Author: Richard Saynor

Finally, a sunny break in the weather allowed us to undertake our annual hike by the Lac de Joux, our previous attempt a fortnight ago having been aborted.  Eleven GINhikers had signed up with six indicating that they would meet us at the parking spot at the Southern end of the lake and five of us meeting in Divonne.  Whilst the former group, mostly driving directly from Vaud, had no difficulties in reaching the lake at the appointed time, the knock-on effects of an accident on the autoroute led to Divonne being paralysed by traffic.  Access to the autoroute was impossible and attempts to pass through Crassier were thwarted by long queues.  No alternative but for our noble driver Ralph to do a u-turn and double back via Gex and the Faucille.  Needless to say, our arrival was predicted to be delayed by half an hour, so team A with three impatient doggies sensibly set off around the lake to Le Rocheray where they enjoyed a coffee in the bright sunshine.  Team B arrived and although thoroughly caffeine-starved, elected to press on to try to keep to our schedule.  

The water level in the lake, like many others in the region, was high but with no wind and blue skies, the surface was smooth and afforded wonderful reflections of the opposite bank.  

Photo stops were made on much-reduced spits of shingle and the path close to the lakeside was much appreciated.  

After the only significant climb of the hike, a brief pit stop was made where alcoholic refreshment was made available, outer garments were discarded and telephone calls made.  Shortly after setting off again past the town of Le Lieu, we entered the forest and immediately, to the delight of our four-legged companions, we met a 16-strong herd of chamois. 

 A respectful distance was maintained on both sides and the wild bunch made their exits down a steep bank.  The dogs were once again let free to roam until we were accosted by an irate amateur photographer who insisted that they be leashed as we were on a reserve, despite a complete lack of warning signs.  Kobie, Rocco and Onyx were duly tethered and we continued through the forest.  Twenty minutes later, we espied another smaller group of chamois, with almost as many photographers equipped with massive telephoto lenses.  These were probably unnecessary as the animals were quite unperturbed by human presence and could be approached quite closely.

We dropped down some steep rocky paths until the picturesque sight of Le Pont lay before us at the end of the lake.  

A brisk stroll along the promenade led us to our lunch stop, the Brasserie des Combières, who had been pre-warned of our delayed arrival.  Unfortunately, Nathan had to avail himself of the train at 13.00 back to his car as he had an appointment to maintain in Geneva, but the remaining ten were seated at a very (almost too) sunny inside table.  After what seemed like an age, thirsts were quenched by large jugs of beer and other beverages.  Conversations reached their usual heady intellectual heights and covered a wide range of subjects, with the mandatory nod to Scottish Independence.  Plats de jour, pizzas and hamburgers were dutifully devoured, coffee was consumed and then a decision had to be made about our return.  

A gap in the bus timetable at that time of the day restricted our choices to either continuing around the lake for 10 kms or so, taking two hours or more, or returning to the train station.  Our gastronomic appetites had been sated, but our physical appetites weren’t so strong as to persuade us to complete the Full Monty, so we trudged back through Le Pont and awaited the little red and white train back to Le Solliat.  Tickets were purchased and on the otherwise pleasant 15 minute trip, we were “entertained” by some extremely rowdy and chanting students and led someone to suggest that they were Millwall (sorry) fans!

A fifteen-minute stroll from the train stop brought us back to cars and we left for our various destinations.   We had hiked about 15 kms and climbed 200 metres.

The big question is, can Peter relax now and hand over the reins to Mark for snowshoeing in 2 week’s time?

Participants:  Peter T, Nicholas, Mark 2tts, Peter S, Nathan, Mervyn, David C, Andrew, Ralph, Mike H, Richard S.  

Thanks to Peters S and T and Ralph for contributing photos.

Due to the current heatwave, it was with some reservations that I suggested a hike on the Voirons, that dark-looking ridge across the lake from Vaud.  However, having followed the same hike some five years ago, I was reminded that much of the trail is in woodland so there would be a fair amount of shade.  Five of us in two cars rolled up at the designated time at the tiny hamlet of Le Penaz near the pleasant town of Boëge.  In the event, the skies were heavy with cloud and there was even some rain in the air.  

