This stage through the Alps follows the valley of the river Le Ponturin. In the beginning on forest paths along villages and farms, from Les Lanches really into the mountains. The route passes beautiful waterfalls and lakes and hikes through beautiful valleys. Very nice to see the landscape slowly change from the busy valley of the river Isère into real high mountains. The stage ends at Refuge du Col du Palet.
The weather is already lovely in the morning when we take down the tent and leave. Since we are in the high mountains and the year is progressing nicely, it's already a bit cooler. And that's especially noticeable in the mornings. Before we leave, we reluctantly take off our jackets. We know that otherwise we will soon have to take off the backpacks to take off the vests. And that turns out to be a good estimation for today. From the campsite we turn right and after a few turns the route goes in the opposite direction to the one indicated by the navigation. We decide to follow the white-red markings, which soon let us climb up along the church of the village and from there go up steeply, much earlier than we would go with "our" route. So we're glad the vests are already off because it's quite a climb. We'll know we're in the Alps, allright!
We ascend mostly through woodland, occasionally passing a secluded house nestled in the slope. All of them magnificent homes: old barns that have been beautifully modernized, many with a 4×4 car under the carport, otherwise it's impossible to get around here half of the year. After a few kilometers, the trail flattens out and we walk along a wide path to Peisley. A nice authentic village where residents go about their daily business (fixing up houses, hauling wood for the winter, watering plants). The floral displays in the municipal flower boxes and the planters against the houses of the mountain village are stunning.
From the village, we walk a bit through the valley to a park with picnic benches near a large parking lot. We're able get some tapwater here, so it's an ideal place to pause. Even more because the route from here will only go up to Refuge du Col du Palet, where we will bivouac. After the sandwich and coffee, we walk across the parking lot back onto the trails. This is the last parking lot in the valley, the road stops here. From here there are only hiking trails. We quickly climb higher and higher, it is a beautiful valley with a few waterfalls and on the gigantic peaks all around there are still some remnants of snow. The further we walk from the parking lot, the quieter it gets on the trails. We are now in Vanoise National Park: a beautiful, old nature reserve that also has strict rules. Wild camping isn't allowed in this area, but at the refuges in the park you can pitch your tent and use the facilities for a small fee. Great solution! This and other rules such as dogs on a leash, no picking flowers, staying on the trails, no skydiving and a ban on cars, motorcycles and cyclists, make it a beautiful nature reserve. Nature can take its course undisturbed here, which is certainly reflected in the creatures that fly and crawl here: crickets, butterflies and one alpine marmot after another. On all the slopes around us you can see the marmots lying, running or eating, they are not shy at all. Such cute little animals...
Each hill we walk over brings another beautiful valley, new views and a look back at the hills we've already been to. First a valley with grass, low vegetation and large rocks, then a valley with the beautiful Lac du Grattaleu. Just below the summit lies "our" Refuge du Col du Palet. The
Refuge has been closed for tourists since mid-July because their spring is dry due to the drought this year, so no more drinking water is available. On the way up we fill our bottles with fresh mountain water at a stream. But when we arrive at the refuge, it turns out there is still some drinking water left after all. We are kindly greeted by the lady who "manages" the refuge now that it's closed and she explains what's allowed and what not. It's only allowed to pitch a tent after 7pm, and at 8 in the morning all tents must be taken down. It's a quarter to 6 by now, so we have to be patient. We chat with a couple of hikers whom we have met on the way and exchange tips about ultralight gear, freeze-dried food bags and other beautiful hiking routes around the world. And when you broach these topics with fellow hikers, an hour goes by in no time. So before we know it, it's been way past 7pm, we pitch our tent and a little later, while eating our pasta, we enjoy a beautiful sunset here in the mountains. What a beautiful place to sleep. It was a lot of climbing today, but this and everything we've seen along the way is so rewarding!
