Category: Hiking

Six and a dog to St Cergue 14 April 2022

The day dawned bright and clear. Harry called in to apologise. Which left Richard W, Mervyn, Mark 2ts, Philip, Mike and PeterT. And Kobie.

Shorts 3, Breeches 1, Trousers 2.

We assembled at 10.30 at the Trelex woods parking and set off across to and up the Trelex River.

In short order we were up to the level of the Gorge, and the weather being gorgeous and with time to spare we elected to inspect it. Sadly although there was water in the upper river, the top source itself was dry.

Kobie was behaving, because he had mostly to be kept on a leash, and we made good progress as he pulled me up to a short coffee/water stop. The worst bit was to come, rising up steadily in hot sun, then across to the Parapente Seat for a further stop. There were fine views across to Mt Blanc just visible in the haze, and the Haut Cime (heck we did that!), as well as the Jet d’Eau. It was warm.

Mark getting out the Luins

It was at this point that Mark decided to lighten his load by inviting us all to taste the latest chasselas from Luins, which indeed slipped down nicely.

Unfortunately at this point one of the party began to feel a bit feint in the heat with the wine and was swiftly revived with water. We were nearly there so we continued carefully across the cliff top path to the train station at St Cergue where lunch was taken with some suitable red provided by Mervyn.

The afternoon thunderstorm was threatening and so we duly elected to cut the walk short and descend to the valley having had the best of the day and the scenery.

There followed the excellent red train descent down the Jura enjoyed by men and dog (half-price tickets for dogs).

The party split at Genolier with half continuing to Givrins, from which there is a short walk over the river (and another dog paddle) to the cars.

I reckon about 8 km and 573m for the Givrins party, 485m for the Genoliers. A fine first day out with a good way down for those with squeaky knees. Kobie enjoyed it – thanks to each of the party for being his friend.

Being late in the season there was a little concern on how the weather would hold up for a hike to 1561 meters with a 660m ascent, all was fine though. It was a beautiful and sunny day, on the cool side but excellent for hiking. This hike was in the Jura, a round trip from La Cure or was it La Coure or even La Coor, who knows but it was that place on the border with France just up from La Givrine.  Yes definitely La Cure. The planned route was to climb to Le Noirmont, down to Le Croue and onwards to L’Arziere and back to La Cure. All in all 14.4km and 660m of an ascent.

A motley crew of 8 (Peter D, Mark W, Michael H, Stephen, David C, Mervyn, Richard and Rob) met at the parking in La Cure only to find that it was time limited, so we quickly drove over into France to park nearby and proceeded to march back into Switzerland in the full gaze of the border guard …… nothing to declare.

Many had completed this hike before, often on snowshoes, although not in this direction so we all set off in good spirits and in the knowledge that all was well on a well-trodden path. The climb wasn’t too bad, although some heavy breathing was heard, but classic Jura terrain with some of which on the Noirmont ski piste. We did encounter our first snow of the season and had to occasionally duck from the ice pellets falling from the trees, but we braved on.

There was a quick stop near the top for an aperitif of grappa where the discussion was of interesting spreadsheets and alcoholism before we moved on to the top of the Noirmont for a picnic lunch where we had an excellent view of the valley and the lac des Rousses below, in France. No one on the golf course below though. There was some excellent Spanish wine with the usual digestive on offer to accompany the good cherry chocolate dessert shared by Michael.

As they say in all good sports commentary, it was however a game of two halves, with somewhat more excitement to come.

Descending towards Le Croue was tricky in that the ground was wet, deceivingly muddy, and frequently covered in slippery rocks and tree routes. Taking our time, we managed to find our way down most of it with a few minor slips all round. The viewpoints though were quite unique for the Jura as we descended into some nice pasture valleys.

Then came the unwanted excitement just short of the end of the descent where Rob slipped while holding on to a tree branch and fell not too far down the path, but with an arm still attached to the branch. As the teller of this blog so far, I can attest that it was painful, so much so that he was unable to continue hiking. So halfway through we were stuck. As a group, we decided to call in REGA air rescue mountain accident support (some of us, including Rob, were members). A truly excellent service where the helicopter support with medical assistance arrived just some 15 mins after being called in.

As the blogger, I can attest that as a result of the superior support from the GIN hikers, from REGA and the accident team in Nyon hospital, Rob and his dislocated shoulder is now on the mend. A real big thanks to the GIN hikers for all that they did to get me out of there safely.

Then there were seven hikers with eight rucksacks returning back to La Cure somewhat later than planned.

