Magnificent stage over Pas de la Cavale at 2671 meters. Up to Lac du Lauzanier the route passes through forests and over lovely Alpine meadows, then the landscape becomes more jagged, barren and the route goes over rocky paths. Later, the route climbs up to Camp des Fourches: abandoned and dilapidated military barracks. From there, the route descends to the village of Bousieyas and hikes a little further to the bivouac site in the slope.
Before we start today's stage, a brief description of shopping in the mountains, when in low (tourist) season:
As already mentioned, the epicerie in the village is closed. Here at the campground we should be able to do some shopping, but all they have left is honey and wine and we can't do much with those... So on Google Maps we look for the nearest supermarket. This turns out to be 15 kilometers away in the town of Bersezio in Italy. Hey, that's nice, we'll reach Italy on foot for the first time! Unfortunately, most of it is on asphalt and 30 kilometers hiking on our "rest day" is quite a lot, but we still need groceries and it's quite a milestone to walk to Italy. Not everyone can say they walked all the way to Italy to shop, lol.
The store has lunch break between 12.30 p.m. and 3 p.m., so we leave early. The first stretch starts well, we walk on small roads and paths along the main road above us. After a few kilometers these stop and we'll have to walk on asphalt anyway. It's early, so it's not so busy on the road yet, but because of the winding road we have to look out for truck traffic on the way to and from Italy. We approach the border crossing where there is a café and a store. Wow, we are at the border of Italy, what a milestone!
We walk into Italy and pass a beautiful lake. From here the road starts to get a whole lot more winding and it gets busier and busier with sports cars and motorcycle clubs. In front of us, in the slope downhill, is a magnificent course of about 15 hairpin turns... Hmmm, that looks dangerous. At first, we still manage to walk on the other side of the guardrail. But after a while the strip where we can walk turns into a concrete slab of just 30-40 cm wide, where screws protrude and we have to walk between the guardrail and an abyss several meters deep. We choose to cut corners after a few turns anyway and walk through the greenery. We need to watch our steps in the bumpy grass and it slows us down a bit, but it's fine. When we encounter a deep ravine on the side where we are walking, we cross the road to do the same on the other side. Until, at one of the last turns, we see a flock of sheep. With shepherd and dogs. Fortunately we are quite a distance away from them and do not have to pass them directly. But after a few minutes the dogs don't seem to appreciate our presence that much and come rushing towards us. While barking and growling they run around us and several times they try to get too close. With our poles we try to keep them away from us as much as possible and we walk backwards away from them. They show their teeth and we wave at the shepherd to get his attention. He yells something, but seems not too concerned. Eventually the dogs give up, and with our hearts still racing we are able to walk on unharmed. Phew...
We quickly get to the first Italian village and still have to continue to the second village where the store is located, over the road that by now is being used as a race track by the many motorcycles and sports cars, eager to accelerate.
Once we get to the store, it turns out that shopping in Italy is a real treat for backpackers. A tiny store, but it has everything we need. Pasta, dried vegetables, bagged meals and especially the sun-dried tomatoes are a treat. The backpack is well full when we leave the store!
On the way back, we try to avoid the busy road as much as possible. We have found some nice, alternative trails. On one of these paths we come across a fat snake, sunbathing on the path. He's in no hurry to get away, so we are able to get a good look at him. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find out which snake it is. A little further on we have to pass the flock of sheep again. They are now behind a fence and the dogs seem to have this afternoon off, great! Again we brave the many hairpin turns through the steep slopes, and behind large metal nets to catch falling rocks. But at the end of the day, after walking about 30 kilometers, we are back at the campground with our supplies for the next few days. We've had easier shopping before, but mission succeeded!
Back to today's hike. The day already begins with a first: as we open the tent, we breathe out clouds of smoke and see that the landscape around us is white with precipitated frost. The grass is frozen, the tent is frozen, and there is even a layer of ice on the inside of our awning. That's the first time in our entire GR5 adventure! Nowadays we already set the alarm clock a little later than in the summer months, because otherwise it would be very dark when taking down the tent. Today we are extra happy when around 8.30 a.m. the sun comes over the mountains and gives us some warmth. This immediately makes it feel a lot more pleasant. But the gloves we have been dragging with us since the beginning of the trek, surely do come in handy in the meantime.
As soon as the tent is thawed (and so are we a bit), we pack and hit the road. Next night we'll be wild camping, so it's no big deal that we leave a little later than usual.
The first stretch is fairly flat, but as soon as we walk up a bit steeper in the sun, the jackets come off again. In half an hour we go from T-shirt, longsleeve, vest, bodywarmer and down jacket, back to just a T-shirt. Gigantic, those differences in temperature! We leave the main valley of Le Vallon and walk into a large side valley, where river L'Ubayette flows. A wide, open valley with lovely green-and-yellow lawns and the occasional forest. The path is quite wide and easy to walk on, so we continue in one path to the higher Lac du Lauzanier, which is 9.5 kilometers from the route and at 2,280 meters altitude. A wonderful place for an extended break.
After the break, there is another stretch of substantial climbing to Pas de la Cavale at 2,671 meters altitude. After the lake the landscape changes dramatically. As we climb higher, there is nothing of vegetation and we walk over fields of unloaded stones, where the path is barely visible. All the color and life that made the landscape so lovely a little further down, is completely gone here. But how impressive this black and white landscape is. It seems like we are gigantically high, but the mountains around us, with their end-2,000 meters, are a lot lower than the previous stretches of Alps we have walked. Once again, the mountain pass treats us to stunning views. Backwards, but mostly forward: another piece of the Alps that's new to us. This valley too is certainly a lot barer and rockier at the edges. Towards the valley, however, there are large grasslands to be seen, on which a bit further on there's a gigantic herd of sheep. After previous experiences, we aren't exactly fans of these herds anymore... .
We descend along the rocky paths towards the grassland and bypass the flock of sheep in a very large bow, which gives us a steep climb to get back on the trail. The climb takes us to today's second col, Col des Fourches at 2,262 meters.
Nearby Camp des Fourches, a collection of military buildings from early last century. It housed 4 companies of 150 men, with kitchens, stores, toilets, bread oven and a cable car to the valley below. There were also stables for mules, gardens where tents could be pitched, and so on. Meanwhile, the camp is deserted and looks like a ghost town, most of the houses have collapsed. But we do see some renovation work to restore the village to its original state. It looks bizarre, in the middle of the mountains.
From here we descend quite a bit to Bousieyas. A German hiker accompanies us while descending. She left Vienna in April and has crossed the entire Alps. We exchange some hints and tips for possible future trips. She spends the night in the village, but we continue hiking to find a bivouac site. About 3 kilometers further on there is a paper on a tree that indicates that we're entering an area with sheep and dogs, and we don't think it's a good idea to walk through here at night. Fortunately, we have just spotted a flat area in the forest where we can be sheltered. It's been 7 p.m. by now, so late enough and we decide to make camp here.
We hiked a little longer today than previously planned, so tomorrow we have another slightly shorter stage. Tonight we eat some nice Italian pasta in nature and close our eyes early. We are well tired from the hike....
