I should have brought my snowshoes!
It had been a few weeks since my last outing, and I was yearning to get back on the trail. When I checked the forecast the night before, it forecast a dry day in Gruyere, so I reckoned I should have a nice easy walk. But when I arose that morning, it was raining in Basel. Nevertheless, I had fixed to go, so I went. As the train went along, the raindrops on the windows did not fill me with optimism. Neither did the busy windscreen wipers on the bus, as they swept away the rain. It was still raining when I reached Gruyere. It was not heavy rain, but enough to make me put on the raingear.
The first part of the trail is forest, with autumn colours much in evidence. As I walked up the trail towards the mountains the rain seemed to lessen. By the time I was clear of the forest and out in the open, it had stopped. I was treated to a panorama of the surrounding peaks, mostly covered in snow. It did not take long before I was walking in snow. At first, it was isolated small patches of slushy snow here and there on the trail. And then the patches were larger, until soon it was constant snow on the trail. By the time I reached the junction at 1171m, there was only snow. It was still slushy snow, which is not the most pleasant to walk in.
As I went on, however, the snow became proper powder snow. By the time I reached the junction at 1283m, it was all powder snow. Interestingly, there were other footprints in the snow. Someone had been here before me. With the snow becoming deeper the higher I went, those footsteps helped me. They had broken trail for me. Soon, I could see them in front of me, a group of people, moving slower than I was. I caught up with them at the cabin at Grosses Clés. We greeted each other with “Bonjour”, and had actually exchanged half a dozen pleasantries before we all realised that the natural language of everyone present was English. They were English, living in Lausanne. We talked briefly about our plans for the day, and then we went on.
Now, it was my turn to take the lead. I noticed that as well as the group, there was another set of footprints. They were older, possibly from the day before, but with the overnight snow, I thought that unlikely. But they did break the trail for me, and I was glad of them. I reached the ski station at Plan-Francey ahead of the English group, and in the shelter of the ski-lift, decided to have a break. The English group arrived soon after. And while we all stood chatting, a group of Swiss arrived up from the southern side. It can get quite busy on the mountains when the snow is good!
Then it was time for me to go on. Just below Plan-Francy, the trails divide. There was a well-trodden trail to the south, where the Swiss group had just come up. But my direction was west, and immediately, I was into virgin snow. I reckon that the overall snowfall was between 20cm and 25cm, but in places it drifted, and I generally kept to the edge of the trail to find the more shallow snow. The snow also obscured where the track was, but by a mixture of frequently checking the app, the periodic signposts, and a certain amount of dead reckoning, I kept on the right track.
The route is generally flat for a long stretch from Plan-Francey. The ski station is at 1529m, and after the initial descent, the route stays between 1460m and 1480m for about 2km. Then, as it heads soth, the route goes down as low as 1422m, before climbing back up to 1460m at Le Villard-Dessus. And all the way was in virgin snow. That is why I say I should have brought my snowshoes.
Just before Le Villard-Dessus, a set of footprints had come in from the north. That helped me on the last few metres of ascent to the top. And then came a long descent. As I went down, the footprints became more numerous, and there were even ski tracks as well. I saw a few of the skiers, one of whom had even brought two dogs for company. But they were always some distance away, and we never exchanged greetings. With all the footprints and ski tracks in the snow, it wasn’t long before I was walking on packed snow, which is easier than the powder.
Eventually, there came a stage where I was back into slushy snow. The trail went into a forest where there was some slushy snow and the melting snow dripping from the trees. I continued on, and it was not very long before I came to a road. The trail follows the road into Les Paccots. The village is strung out and dispersed, but it does have a village centre, where I was able to get a bowl of hot soup and a beer before taking the bus to start the journey home.
My total step count for the day was 33,021
Walkingman 