Our logistics were somewhat simpler, we needed to get six of us to Col du Marchairuz to start the walk and get us home from St Cergue. Busses only run to the Col on Saturday and Sunday.

We met in 2 different car parks at Givrins (somebody could not read the instructions) and drove in 2 cars up to Col du Marchairuz. At the end of the walk we all descended by the little red train from St Cergue to Givrins whereupon 2 kept on the train to Nyon (something about a bar serving good beers) and the rest was easy.

The valley was foggy and cold but once we got up to the Col we were above all the cloud with brilliant sunshine and wonderful fall colours.

Today’s hike was one section of Swiss National Trail #5 which runs for 16 sections and 320 km between Zurich and Geneva. As such it’s a good path and well marked essentially all the way.

We set off at a sprightly pace and soon reached Crêt de la Neuve where we stopped to top up our fluids and admire the view across to Mont Blanc.

About 1:30 we decided we were about half way so it must be lunch time. Peter supplied a good red wine and we all socially distanced ourselves (actually we each found convenient rocks for seats). Lunch was finished off with coffee and 2 types of whisk(e)y provided by Scot Rob and Irish Richard. There was naturally much discussion over the relative merits but all other than the Scotsman and Irishman thought they were both good.

Eventually we had to continue the hike and went past the ruins of Oujon with hardly a pause to admire them and on into St Cergue where we saw the 16:02 train just as we were crossing the tracks. There was mad scrambling with mobile phones as we all tried to buy our tickets and we were off down the mountain.

A great day out with excellent company and weather to match. Just under 17 km with 450 m ascent and 850 m descent.

Peters D&T, Richard W, Mike H, Rob P, Mark 2Ts.

There were two car loads of Gintlemen, one from France and one from Switzerland, signed up for this iconic hike up the Môle that was clearly described in Janet Norton’s book. When collecting his two “French” colleagues, the leader of the hike (Mark 2R) immediately asked them how to get to the start point and renamed his title as organiser.

In fact, getting to the start point was the biggest challenge for both parties as neither Chez Béroud, Bovère or even St Jean de Tholome were recognised by the car satnavs. 

Thanks to Phillip’s paper map, the French group arrived at the start point just before 10h00 and noted a new restaurant had been built and was open for coffee, which was most welcome since it was cold and cloudy (4°C) outside.

The Swiss group arrived a few minutes later having mistakenly inserted Bogève instead of Bogère in their satnav. Sadly this was below a different mountain (echoes of Rum Doodle) but happily only 23 minutes distant from Bogère. Nevertheless they had to resort to Google Maps on a phone after finding the same finding Bogère problem as the French party, but who were better prepared with a paper map.  

Shortly after croissants aux chocolate provided by le organiser had been devoured (merci Mark, Ed.), we (Richard, Phillip, Peter, Stephen, David, Mervyn and Mark) set off for the 720m ascent of the Môle. A fine day had been promised so the leader/organiser was relieved when the sun was seen to be penetrating through the cloud and it wasn’t long before we had a clear blue sky with views of the mountains showing above the clouds.

We made the sun-drenched top of the Môle (1863m) in good time for our traditional picnic lunch starting with a champagne toast to Mervyn on his 75^th birthday. The table/bar and bench combination was taken over for our relaxed break and fellow hikers were welcomed with the offer of a glass of wine. The views over the mountains were now a fantastic 360° of mostly clear summits, including the Mont Blanc range – and ever reducing cloud cover at the lower altitudes. 

Summit Bar Lunch

Mervyn read us a poem about That Try from a carton of Welsh whisky, which can be seen here 

and explained herewith :-

Penderyn « That Try » Bottling Note

Unveiled in 2015 as part of Penderyn’s Icons of Wales series, That Try honours the spectacular try scored by the Barbarians against the All-Blacks in January 1973 at Cardiff Arms Park. It’s a peated Welsh single malt whisky from Penderyn, with elegant notes of coastal breeze, orange peels and a hint of smoke. This comes presented in a black bottle featuring an illustration of Gareth Edwards (who famously ended the great passage of play with an incredible diving try) and a presentation box with black and white stripes to match the Barbarian F.C. kit.

Much refreshed and after grappa and That Try Welsh whisky (we perhaps wisely abstained from Paul’s ambulatory absinthe again) we wended our way down towards the Petit Môle, including a rocky and steep part that was the only slight difficulty of the hike.

The two youngsters took the optional trail to the Granges and back but were still amongst the first to reach the restaurant for beers on the sunny terrace.  

Signposting for the return home was no easier than the outward journey, but at least we knew where we wanted to go!

