{"id":4141,"date":"2023-06-10T14:31:57","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T13:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/?p=4141"},"modified":"2023-06-10T14:34:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-10T13:34:20","slug":"__trashed-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/2023\/06\/10\/__trashed-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Hike Creux du Van 8 June 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author and Leader : Mark Warren<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impeccable logistical cooperation enabled today\u2019s nine hikers (Peter Taylor, Mervyn Powell, Larry French, David Colledge, Richard Saynor, Bill Westermeier, Peter Strebel (new member – welcome Peter!), Ralph Wares and Mark Warren) to leave the rendezvous point at the Gare de Noiraigue on time. The day was sunny, sun hats made their appearance and the forecast (not the one I read – Ed. PT) was good to the extent that some of our party didn\u2019t see the necessity to bring any wet weather gear.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hardly a cloud in the sky – first sight of the CdV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The trail up to the Creux de Van is straight forward and not particularly difficult, but it does go up some 750 metres which is a challenge in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All shorts the start line – David, Richard,Bill, Ralph,Mervyn,Mark (Leader), Larry, Peter Strebel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After leaving the village, there is a steady incline for longer than one thinks, even for those who know this trail well, before a left turn at the start of the famous \u201csentier des 14 contours\u201d. This path meanders up the slope in serpentines with frequent great views of the rock basin; trees at each turn are numbered and after number 14, we found ourselves at the top with its magnificent view over the cliffs of the Creux de Van, including a recent rockfall, and a welcome glass of champagne in celebration of Richard\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The heart of the Creux, or the Crux of the matter, as we supped champagne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We then started to hear thunder in the distance and feel the odd drop of rain. The prudent hikers with rain gear put it on while the others accelerated for the 45 minutes\u2019 walk to the restaurant, La Grand Vy \u2013 yes, La Grand Vy and not La Grande Vy! No one could explain that grammatical oddity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Richard and PerterS – with rain gear<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rain in the Creux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mervyn showing David something<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Creux vieux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Those suitably protected hikers took time to saunter round the ridge, looking at the views, watching a passing ibex and noticing others hikers sheltering under trees, some with picnics. Some told us in a despairing tone that the restaurants were full, so it was just as well that we had a reservation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reading the menus by phone in the half light<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Red Table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Really excellent fromage en croute with egg, after a very good salad <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The restaurant was cosy and had good local mountain fare which was washed down with the odd beer or glass of wine. Several took the pudding option of an ice cream flavoured with the local eau de vie \u2013 absinthe. Richard\u2019s famous bottle contained an excellent Armenian cognac. We toasted absent friends, especially the GINjured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bill and PeterS on the White table as the rain fell outside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The unjust Red table ordered Absinthe desserts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View from the envious White Table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hiding from Richard’s Armenian Cognac behind a local <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A poster of questionable taste <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Saying goodbye to La Grand Vy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rain was falling quite heavily after lunch, but there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. Which was exactly the problem for some of our party who had over relied on the weather forecast (or read the wrong one) as some three or four did not have rain gear. Our experienced hiking group organiser came to the rescue for two as he had three sets of rain gear with him. As a result, he himself wore a bright green poncho, which earned him the nickname of the Jolly Green Giant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ralph with the JGG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even though the trail back to the Gare was easier and shorter than the one up, there were some slippery parts that challenged some of our group who realised their age a little bit as young children overtook them hopping, skipping and jumping. As we approached Noiraigue, the rain stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lovely hike, already a favourite for some and newly discovered for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distance 14 kms; height difference 750m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author and Leader : Mark Warren Impeccable logistical cooperation enabled today\u2019s nine hikers (Peter Taylor, Mervyn Powell, Larry French, David Colledge, Richard Saynor, Bill Westermeier, Peter Strebel (new member – welcome Peter!), Ralph Wares and Mark Warren) to leave the rendezvous point at the Gare de Noiraigue on time. The day was sunny, sun hats … Continue reading “Hike Creux du Van 8 June 2023”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hikes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4164,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions\/4164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginclub.website\/home2\/gentsinnyon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}