Alps
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Jafferau fortress and Ecot Gorge
1. Fredda Valley in the morning.
2. Barracks of Pass Jafferau.
3. From the summit, the panorama towards South with the track that brought us here. It’s definitely steeper than it seems.
4. Jafferau fortress ruins.
5. After a boondocking at Mont-Cenis, we go discover the Gorges of l’Ecot, above the village of Bonneval-sur-Arc.
6. One part – just about an hour’s walk from Bonneval – is spectacular.
7. When water carves rock.
8. There are some beautiful pots.
9. Wide shot of the lower entrance to the gorge.
10. We go sleeping further down in the Arc Valley, after having crossed it by ford to reach a quiet spot.
11. Emile takes the opportunity to practice his cycling! 🙂
12. …
There is one last post to publish soon which will conclude the story of these short summer holidays. 😉
Monviso – Bardonecchia area
1. Here we are again on the Alta Via del Sale but on its western part.
2. …
3. The Marguerie fortress where we spend the next night.
4. I go exploring part of it but don’t stay long because it’s really falling into ruin..
5. An early morning visitor to our camp.
6. As we begin our journey toward North, we go discover Monviso, the main Italian peak in the Southern Alps. A view from Pian de Rey. The afternoon convection partially hides the summit.
7. Further down, a small waterfall not far from our camp.
8. View on the valley.
9. Then we head back up towards Bardonecchia to explore the Passo de la Mulatiera region. A narrow trail takes us to an altitude of 6,000 feet. Then we continue on foot to the pass.
10. The large scree slope that lies beneath the Mulatiera fortress ruins. We look at a fearless marmot less than 15 feet away.
11. The next day, we park at the Col de l’Echelle and set off on a hike towards the Col des Thures. After a quite steep climb, we discover the Vallon des Thures and the small mountain pasture of the same name.
12. Arrival at the superb Chavillon lake with Mount Thabor in the background.
13. I vary the compositions.
14. …
15. Return path through the screes.
16. Last look at the valley.
17. Above the Col de l’Echelle.
18. Our camp under Mount Jafferau, a spot where we already spent the night three years ago.
The rest of our journey will take us through Mont Cenis, Isère, and the Savoie region. We’ll show you that soon! 😉
Argentera Valley & Pass of Tende
As previously mentioned, we’re delaying our descent to Tende as the weather isn’t favorable. Emile wanted to return, so we head up to the Argentera Valley. Access is now subject to a toll, with a toll booth on the bridge at the entrance to the valley.
We are a little disappointed to discover that major protection works have been undertaken, no doubt following recent heavy storms. Several areas of earthworks aimed at channeling lateral streams disfigure the lower part of the valley and greatly reduce its charm. Fortunately, higher up, nothing has yet been undertaken.
1. We find a nice spot down by the river.
2. View from our camp.
3. End of day tones.
4. The next morning, we take a walk upstream to discover a beautiful torrent.
5. Back at our camp, Emile takes the opportunity to cool off in the river.
6. Brrrr… it’s cold!
7. …
8. But it feels good!
9. The upper part of the valley remains quite wild.
With the weather improving in the South, we head down to Tende where we hope to discover the Alta Via del Sale (High Salt Road), an approximately 55 miles long trail that follows the ridgeline border between Italy and France. We did the Western section in 2017 but not the Eastern loop.
10. The hairpins of the Col de Tende on the French side (South). This trail is closed to traffic for several years.
11. Meet upon arrival at Fortress Central.
12. First night in the barracks, alone that evening.
13. Since it’s Tuesday and the regulated section of the Ruta del Sale is reserved for pedestrians and bicycles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we set off to discover the beginning by bike. Here, on the climb to Campanino Pass, with Fortress Central in the background.
14. Emile is comfortable on his new mountain bike, even on climbs.
15. In the end, we rided 12 miles and 13,600 feet of elevation gain. Well done to him!
16. Second night in one of the old quarries used to build the barracks, for sheltering as a strong north wind is blowing.
