A moody day… the weather, not me!

It rained all night. As we were parked under a tree (which was great when it was hot and I wanted the shade!) the rain was plinking and plonking on the roof all night… not very conducive to a good sleep. This morning, we took our time tidying the van and getting ready and, while we had hook up, I took the opportunity to charge all the devices and toothbrush, and to wash, dry and straighten my hair. Once everything was done, we set off for Col de Rousset, still in the rain.

The forecast was for the weather to improve and we were hoping to do a short walk in the afternoon. However, up at the col, the cloud was low and the wind was blowing the rain sideways. We sat and had some lunch (including a tasty lemon tart from a local bakery) at the ski station then went through the tunnel at the col to see if the weather was any better through the other side.

The cloud wasn’t as low, although the wind was very cold. We missed the car park at the viewpoint as we came out of the tunnel and ended up zig zagging down the mountain hairpins until we reached a large lay-by where John could turn Bertie around. I took a few photos of the stunning view, then we set off back to the top.

We spent some time at the viewpoint, taking photos and having a cup of tea as the clouds swirled around. The view from the toilet was the best we’ve ever had! Moody clouds and twisty mountain roads. I enjoyed editing the photos in black and white, something I rarely do but should try more often. I’m quite pleased with some of these.

We than had a short walk up the hillside to see the valley from a different angle before heading off to see if we could do the hike we’d planned. However, back through the other side of the tunnel again, the mist was still low and, having checked out the area at the start of the walk, we decided to move on to where we’re staying for the night. We’re in a car park in the middle of nowhere, 6.5km up a steep single-track mountain road, with a few hairpin bends too. Luckily we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way but John was glad when we finally got here.

We’re doing a 20k walk up Le Grand Veymont tomorrow, the highest peak in the Vercors region, which the guide says will take about 8 hours. It’s 2341 metres high, more than twice Snowdon, although we aren’t starting at sea level. We’ve packed our bags and made our butties, ready for an early start. Now we’re having a drink before dinner… chilli tacos… yum!