A day before the weather forecast promised sun and warm temperatures for Saturday (May 26), but we did not get any, or much of either. Instead we had strong gusty wind and cold rain on this first Spring hike in Southern Vercors, where we have not been before. It was +10C with the sun making some desperate attempts to break through the clouds when we started our hike from the parking of Plateau de Beure. It was +14C when we got back three hours later. During our hike the temperature dropped well below ten degrees because of the rain, but we also saw some glimpses of blue sky and the sun. However, the wind grew dangerously strong as we descended to the parking on the exposed mountain slope.

We planned to make the whole loop “Le Tour de la Montagne de Beure” but as the rain grew stronger and our pants wetter (we had raincoats on) we decided the cut the hike in half and turned back one kilometer before reaching the hut of Pré Peyret. We enjoyed our lunch sandwiches standing underneath a pine tree — trees on the plateau seemed very healthy and strong, offering a good cover from the rain.