Category: Hiking

12 good men and true assembled at the Col du Marchairuz for our GIN hike. 2 hounds also assembled who were good in parts but not in the least true!. We had some extremely welcome participants who had not been available recently in the form of Rudy P,  Rob Pashley (again with non matching boots), Thatcher and Peter Drew. Stalwarts include Peter Taylor, Nathan F, Ross Linsley, Mervyn P, Peter Strebel, David Colledge, and Richard Saynor and myself. The canine section was as usual Kobie and Rocco. The weather was somewhat overcast and on the cool side but Peter T’s forecast ice age failed to materialise. No rain fell. 

The assembled company set off more or less on time, descending behind the hotel towards the Valley de Joux before heading off to the southwest.

There were a number of ‘competing’ groups on the trail who were quickly overtaken and we soon reached the turning point where we crossed the ridgeline on to the lake side of the Jura.

We then had a gently declining stroll back towards the Col, appropriate for the gently declining GIN members, before beginning the ascent back up to the hotel. The last part of the walk was a fairly steep ascent which split the group for a while before we reunited at the Hotel for lunch. Three had to depart early but 9 of us assembled for lunch in the very convivial Hotel du Marchairuz.

Beers were had before the Wine Committee (Peter Drew and Thatcher) chose a highly quaffable red. The croute au fromage soufflé came highly recommended and the entrecôte was also approved of, not least by Kobie. Pig’s ears were found most acceptable by both Rocco and Kobie.

We tried to avoid talking about Donald Trump and mostly succeeded. Lunch can fairly be described as convivial.

Distance walked was approx 11 kilometres and vertical height gained was 350 metres.

Rob and I did discuss a plan for later in the summer which involve starting at St Cergue and walking to the Hotel du Marchairuz and staying overnight before walking down to the Vallee de Joux and taking a train back via Vallorbe. Early stages but we are thinking of perhaps July. We will do our research and come back with a firmed up proposal.  

Nathan organised this excellent hike warning us however, in view of the uncertain weather forecast, to “be prepared”. He recommended us to refer to Philip’s description of the terrain, from his 30 March 2023 blog. See below in blue. (Philip also reported in 2023 that his search of the “dusty GIN blog archives” revealed that a similar hike was organised in June 2018 by David Colledge. There were three participants then, an indication of the significant increase over the last 5 years in GIN hiking interest.) I note that David wrote – Lunch in La Cave de la Ferme in nearby Frangy – highly recommended with 4 course lunch at €16.50.

Further research into the dusty GB archives showed that David organised another hike up the far end of the Vuache in May 2019 from Chevrier with 4 attending. David wrote “altogether about 3.30hrs followed by a very reasonable lunch at Restaurant du Vuache.”

Philip : “The Vuache is a long lean mountain. Not at all a Fujiyama. Not even a Môle. But I see it every morning from my kitchen balcony. And it tells me what the day’s weather will bring. Geologically it’s part of the Jura range. Good Jurassic limestone, no doubt riddled, like the Salève, with water-filled cavities. And maybe bottomless potholes that nobody has explored. But physically it’s an isolated mountain, cut off eons ago by the melt waters from the immense Rhone Glacier that filled the whole Lemanic basin. And it holds secrets known only to those who explore it in early Springtime.”

On that hike in March 2023 hike we were 11 : two Marks, PeterT, Nathan, Rudi, Richard, Mike M, Ralph, Drew, Mervyn and Philip and hounds Kobie and Nessie. On this hike we missed Mark 2ts, Rudi, Richard, Mike M (and Nessie) and Mervyn. We added on this occasion Mike H (and Rocco), Stephen and Ross and were thus 9.

(I was told that several absent members have poor knees – at least they gave that as an excuse to Nathan. I can only recommend daily taking Pernaton tablets – they have saved my knees. )

https://www.pernaton.ch/en/produkte/produktubersicht

Unhappily the timing this year was different, it not being early Springtime. So we missed the wonderful display of daffodils (that we had seen two weeks ago on Mark’s Dôle hike). And unhappily too the warm sunshine we had enjoyed two weeks ago was missing and we experienced instead a cold dry and windy day almost exactly as per 30 March 2023.

It did not start that way as there was some weak sunshime as we ascended the ridge from Chaumont attempting to catch up with Philip who had started 15 minutes earlier.

We caught Philip up after about 300m of ascent. He was gayly and gently elevating himself up the ridge, stopping to take close-up photos of the plants he loves (not daffodils though).

