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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3072 |
2nd June 2016 Hiking - Walking: Roya (498ft) to Auron (6925ft) Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and blue then cloudy and wet! Max Speed: Distance Covered: 7 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Thursday 2nd June – Hike ***** sunny and blue then cloudy and wet! Roya (498ft) to Auron (6925ft) 5 hours out covering 7 miles :) Another peaceful night in the tiny Hamlet of Roya with no visits from any unwelcome spirits as we are parked in the cemetery carpark! Woke to crystal blue skies and sunshine :) so we were up early and after breakfast in the warm sunshine Mag suggested we walk up the mountain to Auron the little ski resort we couldn’t park at yesterday - it was too nice a day to waste! So with chocolate bar, apple and two bottles of water packed we set off up the steep path from the village just before 9 which must be some kind of record for us! The path was more the usual French scramble than the wide track we had yesterday but again lined with a million wild flowers and very beautiful. We spotted several new birds including two different kinds of shrike and a Bonelli’s eagle which was carrying its prey (possibly a marmotte!) in its talons! There were lots of barns/shepherds huts up on the terraced bowl, some were even in good repair but most beginning to crumble. The walk was a steady climb across the terraces then veered across to climb again towards Auron. We could hear the marmottes squealing their warning but couldn’t see any but then once we turned the corner onto a new slope we saw several really close :) Eventually we arrived on the upper slopes of Auron and followed a mountain bike track up to the very top ridge which overlooked our side of the mountain as well as the ski resort. We had met two men in keep fit gear running the path earlier and were followed on the same route by 4 walkers who started either taking soil samples or digging up plants when they reached the ridge! We sat on the highest rocks and ate our snacks before heading down. It took us 3 hours to get up there and 2 to get down. The return journey was a lot easier apart from the last descent into the village. We had taken a slightly different path on the way up and followed the proper GR5 path on the way down which was full of rocks and very difficult to walk on. We past some caves on that path. It was a brilliant hike – definitely one of our favourite things to do :) Set off in glorious weather but with the mountains doing their usual trick by the time we had got to the top. The whole sky was covered in low grey cloud:( Back to the van for a late lunch and were soon joined in our car park by a red van from the Council – gardeners coming to strim and rake the very overgrown cemetery. We had a good rest before setting off on the steep road back down to the main road – around 3 miles of hairpin bends! Luckily there is a good crash barrier and we didn’t meet any other traffic. We carried on down the main road which is very scenic for a few miles before turning up in the village of Isola and driving up another lot of hairpin bends – on a wider road but still steep – to the ski station of Isola 2000. Had a look at the piste maps in the car park – from the van because by now it was pouring with rain! Drove up towards the pistes and found a place to park looking up at the mountains and over at the various pistes which is never really attractive but as it is raining it is as good a place as any :) Posted a photo of the hike on facebook and learnt from a friend’s post that the weather has caused havoc further North in France with rivers bursting their banks, roads like rivers and huge diversions! Our mixed weather is probably the best of a poor job! Photo Gallery Here |
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