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Lake Meja
The next morning, we set off on a hike to explore Lake Meja despite the poor weather..
1. Our camp going up towards the small pass which overlooks us.
2. We see a few ibex near the pass.
3. Mountains appear and disappear in the clouds.
4. Some marshes along the path.
5. Lake Meja.
6. Small mushrooms on a dung.
7. The rain starts again as we go back to VivaLaVida.
8. It’s already time to head back. A short stop on the way up the Maddalena Pass.
In the next update, we will discover a beautiful valley in Haute Ubaye.
Maira Stura
As announced, we continued South hoping to be able to access the Maira Stura trail which was closed during our last visit in summer.
1. Chapel of San Salvatore, driving up the Val Maira.
2. Village of Macra, in the same valley.
3. Indeed, the gate located after Pian Preit is open at this time of year. We can take the small road towards the Meja Pass.
4. Cloudy weather as the road climbs steep.
5. …
6. The limestone is steep on this side of the valley.
7. Near Meja Pass.
8. We continue on the trail towards refuge Gardetta.
9. Meja Mountain in the clouds.
10. Altitude marshes.
11. The atmosphere is magical with the fog coming in.
12. Fall colors…
13. Under refuge Gardetta, at almost 7,000 feet elevation.
14. We do the entire crossing of the Maira Stura trail via Margherina Pass in the rain. Here, the old Barracks Della Bandia.
15. We find a nice boondocking spot on the edge of a small lake.
16. Rainy and windy twilight.
To be followed soon… 😉
Fall holiday : Lake Lauson
For the second week of Emile’s vacation, we went to discover new alpine spots.
1. Sunset et our first boondocking spot, near Sansicario.
2. Herd going up towards Sestriere.
3. Going down the valley of Cluson river.
4. On the trail going up to Lake Lauson.
5. At almost 6,000 feet elevation, the larches are gorgeous in their autumn dress.
6. The best of co-pilots!! 😀
7. Lake Lauson.
8. Still a few holes of sunshine as the clouds gather.
9. Lonely tree.
10. Sheepfold under the lake.
11. Shepherd house.
12. Before dinner, we walk up the old military road above the lake, now closed by a gate. We overlook VLV at his camp near the lake.
13. Golden larches…
14. After rain and fog.
15. The view from our camp at sunset…
16. Last colors…
After a wet night, we will continue South…
Jafferau fortress, then Vallée étroite (Narrow valley)…
While setting up camp, I badly sprained my ankle. Despite the ointment applied quickly and a bandage to try to succeed in putting the foot on the ground, I will have to revise the plans. Damn! Here I am forced to give up a hike planned in two days. So, after having slept just under Fort Jafferau, we decide to take a look at this fortress in ruins.
1. South portal or what’s left of it…
2. Here, canon battery bases with the arcs indicating the directions of fire.
3. And one of the many vaulted chambers which likely served as cantonment.
4. Bird’s eye view of an alpine pasture below.
5. Panoramic view of Ecrins mountains to the West.
6. Descent to Bardonecchia via the northwest side.
7. We take advantage of the afternoon to discover the Vallée Etroite (Narrow Valley) straddling the Franco-Italian border. The enfilade towards Mount Thabor is magnificent with the fall colors.
8. Opposite, by where we arrived.
9. The river that carved out this valley, called Narrow Valley Stream.
10. I take advantage of varying the compositions since I can hardly walk. Variation 1.
11. Variation 2.
12. And one last before leaving to do some grocery shopping in Bardonecchia and refuel VivaLaVida since the strikes in France make the refill difficult.
The rest with a return into the Clarée Valley in a few days. Thanks! 😀
Discovery and re-discovery…
Still going down in the valley that leads to the Col du Sommeiller, we stop to discover a vast alcove created by the collapse of a friable cliff.
1. The cavity visible on the other side of the torrent, at the top of a steep slope.
2. Here we are. Emile gives the scale.
3. I take this opportunity to “frame” the landscape…
4. Back to VivaLaVida.
5. VLV in the switchbacks of the track above the Scarfiotti refuge.
6. The surrounding mountains as the sun slowly turns West.
7. The valley below the refuge.
8. Wake up!
9. This is the period when the larches are all golden!
10. Rochemolle village.
11. Ascent to Colle Basset that we drove in the other direction this summer.
12. As we rise, the view opens up to the distance…
13. VLV on the trail above Colle Basset.
14. Valfredda valley.
15. Fort in ruins.
16. We sleep just above, with a superb panorama!
NExt to come soon… 😀
Fall holidays
Our short week of vacation with Emile begins with a rainy day. We make the road to the region of Bardonecchia where I hope to drive the Sommeiller trail that we had not been able to discover the past summer.
