After the last stage, when I reached the Col du Marchairuz, I was feeling much closer to the end of this Jura Höhenweg. I had been determined that I would complete the walk in the calendar year 2020, and as the stages progressed, I was confident of meeting that goal, I cannot say that the end was in sight, because it wasn’t, but you might say that it was just over the hill. For reasons of logistics, namely the Swiss bus schedules, it was important for me to complete the next stage in September, and so, on the first weekend of the month, that is what I did.
Getting to the Col du Marchairuz is relatively long, taking a combination of trains and buses, and so it was after 10 o’clock when I reached there. That is late for me, so I did not hang around, but started out immediately on the track into the forest, going south.
The track winds through the forest, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, until it emerges into a firebreak. Once there, the ascents are shorter, as are the descents, as it follows the ridge line. There were other walkers, mostly going slower than I was. This seems to be a popular route.
It didn’t take long until I reached the farm at Le Neuve, where the route turns left, heading for the summit of the day’s walk: Crêt de la Neuve. At 1493m, it was the highest point on the day’s walk, so worth pausing for a few photos. It would be worth pausing anyway, if just to admire the views of Lake Geneva.
From there it was downhill for a while. Not steep, but gradually, and constantly for some time, going downhill. After a short while, there seemed less forest, and more mountain pasture along the way. It wasn’t that long before I could see La Barillette in the distance. But that mountain was not on this stage; that is for the next stage, so I knew I was not too far from the end for this one.
At one point, as the route was back into the forest, it came close to the eastern side of the ridge, affording views of Lake Geneva again.
From there, there was a fairly rapid descent through the forest, followed by a long stretch of almost level ground. And in this part of the forest, the trees have been decorated. Whether it is done to amuse the walkers, or just on the whim of the perpetrator, I cannot say, but you have to admire their ability to match the face to the contours of the tree.
And then at last, I came to the Ruines du Couvent d’Oujon. These are the ruins of a Carthusian monastery. It was started in 1146 and is one of the oldest Cathusian settlements outside the Grand Chartreuse, the main monastery of the order in France. The order is an enclosed one, with the monks living a simple life of work and prayer. It follows the tradition of hermits in distancing itself from the world, which is probably why they chose this remote piece of woodland for this monastery.
But alas, like the rest of Europe, Switzerland was affected by the religious conflicts that swept across Europe following the reformation. The Couvent d’Oujon was destroyed in a riot in 1537. It was never restored, and it was formally dissolved and removed from the list of Carthusian monasteries. The site was excavated in the late 1940s, and it is still possible to see the marks of the monastic cells, each with its little garden plot.
On the descent from Crêt de la Neuve, there were signs of autumn in the flora along the way. Autumn crocuses were out in abundance. It is hard to believe that such a beautiful little flower is actually quite poisonous. And the occasional rowan was a welcome sight. They say that the more prolific the tree, the harder will be the winter, that it is nature’s way of providing for wildlife to get through the cold season. If that is the case, then this one suggests a hard winter ahead.
And so, I came at last to St. Cergue, the end of this stretch of the Höhenweg. I was just in time to get the little train that would take me to Nyon, from where the mainline railway would bring me back to Basel.
One more stage of the Höhenweg remains, and then it will be completed. That will have to wait a few weeks though. There are other things that have to be attended to right now.
And the step count for the day was 30512. Not a very long walk, but stimulating nevertheless.
Walkingman 
Beautiful places . Thanks for sharing .
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