Thanks everyone for a most enjoyable day out. (Actually a stunning day out in fantastic weather, with a fine celebration of Mervyn’s birthday. Ed.)

After our somewhat wet outing two weeks ago, it was a relief to awake to clear skies and importantly, a favourable weather forecast for the day.  Assembly points had been arranged at Divonne and Val Thoiry and we all met up in the church car park in Farges on time at 09.30 (five out of nine of us in shorts).  Three early birds had managed to grab a quick coffee and pain au chocolat before we all headed off up the forest roads to our starting point at 1,254m.  We hadn’t got far before the lead car had to stop whilst Andrew removed a tree trunk and branches that had fallen across the road.  Our cars survived the potholes over the 12km and we set off in good spirits up a jeep track taking advantage of a couple of shortcuts.

Once we had cleared the forest at about 1,400m, we started enjoying the wonderful countryside and views along the Jura.  Shortly after passing the Chalet du Sac, we espied the Dent d’Oche peeping above the morning clouds across the Léman basin.  Our path was not too clearly defined and despite the dearth of signposts, we attained our first summit – the Crêt du Miroir. This merited a small celebration so a nip of grappa was offered to all. There were still a few clouds around and a cool wind and we were grateful that the sun’s warmth cancelled out the low temperatures.

Another unnamed summit beckoned which gave us a view over the not-so-beautiful town of Bellegarde and the more attractive rolling hills of the Jura westwards. We then headed for the Crêt du Milieu and we tried to resist the temptation for more celebratory drinks as we could see that our lunch spot was not too far away.  However, a bottle of vin blanc miraculously appeared and quite quickly, the contents disappeared! As is becoming our custom, any fellow travellers on a mountain-top are offered a glass of wine and three delightful ladies from Paris were duly supplied.  We were later thanked with a large piece of local Tomme cheese.

Our next stop, the Crêt de la Goutte, is the highest point of the Crêt d’Eau complex at 1,621m and the orientation table there made an excellent bar on which to place the various bottles that had been kindly provided.  As usual, the orientation table showed all the peaks through 360 degrees, as well as distances to various famous cities.

However, the only explanation offered as to why Brighton was the only town in the UK mentioned was that it was Mark 2rrs’ birthplace!  On such a clear day, we had wonderful views and according to Wikipedia, we could see:
la haute chaîne du Jura, le lac Léman, le lac du Bourget ainsi que le lac d’Annecy, et les massifs du Mont-Blanc, des Aravis, des aiguilles Rouges, de la Chartreuse, du Vercors,
des Écrins, des Alpes bernoises, et de Belledone.

Lunch and a number of excellent Italian reds were consumed and what – more excellent grappa!  Somehow, the Absinthe provided by Paul earlier was untouched and lives on for another day.  We then swarmed down the mountainside reaching the strangely-named “Pierre à Fromage” which just seemed to be a faded wooden signpost

After that, maybe because of a strange lassitude, the route instructions became somewhat vague and with no discernable paths, we decided to go cross-country in the general direction of the cars.  After reaching the ski installations that rise from Menthieres, we descended on a long ski slope that could be classified as red, or possibly black, finally reaching the Chalet du Sac where we rested a while in the warm sun with some of us in T-shirts.

We retraced our steps back to the parking spot taking the two shortcuts we had taken on the way up, although David and Mark 2rrs took an additional one which took them below the cars.  A few phone calls and whistles later they appeared just as Mervyn discovered thathe had lost his fleece with his car keys and credit cards.  After much discussion, it was thought that he had left it at the Chalet, so David kindly offered to ignore the no-entry sign on the rough jeep track and drive him back in his 4×4.  We were extremely relieved to receive a triumphant call to say that said garment had been found intact!

It was a splendid hike of some 12 ½ kms and 760m with magnificent views, visiting an area that few of us knew well.  There was much evidence of diggings by wild boar, but no fauna was spotted other than other hikers enjoying the area.  However, the famous Jura nudist, seen a couple of times previously by one member, failed to make his presence felt.  Many subjects were discussed as usual and a unanimous vote was taken on a certain independence issue.  We lamented the absence of some of our regular hiking camarades.

Attendees: Peter, Mervyn, Marks 2rrs and 2tts, David, Stephen, Thatcher, Andrew and Richard
(leader)

Next Hike – 14 October 2021 – Le Salève (weather permitting) -leader Mark 2tts.

16 Sept 21

This hike was advertised to run come rain or shine. And in the main that was what happened, with perhaps much more rain than shine. Attending were 8 :- Richard S, Mervyn, Andrew (Neivens, welcome to the group Andrew), Rob, David, Mark 2rrs, Stephen, PeterT (leader).

