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My new favourite place- Part 2

Desperation is rewarded

I didn't sleep all that well.  The constant wind on the tent and rain storms throughout the night meant the temperature was pretty close to zero.  My old sleeping bag was not good enough, even with a down jacket on. Meteo France was predicting gusts upto 80kms on summits, I was half way up the hillside.

I woke, packed up and followed the winding road in search of the main road, coffee, croissants and phone signal.  I got into Crest and found a patisserie to, again do some online weather searching.  I'd seen a sign for GAP, along with Marseille. The latter being to far to drive for my 3 day trip.  However Gap seemed to be having better weather.  Today it would still be windy, but less grey than around the Vercors Massif.  The drive would be close to 3 hours, and I deliberately chose some back roads to try and take in some scenic roads and minor valleys.  The drive was great, but only a warm up for what was to come.


As I got close to Gap, the skies began to clear & temperatures rose.  I hadn't had a chance to research Gap trails so I looked for a McDonalds where I could get my laptop out and search a favourite VTT tracking website.  It was hot when I got out of the car, that summer heat when you arrive somewhere for 'summer holidays'. Good trails found near a cool looking lake. Sweet, time to go again!

Gap, is just south of the Ecrins mountain range. Famed for ski touring & hiking, and to the south the mountains extend to the seaside of the Provence region. Somewhere associated with a 'Nice' climate.  Maybe this is the town to find a good outdoor shop and buy a new sleeping bag? I did, my bank account is lighter, and my new (down) sleeping bag is also lighter than the old.


I parked in a tiny hamlet and began my 1000m climb to a ridgeline trail.  The summit pylon almost constantly in view with the gently sloping ridge giving me inspiration to get up & see what the descent had to offer.
Ridge line left to right
Rock outcrops and spines
Summit view was special
The views alone were worth the 10km road spin up (note for next time- it can be shuttled with a van), and the descent was amazing.  Loose rouge shale rock that somehow just had enough grip. Fast open, into the tree's for a 100m's or so, then back into the open. I did stop to take in the view on the way down. Lake to the left, rich highly irrigated agricultural land to the right. Beautiful red coloured shale singletrack directly in front!


Arriving back to the car, I was ecstatic.  A trail up there with the very best in Europe I thought.  Shame I didn't have anyone to share it with.  But having journey-ed a long way that day doing exactly as I wanted there was some advantage to this solo road trip.

Being on my own, I had nothing better to do than drive around Lac Serre Poncon and look for a superb camp spot, eat like a champion and test out my new sleeping bag...



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