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21st June 2016 Hiking - Walking: Cairn 2000 and the Summit of the Summit de Lure Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods Max Speed: Distance Covered: Monday 20th June – relax, adventure driving, 2 strolls and a swim! Sunny and hot We had a really lovely morning at Greolieres view point. It is a glorious day, no clouds just amazing blue and the mountains we have been in for the last two weeks stretched out in front of us from the Col de Bonette round to all the mountains we hiked in in the Cote d’Azur Alpes Maritime. Just behind the van was a beautiful slope covered in wild flowers and thyme. We did our exercises there overlooking the dramatic valley and the mountains behind then carried on enjoying the scenery and the smell of herbs while we ate breakfast, read and relaxed. Just before our late lunch we walked up to the ridge to the left of the van but as neither of us had very good shoes on we didn’t go far. Packed up the van and dragged ourselves away with a last look at the mountains and set out along the road through even more amazing scenery following the road towards Digne Les Baine but not quite getting up that far. We passed through Castellane near the Gorges du Verdon. We spent around a week in this area on our three month trip 4 years ago so we didn’t intend to stay this time but we stopped for a quick look over the bridge and up at the tiny chapel on the huge rock we walked up to last time. We carried on with more adventure driving along the scenic Route Napoleon, also called the Chemin de fer de Provence and were treated to our first field of lavender. We were in Provence a couple of years ago in September but all the lavender had gone so Mag was keen to see the fields in flower. We were originally headed to a mountain just above Sisteron but a split decision at a junction – whether to cross the river by a bridge or carry on into town to cross the river – brought us into Sisteron which turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It is a relatively small town with big cliffs on either side. We drove into the centre of town and followed the car parking signs to the Plan de Eau. Instead of walking into town straight away we walked round the Plan de Eau and discovered that it is actually a free outdoor swimming pool. We ended up having a great swim:) It was a bit chilly to get in but the temperature here is sooo hot it was a great relief:) After our swim we returned to the van for a cuppa and snack before walking along the river, up through the old narrow streets, covered alleyways and steps to the citadel. It is a pay to enter historic monument so we will give that a miss but we walked round the outside and back down through town. We have decided to stay here because there is nobody in this car park and although there is a height restriction it has been left open and we know for a fact that the crappy camper aire right out on the outskirts next to the railway line is full and there is also a cheeky camper, bigger than ours wedged near the drawbridge of the citadel itself!!! Still 24 degrees outside at 10pm – this is a big change from what we have been used to on this holiday!! We ate outside and stayed out till after dark. They lit the citadel up and it is possibly the most lit up monument we have ever seen with several different colour lights! Tuesday 21st June – Hikes **** Cairn 2000 and the Summit of the Summit de Lure A cloudy morning in Sisteron and they were cleaning the pool so we weren’t tempted to have another dip! Sun started to peek through as we ate breakfast outside. Packed up and left calling at the Super U on the outskirts for supplies! Took the road up towards Montagne de Lure which is about 15 miles from Sisteron and very close to Mont Ventoux which we visited a couple of years ago. The cliffs and woodland were very spectacular on the way up and we finally came to a car park for the Pas de la Graille and went to read the information boards. There was a walk signposted to Cairn 2000 which is a stone cairn built by 1000 ramblers who each laid a rock on it in the year 2000 some brought the rocks with them from all over the world. It is still getting bigger and lots of people have written their names and where they are from on them too. We were hooked by that description, packed our lunch and set off. We didn’t notice on the way quite how downhill we were walking but we certainly noticed when it was up on the way back!! The whole path was very rocky. The rocks are strange and sound like broken plates when you walk over them. We found a skull of an unidentified animal on the way and hid it behind a tree trunk to pick up on the way back for Jay! It had its teeth and neck bones attached – yuk! The skies had cleared but there were still clouds which was just as well because it was quite warm! The only trouble with the walk was the flies! A mixture of house flies and thunder flies – very annoying!! They really seemed to like the Cairn we had walked to and were very thick there. It was quite impressive (even Mag liked it and she is not a fan of cairns!). We put our own rock on the pile with our names and from the UK on it. We ate our lunch sitting on the meadow surrounding the Cairn – another mass of wild flowers including one apparent rarity – a blue columbine. We only saw one and it looked like our aquilegias in the garden at home. We decided to carry on to a Pas which was only 10 minutes away but we seemed to by pass that one and ended up at another one 45 minutes away! Yet another Cairn marked a high spot on the path so we walked up to that and it was hollow, like an igloo. We started the long walk back and can honestly say that out of all the hikes we have done this one did seem quite a tough one. I think it is negotiating the rocks all the way there and back! Neither of us had put our walking boots on and while we were out my walking sandals broke completely so not a good idea! Eventually made it back to the van and drove up the short way to the car park at the summit of the mountain. We parked up intending to stay here the night and had a cuppa. Mag mended our map books with the sellotape we bought at the Super U as they are looking very moth eaten! I took more photos of the van with the mountain in the back ground and the many many Cairns which form – according to the information boards – the Cairn village!!! Overkill on the cairns for sure! When we had recovered from our first walk we had a wander round the Cairn village and then up to the actual summit bringing our total hiking miles today to 7!! Photo Gallery Here |
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