We set off at a good pace climbing up steeply through the forest, even grateful for the light rain that fell occasionally.  After an hour or so, we heard some gentle singing and came across a group of about thirty Girl Scouts who were camping in the woods.  It was a good opportunity to stop and drink some water and listen to this delightful choir.  

Further on, we skirted the grounds of the Monastery of the Sisters of Bethlehem which was built in the 1980s and housed around 100 nuns.  It had been my intention to take an extended walk along a ridge towards the Pointe de Brantaz, but the guidebook was quoting non-existent signposts so we proceeded to the Signal des Voirons, which at 1,480 meters is the highest point on the mountain. 

Apart from the Guides, we hadn’t met anyone else on the trail, but at the Signal there were many people and among them was a family from Versailles that we had seen at the monastery.  The father told us that he was visiting his sister who had been a nun for 20 years and this was the only time that she could have contact with the outside world.  She was obviously relishing being with her nieces picking bowls of wild fruit.

We had a little snifter of Armenian Brandy to fortify us and continued on our steep downward route until we reached the Notre Dame de Voirons, a five-hundred year-old chapel.  There was an invitation to ring the bell, but try as I might, I couldn’t raise a clang.  However, Mark must have been a campanologist in a previous life as his gentle touch produced a wonderful sound!  Nathan had visited the area last year and remembered a good viewpoint further on that we could use for lunch.  This proved to be ideal and we were able to perch on a large fallen log overlooking the whole Geneva basin and Jura beyond.  Mervyn produced a very acceptable Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon and Nathan passed around his home-grown tomatoes.  Dessert was available on the low-growing blackberry bushes all around us.

Suitably bolstered, we descended down through the forest on a very steep path that looked suspiciously like a dried up riverbed until we came to open country with great views of the Vallée Verte and the Alps.  At the top of a steep bank was a Copacou, a cupule or cup stone.  Apparently, this had been used for human sacrifices where the victim’s throat was cut and the blood flowed down the steep side of the rock.  This naturally provoked a realistic enactment, but happily Mark was granted a stay of execution at the last moment.

We passed the 12^th Century castle of Rocafort (not the cheese!) on our final stretch down to the cars.

The whole area is a nature reserve, but the promised roe deer, red deer, wild boar and lynxes were obviously on their summer break as there was little wildlife to be seen. The high temperatures had finally caught up with us and there was a general consensus that beers were warranted, so we repaired to Boëge for some welcome refreshment before heading home. Many thanks for the drinks, Peter!

Present: Mark 2rrs, Mervyn, Nathan, Peter Strebel and Richard S.

Distance: 11 kms

Denivellation: 664 meters

Written by Rob Pashley

The plan was to start walking at 10am from the Col, and ten adventure-minded members turned up on time for a quick coffee at the restaurant before moving off. Our favourite parrot was unfortunately missed as it was having a rest at the home of one of the restaurant servers.

Peter D, Mervyn P, Andrew N, David C, Mike M, Mark Warren, Richard S, Richard W and Robert P.  Richard W, Ralph W and myself set off on the dot in true Swiss style. As is usually the case with hikes or indeed snow-shoe outings led by our Scottish leader, as soon as we started the clouds disappeared and the sun shone for the rest of the day. It wasn’t long before most were disrobing to cope better with the rising temperature. 

We managed to stay together for about a third of the way to the Buvette two of the group decided to take the official route at the Cabane du Cunay while the rest of us tried a much longer shortcut.  

Consequently, those who knew better had to climb over a numbers of walls and cover some rough terrain and we ended up with three separate groups, with the leader leading diligently from the rear. It was a bit of a climb reaching the top of Mont Tendre at 1679 m and the three groups came together again for fabulous views into forested France and the Alps. Two of the team were sent on to the Buvette so ensure a suitable table was found and the beers were already in the fridge waiting while the rest of us admired some high-tech Swiss German mountain bikes resting at the summit.

The Buvette was very welcoming  and all heartily tucked in to mainly Rosti based meal with added cheese extra eggs and sausage, however the waitress was having quite a difficult time keeping up with the beer order. But we all managed.