We assembled à l’heure at 10 am at the parking at the station at L’Isle, a place worth visiting for its magnificent chateau. First then some culture:-

“Also known as the “Petit Versaille de l’Isle”, this magnificent château was built in 1696 by Charles de Chandieu, a Lieutenant General in the Swiss Guard. It was the first regional monument of classical architecture.

Built in 1696 by Charles de Chandieu, the Château de l’Isle is a monument steeped in history. Originating from around 1700 during the classical era in France, this building greatly resembles that of the architectural movement of the time, where the Château de Versailles was built.

The, “La Vénoge” river has enabled the Château to benefit from a beautiful French garden, as well as a river basin bordered by two tree-lined paths. At first the Chandieu family lived in the old residence until the end of the 18th century. François Louis Roulet of Neuchâtel was the first to live there in the 19th century, and then it was handed down through marriage to the Cornaz Family of Montet Cudrefin.

In 1876, the commune of l’Isle bought and restored the château. Today it houses the municipal department of housing and classrooms. Since 1941, the château has been a listed building.”

The weather forecast seemed not too bad but as we skirted the lawns of the fine Château we donned anoraks, only to remove them soon after. A gradual line of 7.5 km and 750m deniv or so, making it roughly a 10% slope which would lead us in a WNW direction just south of Combe à Berger past Grand Chardève to the Chalet de Châtel at 1400m for lunch. (Yellow path).

Passing the water Source for L’Isle (members I think were more intent on beer sources), we skirted pasture land and moved on up into the forest.

All to soon the rains came and all but Stephen re-donned anoraks. Had he painted himself with some form of water repellant ? In any event he got to 1400m in persistent rain in a green T shirt.

This was the first rain after a long dry spell, and the autumnal leaves were beginning to appear underfoot.

We made steady progress up the 10% trail eventually turning left in a southerly direction on the final slopes to the chalet. Andrew was finding his sugar levels on the low side at this point and Richard provided some essential glucose. We arrived on time at 12.30 at the Chalet, dripping wet but inside it was warmer and our table was set out in a pleasant and newly furbished room with sound baffles in the ceiling. We each showed our COVID certificates and then were allowed to move about maskless.

Cold beers soon arrived. From Appenzell.

A clear 50/50 split between those having Fondue and those having Röstiflette was established and we proceeded to enjoy a very fine lunch indeed, white Tartegnin wine supplementing the beers.

Our discourse followed the usual threads. Scottish independence, the possible definition of “woke”, problems of nasal hair, anti-vaxxers, what pivoting means, roasting absent friends, dogs, enjoying a meal with wet underwear, Boris, future hikes, etc, all the while checking that it was still raining outside. A fine camaraderie persisted among the damp diners.

The Chalet was short on their dessert of the day, tarte aux framboise, but there were 4 left so we partaged and very tasty it was indeed. Time for some furtive absinthe and Scottish fluid with our coffee before we flowed out into some unexpected but reviving sunshine.

We traversed the ridge to the N towards Mollendruz then pivoted back down towards L’Isle. It kept dry despite ominous grumblings of thunder to the south.

We arrived back at the cars reasonably quickly, the time seemed to pass quickly anyway, perhaps it was the digestifs…

Thanks to all attending. Sorry we missed Mark, Thatcher, Philip, Richard W, Peter D and others who missed a fine meal with a gentle hike, oh, and er, rain.

Mike Hempstead organised his fine debut-leader hike from the Col de Marchairuz followed by an excellent lunch at the restaurant terrace there.

The weather was not looking great – lowish cloud over the Jura, but it was dry and had the benefit of providing a very pleasant temperature.

Mike seemed to think we were ten, but in the event 11 of us turned up, one with a large dog/small golden bear. Despite following others, Mark W2tts took a holiday route to the start via Rolle after missing the Gland exit. He and Mark W2rrs were chatting intensely together.

Our leader arrived with his sports limo, but without his boots. In the event he cruised the route in his hush puppies. Rob had a close shave with the bear who tried to head butt his nose.

Attending : Mike H (Leader), Drew, David, Richard, Stephen, Rob, Thatcher, Philip, Peter (with Kobie) and Marks 2t and 2r. Apologies – Mervyn, Keith and others.

We set off on Mike’s planned 13km hike with 250m deniv – which in the event was more like 11.6km and 350m deniv – an anticlockwise loop to La Neuve and back. The going underfoot was mostly dry and pleasant, and with a fairly easy downhill start there was much crack. Kobie patrolled up and down the file of Gintleman hikers to keep us in order. The crux of the outward leg involved passing through two herds of cows intent on getting a close acquaintance to our small brown bear. Happily teamwork, fine dog-handling and some stick shaking prevailed and we hurried unmolested through the stampeding heifers.

