This little blog is getting a bit of a boost with the summer holidays, as VLV is back in action. It won’t be very long, as Emile has a wedding in his mother’s family in mid-July. So, we’re going away only for about two weeks and given this limited time, we’ve decided to explore a few spots not too far away.
 
We start in the Chartreuse massif to try to locate the Roche Percee (Pierced Tower), a double arch rarely located on maps.
 
1. Our campsite for the first night, beneath the walls of the Chartreuse massif.
 

 
 
2. The next day, at the top of the cliffs after passing the Aup du Seuil.
 

 
 
3. I realize I’ve gone astray and we head back down the quite steep path we took earlier.
 

 
 
As an aside, we continue towards Roche Percee along a faint path beneath the cliffs and just as we approached the final climb, a thunderstorm caught us by surprise. Coming from behind the cliffs, I hadn’t seen it forming. It take us nearly an hour and a half to get back to the bikes we’d used that morning for the first part of the climb and reach VivaLaVida, soaked to the bone. We return to our campsite from the previous night to dry off and eat after nearly 14 miles and 3,000 m of elevation gain, having missed out on the coveted arch… We’ll be back!
 
The next day, we travel above Vizille towards Grand-Serre with the intention of exploring the Plateau des Mille Lacs (Thousand lakes Plateau) and in particular Lac Noir and Lac Fourchu. Arriving in the mid-afternoon, we stop at Lac du Poursollet and then go looking for a spot to camp for the night.
 
4. The following morning, we hike up to the plateau. At the pass, we catch sight of Lac Fourchu..
 

 
 
5. A little further on, the Lac Noir is visited by a flock of sheep, with the Aiguilles d’Arve in the background.
 

 
 
6. Back to Lac Fourchu.
 

 
 
7. Alternative view from our picnic spot…
 

 
 
8. Another perspective…
 

 
 
9. Last look before heading back down.
 

 
 
10. While I plan to discover another arch, we sleep on the heights of the small resort of Grand-Serre.
 

 
 
More to come in a few days… 🙂