1. Rainy boondocking above Rochemolle.
2. The next morning, the clouds have disappeared and the sky is blue when we wake up.
3. Uphill to the Scarfiotti refuge.
4. Higher on the trail…
5. The surrounding mountains are gorgeous!
6. High altitude fall colors.
7. VivaLaVida on the trail, at already more than 8,200 feet above sea level.
8. Arrival at the end of the trail whose descent on the other side has never been built.
9. Round altitude (3,000 meters = 9,842 feet), the highest reached by VLV in Europe. As a reminder, she went over 13,000 feet in 2016, in Colorado…
10. The small lake which is just after the pass.
11. And the other side remained empty of trail. Only a footpath leads down to the Ambin Valley.
12. We are close to the first snow that fell a few days before…
13. View of the peaks of the Parc des Ecrins in the distance…
14. Descending back. We only passed two local motorbikes all day.
To be continued in a few days… 😉
Lakes in Ubaye
We leave this beautiful place to discover others…
1. Going down from Colle Fauniera.
2. We find a boondocking place on the edge of a pretty river, very close to the French border from where we will hike tomorrow.
3. …
4. And we build a dam on the river!
5. …
6. …
7. Leaving VivaLaVida early the next day for a nice mountain hike to discover several lakes.
8. The goal of our day: the Lake of Roburent which I wanted to discover for a long time.
9. That’s where we picnic…
10. .. and Emile plays for a while.
11. We start the way back with a climb to the Col de Roburent.
12. Emile frolics like a goat!
13. The valley we descend with the Lake of Orrenaye.
14. We stop there to refresh ourselves before returning to camp at the same place as yesterday…
Continuation and end of our three week trip shortly. 😉
Maira Stura
1. Wake up on these beautiful mountains that serve as summer pastures.
2. Emile explores the surroundings.
3. …
4. A golden eagle flies over, watched by a kestrel.
5. Panoramic from our camp.
6. Watching the marmots.
7. Emile loves it!
8. On a hike, VivaLaVida is waiting for us at the camp.
9. Curious depression that looks like a kind of sinkhole.
10. The end of the day brings us beautiful lights again…
11. …
12. Rays in the distance…
13. Our camp.
14. Last colors…
15. Sunset…
16. Dusk…
Continuation of our little journey very soon!
Strada del Canoni…
After Colle Agnello, we continue to discover high altitude trail.
1. Ascent in the rain…
2. Fortunately, after lunch, the sky starts to open.
3. We are again at more than 6,500 feet elevation.
4. And the sun returns in late afternoon.
5. The clouds still cling to the north.
6. Emile trains on his bike.
7. View from above…
8. In the distance, the Maira mountains that we will discover later.
9. In the morning, blue sky is back.
10. On the Strada del Canoni trail.
11. Distant view…
12. After having tried to reach the Maira by the Meja valley which we discover closed by a gate, we climb there by the Colle Fauniera.
13. It is a pass visited by the Giro and a sculpture recalls it.
14. We discover the trail of the Maira Stura from the East side, looking for a boondocking place.
15. The massif is spectacular, alternating limestone walls and high meadows.
16. …
17. VivaLaVida on the trail.
18. Val Meja from above.
19. Sunset from our camp.
The trail being closed to motorized vehicles on Sunday, we spend a full there day enjoying this beautiful panorama. We’ll tell you that soon. 🙂
Lacs et Queyras…
1. Dernière soirée dans le Val Argentera.
2. Le Lago Nero (Lac Noir), proche de la frontière franco-italienne, bondé ce jour-là alors que plusieurs colonies s’y sont données rendez-vous pour la journée. Nous décidons ainsi de poursuivre la piste vers un autre lac d’altitude.
3. Campement à 2’400 m. d’altitude.
4. Emile s’entraîne à faire des ricochets.
5. Quiétude…
6. Préparation du souper.
7. Couchant
8. On se couvre un peu alors que la brise du soir rafraîchit l’atmosphère.
Ensuite, nous partons découvrir le Colle Agnello qui relie la haute vallée du Queyras à l’Italie. La vallée qui y mêne est magnifique, nous y reviendront à l’occasion.
9. Dernier lacets avant le col alors que la brume bouche le versant italien.
10. Nous trouvons un bivouac sur le versant italien, près d’un petit lac.
11. Et surprise, la brume se retire en début de soirée…
12. J’en profite pour tirer le portrait à ce joli petit lac.
13. Dernières lueurs sur les sommets.
14. Village aux traditionnels toits de pierre sur la descente côté italien.
La suite dans le prochain post.
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