We turned to return just before La Neuve, at which point Kobie decided to hoof off into the distance following a scent trail. That gave Mike the cue to provide some Swiss apéro wine to the patiently waiting team, while Peter went off to find his hound.

All reassembled, we headed back to the restaurant at the Col without incident arriving on time at 13.00 with a large table on the terrace for us all to fit around. Fine beer arrived. The usual banter included some reference to Scottish independence with the usual arguments. Indeed it was a most pleasant lunch with the majority going for Steak Tartare, even the sun appeared a little. Kobie managed to slip his leash and ran inside the restaurant to meet all the indoor diners, some of whom seemed to like him..

A fine day, nothing too hard but very convivial. A fine debut Mike.

Next hike – Stephen will organise a 700m ascent at Morgins if the weather allows on Thursday 2 Sept. With a mountain restaurant terrace lunch if so.

‘Twas with some trepidation that we set out to tackle the Mont d’Hermone on 5th August.  Partly, because we had to traverse Geneva with its early morning traffic and roadworks and partly, because the weather forecast was following this summer’s unpredictable pattern.  Well, the former was not a problem at all and everyone arrived in good time at the small unpronounceably-named village of Reyvroz in the depths of Haute Savoie.  The latter did become a bit of an issue but more later on that.  Seven stalwarts were in attendance and we had the pleasure of welcoming Keith Wynn to the group.

The route that we would follow was included in Janette Norton’s book “Walking in the Haute Savoie (North)” and apparently was her favourite walk and the last that she did before she sadly died in 2013.  It promised extensive views over Lake Geneva, the Jura and the Alps, so hopes were high, but somewhat apprehensive!

Using perfect Swiss timing, we left the village as the church bell struck ten and sauntered off in good spirits.  We had hardly warmed up our muscles when we turned onto a steep, stony jeep track which ascended unrelentingly until we reached the ridge which forms part of the GR Balcon de Léman.  Although it was dry when we started and we were afforded beautiful views across the valley, the rain started after half an hour and rain gear was quickly donned.  The promised views from the ridge were completely obscured by the rain clouds so we could only use our imagination!  The rain was quite intense and two of us were not too shy to use our umbrellas!

We reached the chapel of Notre Dame d’Hermone in good time and considered our options for having lunch in the rain.  There was a small ante-room to the chapel, the main part being barred by an iron gate, but as this was only a few metres square, it was certainly not conducive to eight burly hikers eating a picnic!  Maybe it was the aura of the place, but the rains miraculously abated and we could stand outside around an (some said – sacrificial) altar and enjoy our well-earned lunches.  These were washed down by Italian and Californian reds graciously supplied by Steve and Mervyn respectively and then, of course, Rob’s special whisky of the day.

We left the chapel, and three ladies who were the only other humans we saw on the whole hike, and commenced our descent.  The rains started again and we cautiously picked our way down the rocky track.  Perhaps it was the euphoria of feasting on wild raspberries, or maybe the yearning to walk on different surfaces than jeep tracks, but we made the decision to take a smaller side path from the prescribed route.  Things then became a little tricky as there was a dearth of signposts and conflicting views on the direction we should head.  Anyway, using maps, various apps such as Google Maps and Maps.Me and blind instinct, we navigated unfrequented and sometimes, barely discernible paths to reach our destination.  Our route was not without our having to occasionally retrace our steps on some tracks which petered out and there were also a few slips on muddy slopes.  The hike organiser accepted unconditionally the full responsibility for all the confusion!

Our first thoughts upon reaching Reyvroz were where we could quench our thirsts.  The advance party questioned a local who confirmed that there were no such premises before Thonon, but he was kind enough to offer us a beer chez lui.  When we told him that there were eight of us, he recoiled somewhat, although a neighbour called out that he wouldn’t mind one!

So we set off in convoy seeking some refreshment, but it was not until we saw a sign to the Port of Sciez some 20 kms away that our hopes soared.  After negotiating the most tricky entrance to a car park we had ever seen, we were soon sitting around a table by the marina enjoying a well-earned “pression”.

Well, we got some good exercise, fresh air, fine drinks, good company, but unfortunately, not the extensive views that we  could have enjoyed.  Another time, maybe?!

Attendees: Bill, Rob, Steve, Mark, Mervyn, Keith, and Richards W and S.  Regrets from the usual suspects, who were much missed.

PS. Distance was about 13km and dénivelé 750m

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