After some traditional toasting with some Scottish liquid and some Danish stuff (that some suggested had some strange sexual connotations) and dire coffee, we paid the young lady of the Buvette and started off on the 8k or so hike back to the cars. The temperature had risen and it turned out to be a slightly more difficult and longer return route, although we all kept to the official paths. The quality of the chat, though, diminished as tiredness fell upon us, or maybe it was just the beer as the few that weren’t drinking beer seemed to talk more sense.

A couple of the team held us back at the re-visit to the summit of Mont Tendre having some polite conversation with two young ladies. They eventually caught up with the rest of us. 

One of the advantages of starting a hike at Marchairuz is that you can relax at the restaurant at the end of a hard day’s hike. We took some well-earned refreshment there while congratulating ourselves on our hiking prowess, amongst other things. After all, it was a 16.8 km, 734 m déniv hike.

Despite a gloomy weather forecast, 17 hardy hikers signed up for a double hike around the top of the Salève.  In the event, Drew had an unavoidable commitment at the last moment, so 16 of us made our way somewhat erratically to the rendezvous point by the Observatoire restaurant.  I failed miserably to communicate to the Divonne team that Drew would not be there, so precious time was lost in their departure.  Anyway, they set off in an assortment of vehicles trying to avoid the autoroute which was apparently blocked.  One of the said vehicles, or rather its driver, got somewhat confused by the ever-changing 5 year-old roadworks by the Ferney tunnel and had a pleasant magical, mystery tour of Grand Saconnex before proceeding to Bardonnex.  

The weather forecasters had, luckily, misread their instruments and we set off half an hour late in warm sunshine and blue skies with scattered clouds.  Two of us were so encouraged that we opted to bare our lower limbs for the first time in 6 months, leading certain comments about the whiteness of our skin!

The views of the Jura, Lac Léman and the Alps were clear and quite spectacular leading to much snapping of cameras (and smartphones).

We followed an anti-clockwise route around the famous Genevois landmark and soon made a short detour to a viewpoint above the Grande Gorge to marvel at how much concrete there was in the Pays de Gex and Southern Geneva.  The beauty of our beloved Jura mountains with a few vestiges of snow on the peaks compensated somewhat for the destruction of the countryside below, though.  

Happy guys
Our path took us through pleasant woodland until we reached the open alpages where numerous skylarks were singing.

  Heading towards La Croisette, we reached a stony outcrop which was the highest point of our hike.  In true GIN fashion, bottles were produced whilst we recovered from our exertions and even champagne glasses to celebrate Mark 2tts’ birthday from two weeks ago.  “Happy birthday” was duly sung and a crowd-funding campaign was suggested to enable a parapente ride for him, but he graciously declined!

Glasses clinked and stowed away, we continued on our route and we were now having great views of Mont Blanc and the rest of the Alps.  Old stamping grounds were identified and plans discussed for future sorties in that direction.  We reached the restaurant at the Observatoire right on time for our updated reservation and found an excellent long table for all 16 of us ready and waiting.  

Excellent local beers were consumed by most of us, whilst at the Northern end of the table, some red wine was espied.  The menu choices of burgers, roast lamb and diots were reviewed and subsequently consumed, followed by coffees.  

She says she’s more interested with what’s on the plate

As the circular trail we had taken before lunch was only about 6 kms, 12 of us set off this time in a clockwise direction on the same route, whilst 4 of our number decided to return home for various reasons.  The weather was still warm and Mark 2tts and I felt somewhat vindicated by our earlier decisions whilst others stripped off to single-layer tops.  Reaching the site of our earlier refreshment stop, we marvelled at the number of parapenters enjoying themselves nearby.  17 were counted in the air at one time, miraculously avoiding each other, but Mark was still not accepting our generous offer!

Peter was suggesting taking a precipitous path lower down on the way back, but as we had spent a considerable time in the restaurant, we decided to forego this pleasure until another occasion as time was moving on.

It wasn’t the toughest hike for the group, at about 12 kms and less than 300 metres dénivellation, but the company was, as usual, great and the views were superlative.  And by the way, we had two Marks, two Mikes, two Steves and two Richards – must be a record!

Present:  David C, Larry F, Marks 2rrs, Mark 2tts, Mervyn P, Mike H, Mike M, Peter T, Rob P, Ralph W, Richard S, Richard W, Rudi P, Stephen L, Stephen W (Ralph’s brother) and Thatcher S.