Gorges du Chauleron

Despite the rain yesterday, I was able to go hiking and discovered an entirely new place available to me. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I only made two wrong turns the entire time! Impressive, I know. A river ran next to the trail nearly the entire time, complete with waterfalls and walls of rock that rose over one hundred (and possibly more) feet above me, the ivy handing down the face of the stone as if hiding secret passageways or treasures. And everything was so green, almost rainforest-like. Think FernGully and you'll get the picture. Conveniently, a brilliant green canopy of branches and leaves hung above my head, covering the trail and doing me the favor of catching most of the raindrops before they could drench me completely. And the smells! Oh Dad, you would have died. That sweet piney scent surrounded by moss and mud and rain. An air of smokiness eventually crept into the melody, perhaps fireplaces being lit for the first time this season. It was a perfect afternoon spent in the swiss mountains.

What I eventually figured out is that the Gorges du Chauleron hike is essentially the trailhead to about 20 other major hikes in the region--and I'm talking some serious uphill climbing. I bet you've heard of something like the Swiss Alps... ? Yeah, they can get gnarly. The good news is that the trails are incredibly well marked and not at all crowded. I only passed three people during the entire four hours I was in the mountains (okay, granted some people make better choices and don't decide to go hiking in the rain). But I lucked out (at least for the first half of the hike) and it didn't rain too hard. Then, as soon as I reached the little village of Les Avants, it started pouring. I had about ten minutes to explore the town, smell the cows and hear their bells a'ringing from the mountain fields before I had to turned around and literally run back to the trail for cover.

Next week, perhaps I'll take on a new hike. This time, when the sun is shining. For now, here are some photos that do this place no justice at all.

My rain cover for a few minutes while I ate lunch.

Check out the secret door on the bottom right. I could totally picture a Harry Potter scene right here... maybe the door leads to some awesome cave with torches and goblins and such.

Les Avants: your quintessential Swiss mountain village.