Philip writes : –

Thursday’s ascent was the first time that I had seen wild orchids actually in flower on the Vuache. Having given myself a 15 minute head start on the peloton, I had time to photograph them (and have a breather!). The GIN plant enthusiasts, of which I’m sure there are many, will no doubt welcome this botanic addition.

I have given the relevant plant names to the photo files. I’ve also added one non-orchid, Sainfoin, the reason being that it’s a real beauty, whose identity had me initially confused until PlantNet put me right.

At one point Ralph kindly offered us all a cup of his hot strong black (and good value) coffee. Excellent! I almost did not miss Mervyn and his milk.

At a large green field two chamois (or deer according to Mark) broke cover and Kobie went off to investigate but soon came back. It was not long however before he found a leg bone of a deer (or chamois) left by hunters and he and Rocco spent some time arguing over who should eat it. Both won.

We wandered on up along the woodland path which traces the spine of the hill, in places steep and rocky. I spotted only 3 daffodils still in flower, but there were many other flowers (Philip will tell us).

On the way up we had noticed a picnic table at the top of the green field and members retraced steps back to it, keen to tuck into some warming sustenance and whatever wines were on offer. In this case a Nero d’Avola and a Rasteau. Drew of course had his flask, but we missed Richard and his abominable bottle.

Philip wrote 2 years ago :- There was no handy auberge nearby, so we ate our picnics (in a particularly windy spot) with extensive views over the Rhone Valley and in the distance the Plateau de Retord. This time we had the same wind and views, but the advantage of a (slanting) table that sat 8 of us, albeit we were 9.

All too soon it was over. No time or inclination to discuss Scottish independence. This was a time of Trump Tariff madness.

On the return, we initially retraced our steps but then Nathan again deviated down the steep western slope of the Vuache, fortunately relatively dry and unslippery. This took us through the hamlet of Chaumontet and back to the village of Chaumont. (most of this para was copied from Philip’s 2023 blog).

We passed some very young climbers about to start out on the training rock slabs.

Another enjoyable hike on the Vuache, despite somewhat inclement weather and gone daffs. About 10km and 546m denivellation. Thanks Nathan.

Attendees – MikeH and Rocco, Mark2rs, Drew, Stephen, Ralph, Philip, Ross, PeterT and Kobie, Nathan (Leader).

(I’ll post other pics if folk send me any – or do it yourself if you can. PT)

Each year for the last 4 years we have had a hike early in the season to Sonnailley to see the fields of daffodils. A couple of times we arrived just after they’d finished and this time we arrived slightly too early. Still there were some daffodils on display and it was a very enjoyable first hike of the season.

Daffodil Hike 11 April 2024

Five of us: David C, Mervyn, Nathan and 2 Marks met at the parking in Divonne and drove up together to meet Peter, Steven, Ross, 2 Mikes: Hempstead and Mathews, and 2 dogs: Kobie and Rocko, at La Givrine.

It was a clear day with no prospect of rain but a strong, cold wind so we were all well wrapped up. After the usual fuss with the parking we were off. We walked up to Couvaloup de Crans, sadly closed midweek, and on to the top of the Dôle. Here we stopped, slightly sheltered from the strong wind, for refreshments. It being close to the birthday of one of the members a glass of crémant d’Alsace seemed appropriate.

On the way up we had seen about 6 daffodils so the prospect of seeing a field full of them seemed remote. On the other hand there were masses of crocuses.

The view from the Dôle was magnificent, we could see the whole lake and Mt Blanc in the distance. Sadly this is never properly captured in a photo.

Duly fortified we ventured out into the wind and began the descent to Sonnailley.

We’d got through the difficult bit of the descent and almost reached the plain when we realised we were semi dogless – Kobie was not with us. After much blowing on whistles there was still no sign so Peter went off on a hound hunt. The rest of us were on a gentle grass covered slope, in the sun and out of the wind, and it was already 1 o’clock so we decided to have lunch while waiting for the absent dog and master. This had been promoted as a daffodil hike and there was one solitary bunch in view with 5 flowers, somebody counted.

Peter and Kobie soon returned and we were treated to a selection of red wines courtesy of Peter, Stephen and Mervyn, followed by the inevitable black coffee from Mark. Some trouser legs were removed to reveal very white legs and all seemed well with the world as several layed out in the sunshine and maybe even had a sleep. Unfortunately our mean leader could not get comfortable so we all had to set off again towards Sonnailley.

