We returned to the heart of the Chartreuse massif for this extended Ascension Day holiday weekend. On our previous visit to the valley of two rivers Guiers (Vif and Mort) in March we discovered a bicycle path that runs at the bottom of the valley. Even if we walked most of it then, we decided to do it on bikes this time; the nice thing about this valley, and the bicycle path is that it is practically completely flat. On our first day, though, we had a short stroll from our accommodation down to the village of Miribel-les-Échelles to check the hours of the bakery and the superette (which turned out to be closed for vacation until mid June).
We also did a longish hike before hopping on our bikes. It took us from Miribel-les-Échelles (at 600m) through forest and pasture to Col des Mille Martyrs (The Mountain Pass of Thousand Martyrs) at 873 meters. The scenery around us was quite impressive throughout the hike, but it was hard to capture that in pictures. The trails were mostly well groomed but there was a significant distance we had to fight through grossly overgrown hay field.
Saturday started sunny and warm — all the days on this holiday weekend started and ended sunny and hot, afternoon temperatures exceeding +30°C — so bike ride was it. We parked the car at the tourist office’s parking lot in Les-Échelles, not quite the mid point of path’s whole distance, but rather at 1/5 of it. First we rode the shorter distance to the Northern end of the path in Saint-Christophe La Grotte, and then near the Southern end in Saint-Joseph-de-Rivière.
On the last day, before we drove home, we went to an early morning trail run around the hill that hosts the Chapel of Notre Dame du Château. The trail was supposed to be an easy 5-kilometer hike with about 200 meters of ascent and descent. It started by going downhill “forever”, then stayed more or less flat until the final steep climb back to the starting point. Again some sections of the trail were very well groomed while others were almost impassable because of the overgrown grass. We finished the run by climbing up to the chapel.
Next weekend is going to be another long one with Pentecost Monday off. We are taking our second chance with hiking in the Diois, hoping that this time we won’t fall ill. Fingers crossed!