17. Barracks at sunset.
To be followed in a few days…
Pass of Valbelle
Still on our way back home, we pass by chance near the “Demoiselles coiffees”, some hoodoos on south shore of the Serre-Poncon lake.
1. A short hike takes us near these always impressive concretions.
2. The site is evolving fast. Its configuration has changed a lot over the last 50 years.
3. Site Overview.
4. Always favoring the back roads, we take a trail passing through Coche and Valbelle passes to reach Guillestre.
5. Summer stable.
6. VivaLaVida on the trail.
7. View towards the West, shortly before the Pass of Valbelle.
8. From the pass towards North.
9. Some showers are coming.
10. It’s gotten colder, the snow is not far away.
11. We find a boondocking spot above the Risoul 1850 station.
12. Last campfire of the trip.
13. Stop at an abandoned gas station in Maurienne.
And that’s it for our Fall holidays. Shortly after, summoned to the VivaLaVida expertise, I had to remove the licence plates while waiting for the manufacture of parts to increase the power of the parking brake because the efficiency of the current assembly was deemed insufficient by the expert. We were therefore unable to enjoy VLV this late autumn. She returned to her shelter for the winter.
As you read this, I received the ordered parts. I’ll be installing them in the coming weeks before getting the licence plates for the new season.
Thank you for your loyalty in following this little blog and see you soon for the rest of the journey aboard VivaLaVida! 😀
Haute-Ubaye
Coming down from Larche Pass (Colle della Maddalena), we go discover the Lautanier valley.
1. Fall colors are everywhere.
2. Hiking up the valley.
3. Meander.
4. A hiker on the bridge. 😉
5. Ubayette River which dug the valley.
6. Larches and birches.
7. Further up in the valley.
8. Fall atmosphere.
9. Birch trunks.
10. Ubaye Valley.
11. Our boondocking spot along the river Ubaye.
12. We made a campfire there between the raindrops.
Continuation of our way back shortly.
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…
Last day before heading Home…
In the early morning, we go discover an altitude marsh spotted during our walk the day before..
1. A source there creates a stream that meanders on a flat.
2. At its end, a small pond formed.
3. We don’t hang around too long because it’s chilly this morning.
4. Change of place to discover the bottom of the valley of Vallouise Pelvoux, at a place called Le Pré de Madame Carle. We discover a sub-glacial zone where the floods of the river create a gravel bar like those visited in Alaska.
5. We are at the treeline altitude, which causes a certain alpine aridity at this place.
6. View from our lunch spot. They are worse, isn’t it?
7. On the way back, between Briançon and the Lautaret pass.
8. Thanks to the off-road capabilities of VivaLaVida, we find a nice promontory to boondock on the northern slope of the Galibier pass.
9. Out of sight of the road, our afternoon end is perfectly quiet there.
10. A last campfire for grilling some corns and meal.
11. And a last image of this short week of travel with pretty colors at sunrise Sunday morning…
Back at home, we plan one or two more weekend outings before VivaLaVida returns to its wintering place. I’ll tell you about those in a while.
Thank you for your loyalty to follow this little blog! 😀
Back to Clarée Valley
Still unable to walk much because of my sprained ankle, we decide to go back up to the beautiful Clarée Valley that we had discovered last year in the same season and discover the Fontcouverte waterfall, taking advantage of the golden larches to take some pictures.
1. The Clarée River upstream from the waterfall.
2. Fontcouverte waterfall.
3. I’m playing to look for some compositions.
4. Variation.
5. In the morning, we’re almost alone at this season while in summer, it is constantly crowded.
6. A little further up the valley.
7. We have our lunch under a mountain pasture.
8. Last view of this beautiful valley before changing corners… Since last year, signs prohibiting wild camping have grown everywhere and the only campsite there is closed for the season.
9. After a few tens of miles, we are at the very top of the Vallon de l’Orceyrette, above the Chalets de L’Alp. We are completely alone there for a quiet bivouac at about 7,900 feet elevation.
10. We discover the surroundings of the camp. This bottom of the valley is still wild.
11. View looking north.
12. We enjoy a nice campfire to cook our meal there.
Continuation and end of this few days trip shortly! 😉
D5 Creation