We walked alongside the French border were the, bordering on illegal, entente cordiale hike had met up in Covid days, https://ginclub.website/home2/gentsinnyon/2020/05/31/hiking-section-ententes-cordially/, and finally saw some daffodils.

We then started the return via Sonnailley au Prince and a lovely path through the forest to arrive back at Couvaloup de Crans, sadly still closed, and on to la Givrine.

All agreed it was a great walk to start the season. 14 km and about 690 m.

Six participants (Peter T, Mike H, Nathan, Richard, Ross, and Peter S) with 2 dogs (Kobie and Rocco) met at the Col du Mollendruz for the last snowshoe of the 2024-2025 season. Cloudy skies, the cool temperature (3°C) and a brisk bise wind called for extra jackets, beanies and gloves. There was no sign of any snow and definitely no snowshoes or crampons required.

The trail started on the left side of the Nordic sport cabin and headed down the gravel road to the Grand Chardeve (1097m) where it met the path up from L’Isle. After a gentle climb up through the forest we reached the fallen tree for a photo reminder of a previous hike done in Aug 2024.

A little further along the contour, a quaint chalet (Chalet des Italiens) with 2 benches prompted a water break. While Peter T and Ross settled in on the benches, Mike tucked into his sandwich thinking it was picnic time.

After a short inspection of the inside of the chalet, the group continued up to the junction with the path from Montricher and then onwards to explore the archaeological site of the Chatel d’Arruffens. The panel describes its origins as a fortified refuge which was used between 1500 BC up to 150 AD by ancient Celts during “troubled times” on the plains below. Little remains of the fortifications except a small cluster of “sacred rocks” which resulted in another photo opportunity.

After some indecision, a sheltered mound was chosen for the picnic. Before tucking into his ham and cheese wrap from the Volg, Peter T demonstrated use of the new suction device (LifeVac) he had acquired in case of a choking attack. This was quickly followed by the opening of a fine bottle of Cote du Rhone which served to, as it were, wash it all down.

After leaving the picnic mound, the path led up through fields of early white and purple crocuses waiting for the sun to burst into bloom.

With the bise picking up, there was a brief stop at the cross marking the summit of Chatel 1404m) before descending down into the valley below the Buvette d’Chatel (closed in winter).

A short uphill led to the Jura Club of Cossonay where the sheltered porch allowed savouring the Corsican cedar brew from Richard’s renowned bottle.

The final stretch tracked down the road to emerge from the forest above the Chalet du Mollendruz (recently closed at the end of the winter season). The group returned to the Mollendruz parking to complete a 4.5 hour tour of 11 km, and ~500m dénivelé.

End of Season hike to La Genolière for a fondu etc in a snow storm.

The weather forecast was dreadful. But was it going to be dreadful enough to hike in ? In other words, cold enough to be a blizzard. It looked to be promising, at least before 3pm when a warming trend was expected to be coming in, so I planned a short hike in a snow storm.

And 11 signed up to join me and Kobie. Mervyn and his mate Steven (soon to join GinClub ?), Nathan, Rob, RichardS, PeterD, PeterS, Drew, Ralph, Philip, Paul.

In order to avoid worrying about sliding down the hill on thick snow in cars after the hike, a train ride up and down from Sus Châtel to La Givrine was proposed, with a hike to La Genolière Buvette avoiding the main trail. Mervyn decided to test his car.

Rob was to join at the Joy Clinic, thus the remaining 9 and a dog boarded the 10.37 train at Sus C welcoming Rob aboard at the next stop. The blizzard was scheduled to arrive at 11.07 just as we de-trained at La Givrine. It did.

As we rose up, tracking the edge of the forest, the intensity of the snowfall and wind increased, at least behind us..

We passed through a gap in the wall and traversed a field up to the ski trail ascending the forest.

As time was passing I avoided a slightly longer planned “holiday” route alternative in order to reach the Buvette by noon or shortly after.

We were soon welcomed inside, the log fire warming the dining room, Moos the hut dog, an old friend, welcoming Kobie. There were no other diners, unsurprisingly. Once inside I sensed that the spirit of the party had suddenly risen somewhat, and we were soon ensconced on two candle-lit tables.

Fine beers were swiftly deployed as was warm bread with mountain cured meat. It was not long before the hot cheese arrived and our table opted for pinot noir as accompaniment. Moos and Kobie feasted on an extensive chew selection.

The food was good as was the craic, and the beers and wines. Discussions covered many subjects (including recent lynx sitings) and genres, including a toast (on Table B) to absent friends. They were missing a treat.

