The itinerary suggested for this outing was partly in the forest and partly in open areas. The climb and distance were moderate from St. Cergue to the Barillette restaurant.
Eleven hardy souls met at the small car park in St. Cergue. Mervyn’s friend Stephen joined the walk but could not stay to enjoy lunch with us and Ross had to cancel at the last minute due to illness.
The weather forecast was good for the morning but slight rain was predicted for mid-afternoon. For once Météo-Suisse was spot on. The rain began as expected at 15:15 slightly before we reached the cars.
We had plenty of time, so we began the hike with a short detour along the path Balade de Béatrix to a picnic area with a lovely view of the lake and its surroundings.
After this short pause, Nathan started down a rather steep path toward the original itinerary. Stephen suggested a different path with a gentler slope which was immediately accepted by a unanimous group vote.
The walk proceeded with no notable incident through to our next stopping point where bottles of wine suddenly appeared accompanied with some nosherai. Many thanks to Mervyn and Larry for the liquid refreshments.
Afterwards we headed toward the last bit, just below the restaurant, which was the most challenging part of the climb. Everyone managed without a single complaint.
The lunch went well and the group seemed to really appreciate my enormous effort to have exactly 10 participants when the bill arrived.
We returned along the same path we had taken in the morning. About three quarters of the way down I was woefully derelict in my leader duties and did not ensure that everyone was following. A few of the group lost sight of the others and missed a turn. Happily technology saved the day. A quick phone call and we were reunited just in time for the rain.
It was a pleasant hike in spite of getting wet at the end.
We also bid farewell to Larry who will soon leave on his annual trip to Canada.
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Participants: Mervyn Powell, David Colledge, Nicolas Ulmer, Mark Warren, Thatcher Shellaby, Peter Drew, Larry French, Mark Watts, Stephen Langton, Andrew Neivens and myself.
Walking distance: 8.2km
Climbing distance: 445m
Great stuff Nathan and team. The Barillette is a memorable lunch spot and it looks like you had a fun time there after a decent hike up.
My very best wishes to Larry for the summer. We shall miss you (and your contributions to the fun and banter).
P
PS I was away as I was on a jolly to the UK. This included a champagne tasting lunch and two birthday bashes. Kobie was please to see us on our return…
PPS Will organise the next hike 20 June.