Five of us (Peter, Philip, Mark 2rrs, Nicolas and the writer) met early at the usual parking spot by Divonne lake and set off in high spirits for the Lac de Joux despite temperatures of 6 degrees and misty conditions. Our progress was somewhat thwarted by ominous but ambiguous signs in Longirod suggesting deviations – but were they just for lorries? We pressed on regardless and entering St George it became obvious that the signs were to be taken seriously, but Peter knew a small byway which took us around the town which brought us into a car park surrounded by road works. We had unknowingly caught up with Nathan and the three cars managed to circumvent the holes in the roads and after taking a slightly illegal route, managed to get back on the route to the Col du Marchairuz. Up there, the weather was bright and sunny, but on the descent to Le Brassus we could see a thick layer of fog above the Lac de Joux.
We had intended to leave the parking lot at Altitude 1004 in Les Bioux at 09.30, but Drew called and told us that his GPS gave him an ETA of 09.50 due to the deviation. Knowing that we didn’t have that much leeway in order to reach our lunch stop some 14kms away at 13.00, the Famous Five plus Kobie set off around the lake in a clockwise direction. Rob called and cancelled due to a medical issue. I waited for Drew to turn up as scheduled and we drove to L’Orient at the southern end of the lake to wait for the guys to appear through the fog. They had already walked 2.5kms along the excellent boardwalk which traverses marshy ground.
Reunited, we continued around the bottom of the lake and carried on past Le Sentier and its many watch factories, and Le Rocheray where four hardy souls had just finished swimming in the lake. For a time we were on minor roads, but were rewarded by the sight of many pretty lakeside properties. Reaching Les Esserts-de-Rive, the sun finally broke through the fog and confirmed that there was indeed a large lake on our right-hand side! We then entered a wooded area and enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of a rocky path right by the water. The level of the lake has been very low – more than 1 metre below its normal height of 1,004 metres, but the recent rains had restored the level to its “working” height.
The low level path soon ended and we had to climb a series of switchbacks to reach Le Lieu where we thought that we deserved some light refreshment. Some limoncello shots and an excellent Riesling revived us in true GIN fashion and we set off on the last leg of our pre-lunch journey. Outer layers of clothing were discarded in the warm sunshine and absent friends were of, course, honoured in the usual way. Entering a new wooded area, we hadn’t gone many metres before we encountered a small herd of chamois which spooked Kobie somewhat and required some frantic whistle-blowing by Peter. Order was restored when the chamois headed down a steep bank and our canine companion returned to his master. Shortly afterwards, those of us leading had to restrain him again as we came across another herd. Our chief wildlife photographer, Nathan, managed to take some fine shots of the animals who did not appear to be particularly perturbed by our presence.
Following the prescribed path to Le Pont, Nicolas and I were startled by a huge chamois crossing our path at speed pursued by Kobie who had taken a higher route with Peter. Fortunately, our furry friend gave up the chase and was once again reunited with his master. Our timing wasn’t too bad as we reached the Relais de la Truite only 5 minutes after the time that we had been instructed by the management to arrive by.
Plats du jour had been ordered in advance without any knowledge of their composition but moules frites were gratefully accepted by 6/7, with the seventh opting for croute forestière. Beers and a modest bottle of chasselas were enjoyed and we repaired to have our coffee outside in the glorious sunshine. Serious conversation subjects during the meal and whilst hiking covered many topics, including the state of UK politics, global warming and energy storage, as well as more lighthearted bantering. The “douloureuse” when it arrived was noted to cost each participant half of that paid by some of us earlier at a well-known resto below the Dôle, although in fairness, there was slightly less alcohol consumed!
Reluctantly, we had to face the fact that we still had 8kms to return to our starting point, so we set off at varying speeds passing “toblerones” and the Breguet building at L’Abbaye. Curiously, most of the towns around the lake have rather simple names, the Bridge, the Path, the Place, the Abbey, the East, showing perhaps a surprising lack of imagination when such beautiful time pieces are created in its many watch factories.
Nine pairs of tired legs (including two of Kobie’s) reached our vehicles safely and Peter, Nicolas and Nathan decided to head off to try to avoid the rush- hour traffic, but Mark, Philip and Drew accepted my invitation for beer and crisps at our pad. Drew was then returned to his car and the three of us remaining took an circuitous route past Les Pralets which avoided the blockage at St George.
Distances were estimated at between 22 and 26kms depending on which Apple Watch, iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, GPS, website or map measuring tool was used, but we seemed to agree on a mean of about 24kms and a modest 200 metres ascent. In any case, it was more than a half-marathon! We wish Rob well and hope that he can rejoin our group asap. This, of course, applies to other GINvalids as well!
Sorry –a bit long, but it was a long hike!