In due course the dessert course arrived, succulent apple tart, not dry like the usual mountain fayre! The Bohemian Kirsch in Richard’s epic bottle, at 90° proof, went down well and was to inure us to the tribulations ahead.

With an eye to the time, we needed to leave in order to catch the 14.48 train at La Givrine. Any later and the warming weather would be drenching us. We settled the two bills in cash and made our way out into the swirling snow, now noticeably sleety. Unhappily the way down would be straight into the wind and flying ice.

The hot food and libations meant that the sleet was hardly an issue and we made it down in good time for a farewell to Steven and Mervyn at the station, the train arriving on time, as we knew it would.

All went well and on the way down I made a speech bowing out of the hiking lead for 2024 and handing over the reins to our new Snow-Shoe Leader Rob, who had been handed the gavel (or ice pick in his back) by Mark2rs (who is taking on the Walking Lead).

The winter season starts in 2 weeks.

It was a good end – except that we forgot to press the Stop request button before Sus Châtel and had to travel on to the next stop – Genolier. Given that I had just resigned I did not feel responsible. Oh well – more denivellation to record.

In the end I made it 253m and 6.7km. This was perhaps a lunch with a walk, but under the conditions just what was needed to round off the Hiking Year. Oh, and I left my scarf there so Kobie and I will be back for more pie this weekend.

I shall post my record of hikes soon. And organise a lunch with spouses in January. Thanks to all for the fun, and especially to those who led hikes. And thanks for befriending my hound (those of you who did -like all of you).

Eight hikers and one dog gathered in the mist at the St Cergue Tancouex parking to catch the 9:58 am train to La Cure: Mervyn, Richard S, Nicolas with Onyx, Nathan, Stephen L, Ivan, David C and Peter S (leader). Around Col de Givrine the little red train broke through ‘band de stratus’ into bright sunshine and the group disembarked at La Cure (1,153m) in a bouyant mood.

The trail passed Restaurant Chez Mamac up to Chalet Les Coppetes (1,321m) for a short break before continuing up the valley passed L’Arziere (1,445m) and a righthand turn towards Cabane du Carroz (1,508m). On approaching the cabane, Kobie came bounding down the path with a smiling Peter T not far behind to complete the surprise!

Happiness filled the air as the group broke out sandwiches and snacks with wines from Spain and South Africa topped off with additional spirits from Richard’s bottle and Mervyn’s hip flask.

There was some discussion about the return of President Trump – not predicted by a majority at our monsoon lunch two weeks earlier.

Reassured that we now had a leader who knew where he was going, we began the descent through the woods to reach the road from La Givrine to Vermeilley. After a short stretch on the road, Peter T turned right onto his secret path that tracked through scattered forest, stone walls and leafy glades to reach a style just short of Cabane Rochefort.

Emerging from the forest passed the A-frame house we were greeted with a broad view of the Leman basin covered in mist with the Alps faintly visible in the distance.

At the junction to Chalet Derrière, we parted ways with Peter T and Kobie as they turned right towards La Givrine and we continued on to Chalet Devant/Fruitières des Nyon (1,333m).

After hearing we had come from La Cure, an elderly French couple offered up the bench in front of the wall which was a clear sign that we needed another break. The impressive views were complemented with coffee (absent milk or sugar) and chocolate McVitie’s.

After a short stretch on the path down towards La Borsatte, we were back in the mist which persisted all the way back to the Parking lot at Tancouex to complete a hike of 15 km with denivelation of 493 m. Peter T with Kobie clocked 12 km and 425 m denivelation on their tour from La Givrine to Cabane du Carroz and back.

Twelve signed up for this hike, with 4 apologists. Attending in no specific order:-

Mark2rs, Mark2ts, PeterS, RichardS, Nathan, Rudi, Stephen, Ralph, Philip, MikeH, Nicholas, me (PeterT), with dogs, Onyx, Rocco and Kobie. A fine turn out for what I had promised as a moderate hike (not much over 400m ascent) in the hills above Bassins.

In the event it was 12.25km and 444m denivellation (my watch said 416m).

We met at what3words ///revolting.though.aquatics at 971m and I wondered if this would put a curse upon us; would it rain (again) on our parade?

We all met up on time at the revolting car park above Bassins. It was good to see Stephen back with us, as well as Rudi and RichardS (albeit he had just led the Lac de Joux hike).

