humidity is not much fun but the wind and rain will be much worse!

    Rob Watts
    Brisbane, Australia

    ReplyDelete