CJ took the lead most of the day up the steep climbs.
The light streaming through the trees was beautiful.
The boys collected pine cones along the way.
Being silly.
Finally at the top and enjoying the view.
The Belledonne mountains across the valley.
And some of the valley below.
At this point, I got the bright idea to go down a different way to Le Sappey while Kevin and the older two boys went back to Col de Coq. The plan was for them to then drive over and get Piper and me. What I didn't count on was getting lost for over an hour, just as Piper expired and wanted to be carried.
It started off great, we went to the very top of the ridge, and had a gorgeous 360° lookout. Here you can see Mount Blanc in the distance, the highest peak in W. Europe.
And across the valley to the Belledonne mountains.
The Chartruese mountains behind.
Finally at the top and enjoying the view.
The Belledonne mountains across the valley.
And some of the valley below.
At this point, I got the bright idea to go down a different way to Le Sappey while Kevin and the older two boys went back to Col de Coq. The plan was for them to then drive over and get Piper and me. What I didn't count on was getting lost for over an hour, just as Piper expired and wanted to be carried.
It started off great, we went to the very top of the ridge, and had a gorgeous 360° lookout. Here you can see Mount Blanc in the distance, the highest peak in W. Europe.
And across the valley to the Belledonne mountains.
The Chartruese mountains behind.
And Chamechaude, the highest point in the Chartreuse mountain range.
The view from the pasture.
Everything was going just fine to this point. Kevin and I had done this hike before and I remembered this pasture and the view of Chamechaude.
Unfortunately, I looked at this trail sign instead of taking one of the logging trails down into Le Sappey. So I continued on the trail to Le Sappey (the very long way down), until I realized that I was not finding the direct way down that we had taken before. Even more unfortunately, Kevin had taken the map, so I had no idea how to find the path down, nor did I recognize the logging trail as it had been recently used and was muddy and torn up (not at all how I remembered it looking).
So I went back to the pasture, where I found the last two hikers for the day just heading down. They were so kind and let us come along with them, even giving Piper his jacket when he got cold (since he was riding on my shoulders most of the way down). He's not sleeping in this piture, just being shy even after spending almost hour hiking down together.
Needless to say, these two hikers (I forget their names by now) were an answer to my prayers! They were kind and had patience with me as I struggled through my French to explain why I was hiking alone, without a map or other help, with a very tired 3 year old. Kevin was a bit worried when I showed up over an hour late, but was also thankful for my kind French hiking friends who helped me find my way.
The following weekend, we hiked just north of our village up into the Chartruese mountains. I took only a few pictures, but thought I would share since this was the only real fall pictures I got this year before we went to Kenya.
We ended up just letting the boys play with their friends that we went hiking with in this forest. They like to built forts with the fallen trees laying around. You can see a little bit of one behind CJ in this picture.
The view from the pasture.
Everything was going just fine to this point. Kevin and I had done this hike before and I remembered this pasture and the view of Chamechaude.
Unfortunately, I looked at this trail sign instead of taking one of the logging trails down into Le Sappey. So I continued on the trail to Le Sappey (the very long way down), until I realized that I was not finding the direct way down that we had taken before. Even more unfortunately, Kevin had taken the map, so I had no idea how to find the path down, nor did I recognize the logging trail as it had been recently used and was muddy and torn up (not at all how I remembered it looking).
So I went back to the pasture, where I found the last two hikers for the day just heading down. They were so kind and let us come along with them, even giving Piper his jacket when he got cold (since he was riding on my shoulders most of the way down). He's not sleeping in this piture, just being shy even after spending almost hour hiking down together.
Needless to say, these two hikers (I forget their names by now) were an answer to my prayers! They were kind and had patience with me as I struggled through my French to explain why I was hiking alone, without a map or other help, with a very tired 3 year old. Kevin was a bit worried when I showed up over an hour late, but was also thankful for my kind French hiking friends who helped me find my way.
The following weekend, we hiked just north of our village up into the Chartruese mountains. I took only a few pictures, but thought I would share since this was the only real fall pictures I got this year before we went to Kenya.
We ended up just letting the boys play with their friends that we went hiking with in this forest. They like to built forts with the fallen trees laying around. You can see a little bit of one behind CJ in this picture.
It was a bit foggy, but the fall colors were still beautiful and it was fun to spend the afternoon with our friends just enjoying the lovely mountains decorated in beautiful fall colors!
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