We headed off on time and set course across an open and level field, the wire fencing having been removed after cows had been descended. Clearly Onyx was going to run and run, while the other two hounds were slightly more sedate.

We ascended the grassy track and then the leaf strewn trail up to La Dunanche overlook, by the Toblerone line. The view from here is normally magical. Today we were in the cloud.

We continued on up and towards the outlook at Le Planet. Amazingly the skies cleared and we came out above the cloud, albeit not exactly into the sun. The wooded path takes a steady rise at the edge of the scarp up to the outlook.

Several questions were raised about whether this was the lunch stop. But it was still before noon so we had to continue onwards and upwards.

We soon reached the open fields above Le Planet and passed some cows and a stile following which we headed towards a forest road.

Mike was supportive – “yes it’s a good idea to keep going a little so that we can lunch when the sun comes out fully”.

It was not long before we were enveloped in cloud again and after a short section on a road we headed gayly off left into the forest. This was an error of map reading by the leader (who actually had a paper map – but it was fairly large scale). This trail gradually petered out as PeterS and I went ahead into the uncertain undergrowth. Happily PeterS had a phone map with satellite GPS locationing and we managed to navigate out of the thick forest onto a logging trail. Unhappily this trail was covered in a thick layer of broken and unrolled rock. A kilometre of this awful surface followed.

Happily we exited onto a smooth straight trail heading towards where I knew there would be a bench/table/bench by a hut for us to have lunch. It was at this point that it began to spot with rain. It was 1.15pm or so.

We were at the Cabane de Peney at 1275m. 6 aside on the big table. Some Valpolicella and Swiss wines were offered. Two of our team were on the wagon! Others were abstaining as per their religion (etc). But it became clear that this was to be no dry lunch, as the rain became steadier.

We were so enjoying the lunch and associated banter that we forgot to cover the subject of Scottish independence, but we did have a poll on who was going to win the US election: Harris came out on top beating Trump 6 to 4 with 2 abstensions.

Gradually the rain grew heavier and our drinks were becoming diluted. Certainly I can recall no previous lunch where we had sat out in such conditions. Happily it was not so cold. But not too warm either.

It was time to move on and escape back down to the cars.

The escape route was easy enough – via the campsite (Mervyn knows), and down the road back to the cars. Fortunately the rain begain to ease and the journey back down was not unpleasant.

A memorable hike, perhaps for a wrong reason, but good fun despite revolting aquatics – it’s just so good to be out in the fresh air enjoying nature with chums and hounds.

 A Stroll up the Môle – 10Km and 725m

With apocalyptic weather events currently affecting much of the planet it might seem churlish to be concerned about our local météo.  But there were some apprehensions expressed about the conditions we could expect on our planned ascent of the mighty Môle.  However, with Ralph’s confident prediction of a temperature of 23°(where?), Mark 2Ts, Mervyn, Nathan & Ralph confidently set off from Divonne at 9am in Mark’s new e-car to rendezvous with Ross and Peter T, plus faithful four-legged friend, at the start of the hike.

After a few minor detours, but at the last minute wisely excluding the option of going via Bourg en Bresse and Lyon, we duly arrived to be met by a slimmed-down, shaven Kobie bounding down the track to lick us all. The two-hour ascent from the parking at Chez Béroud 1160m via Plan Meulet to the summit at 1863m was completed in under the signposted 2 hours.

It began in sunshine while we traversed the forest but by the time we emerged above the tree line the clouds were gathering and the mountain tops were frustratingly obscured.

The path became steep and the heavy recent rain had made it muddy and slippery. It was reassuring to know that there was an alternative route down. 

At the top, wearing our warm outer-layers and gloves (it couldn’t have been much above freezing) we duly celebrated with champagne, chilled gamaret and warming Knockando.  

Absent friends amongst you readers were toasted. The promised full 360° panorama was not to reveal itself on this occasion, much to the chagrin of the two Môle virgins amongst us, but we did get fleeting glimpses of the some of the peaks and the lake. Another time?

The threatening shower accelerated our picnic and we quickly descended to Le Petit Môle, where it was sunny, tantalizingly revealing the peak we had just left. No-one was keen to reclimb 330m!

The easy route back down became a stony track and we were reacquainted with the cars within an hour, all the while enjoying good views of the Arve valley well below. 

I for one enjoyed the day immensely.

(PeterT Notes:- A great day out, pity the weather was not great, but it could have been worse. A really tough last few hundred metres, my heart rate went higher and for longer than any on other hike in the last 4 years…)