Day 13 July 24 2016 St. Engrace to Refuge Jeandel
Confirmed by our fellow hikers traveling the opposite direction, we expect it was going to be an easy day. Today's hike was only 7.5 miles long with less than 1000 meters of elevation gain on the map.
It was not a surprise that we departed in the rain again. Learned from our prior mistake, we put on the stifling rain gears from the start. The initial trail went through corridors of thick overgrown before arrival in a dark forest. Now I called it “rain forest” for its humidity and slipperiness. The steep path went through multiple switchbacks. The switchbacks intersect with a utility road at different elevations. From time to time, we stepped out of the darkness briefly as the switchback met the utility road. On occasion, we even thought that we had finally got out of the “dark forest”. The white and red GR10 sign told us otherwise, pointing towards the darkness above on the other side of the utility road. The mixture of rain and fog blurred everything, and there was no view for us at all. The climb felt much more difficult than it really was. Once out of the switchbacks, we felt relieved.
Though still could not see much, we knew we were on a plateau. Patches of wild blueberry bushes appeared along the path and we picked a bunch. The sweetness of the berries lightened our mood. On the plateau, there were numerous grooves formed from travels by farm animals as well as hikers, I guess. The thick, disorienting fog made it difficult to tell these grooves from GR10 trail. Z.Z. claimed he’s got good sense with “possession” of an internal biological GPS from growing up on the farm, but he still got on the wrong path many times! I simply adhered to my awesome map on the phone. Walking alone without GPS, it is quite conceivable I would be circling around chasing my own footsteps. The view of this section was supposed to be magnificent on a good day. We got none of it. The trail was just a muddy path littered with cow droppings and it was hopeless to avoid them. So by the time we hit the gravel road again, I let out a sigh of relief. From what I read before the trip, the gravel pavement indicated that we were not far from St. Martin La Pierre. Indeed, we saw the foggy outline of a few walkers along the twist and turns of the gravel path. They were the tourist visiting St. Martin La Pierre, a popular ski destination in France. But our stop was further ahead, the famed Refuge Jeandel. Right after St. Martin, we heard the sound of modern civilization, noisy motorcycles and squeaky car brakes, when we crossed a highway. It was brief. Soon the noise faded away, the fog closed in, and we were walking in solitude on a plateau again. We could not see anything more than a few feet away and all we could notice were the unavoidable animal droppings near our feet.
Suddenly, I noticed a patch of clean grass along our path without animal droppings. I stopped and looked up. Refuge Jeandel!
This is the only refuge so far that’s worth mentioning. At an elevation of 1650 meters, this place is the best of its class. Weary walkers are welcomed with good shower, good food and clean bright rooms. Even in this heavy fog, it looked beautiful. Refuge Jeandel stood in solitude engulfed by inescapable thick fog. The warm light emanating from its windows felt so inviting and comforting: it’s the safe harbor for a weary walker sheltering him from the storm.
Curiously, we heard children’s laughter nearby. We didn’t know where it came from as the fog was so heavy. A mystery to be solved…