GR 54 – day 4
16.7.2023 Sunday
Cabane du Jas Lacroix – Camp Les Bouleaux
→ 37,8 km ↑ 2289 m ↓ 2956 m
Alarm’s at 5:30am, but we really don’t feel like getting up, so we just lie there. At 6am we start packing, eating breakfast and drinking coffee. We set off at 6:42am. We’re getting better at this. Today we have a lot of elevation and a lot of passes planned. First a climb to Col de l’Aup Martin pass (2761 m). It’s more than 900 meters over 8 km. We start gently. At the shelter where we wanted to sleep yesterday, there’s a shepherd with a flock of sheep in a fence next to it. The valley slowly widens and we’re surrounded by tall mountains. Walking feels nice, the sun’s not up here yet.
After half an hour I change into shorts. If we’d walked another 2 km yesterday, we’d have found plenty of sleeping spots. The day before yesterday we charged the camera battery, but the cable must be faulty, since both batteries are nearly dead. So we charge it while walking, not ideal since it moves around and the cable might disconnect.
We climb, and the green grass slowly turns into rocks, and those into gravel. The last stretch feels like the journey to Mordor. The end is genuinely tough.
A Belgian guy walked fast behind us, we keep passing on and off for the second day now, so we wait for him to take a photo of us.
Every pass brings a new view. But we don’t get to enjoy this one much. A few hundred meters later there’s another pass, Pas de la Cavale (2735 m), and from there we start descending toward the hut, almost 1000 meters over 5 km. All the way down on switchbacks.
It’s pretty brutal, and by the end we’re not enjoying it anymore, but then we spot marmots again, it feels better right away. This pass crossing took us 4 hours. At the hut we have coffee, make tea and eat (baguette with cheese again plus chocolate mousse). Jozef realizes he forgot his spoon this morning,. By noon we’re ready to set off toward the next pass, Col de la Valette (2668 m).
There are some clouds on the sky, so the climb goes well. We can smell sheep everywhere but don’t see any. There’s a fence at the pass, but none sheep there either. Next comes a short, unpleasant descent over shale gravel. It’s very windy, carrying dust and small stones that sting our skin and get into our eyes. We try to get through it fast.
Once we reach the grassy part, it’s fine again, and there are lots of marmots. Right after that comes another pass, Col de Gourian (2597 m). We only climb about 200 m. From there we can see the path up to the third pass.
Another Mordor, and in the background Aiguille de Morges like Mount Doom. We finally found the sheep. Guess they like hiking too. We pass a sign with photos and names of the dogs guarding the sheep. We’d come across this before, but here it’s translated into English too. They’re guard dogs and sensitive to anything that seems disruptive. So you’re supposed to learn the dogs’ names, and if they see you as a threat, just saying their name should stop them from attacking. But there’s no pronunciation guide, so not sure it would’ve helped us.
Before climbing the last pass I fuel up on cookies, and we watch marmots and sheep. We climb over very dusty ground with occasional snowfields.
When the wind blows, everything sticks to ours sweaty bodies. We’re covered in black dust. When we reach Col de Vallonpierre pass (2607 m), the wind nearly knocks us over. We take a few photos and head down.
The moment we drop below the edge of the pass, the wind stops completely. Only 2 km left to the hut where we want to camp tonight. We stop often for photos and to watch marmots.
We reach the hut at 4pm. There’s a lake here, surrounded by mountains on all sides. A genuinely beautiful spot to sleep.
But it’s still early, and we had no signal all day, and Jozef needs to sort out some work stuff. We try at the edge of the area too, but nothing there either. So we at least take a photo together. We decide to head down at least until we find signal. It’s 14 km and 1,300 meters down to town. The descent goes through switchbacks with beautiful views. From around 2000 m there are finally blueberries, though still pretty sour. We’re almost at the La Séveraisse river when Jozef finally catches signal. We rest a bit, eat more cookies and decide how far to push today.
There’s a campsite 7 km away, and we’re both covered in dust, and Jozef’s already been complaining today about feeling dirty and wanting a shower. Blueberries slow us down, they’re excellent at 1500 m.
We follow a gentle downhill path along the river, and it’s pretty hot. The last two kilometers I just put one foot in front of the other. I’m really done with all this climbing. We reach the campsite, which is a pretty basic. There are showers and a toilet, but otherwise everyone just camps wherever they like. The owner’s not there, so I text him that we’re there and will pay in the morning. We slowly set up camp. The shower was just what we needed, we even do some laundry and plan tomorrow’s route. Dinner is mashed potato with salami, garlic and ketchup. We’ve had better, but we’re running low on supplies. I wanted to finish the blog tonight, but I don’t have the energy, I’ll finish it in the morning.
