Gryon: Day 5 (8/31/19)

Hiked the La Croix route today, which involved walking from Gryon to Chaux Ronde, a 2000 meter high ridgeline with a big cross set at its start. Met several cows on the way up, including one I deemed Charlotte and came up very close to moo at me. She got an apple core which seemed to cheer her up! My route up was a greuling two hour ascent via steep paths either in the treeline or on empty ski slopes/mountain biking trails. Gorgeous weather though! Not too hot and the sun wasn’t an issue since I wore pants and my long sleeve hiking shirt, plus my hair covers the back of my neck. Booyea long hair!

Hiking the ridge itself was pretty spooky. The trail was approximately one boot wide in places and had several-hundred foot tall death-slides on either side. I was fortunate that there was a large group just coming off the ridge when I arrived which helped me muster the confidence to traverse it. And man was it worth the shaky fear legs! Scenic views of the surrounding area and a perfect angle looking down on the town of Solalex and my trail from Day 3! I could see my path perfectly as it followed the river upstream to the mountaintop chateu and circled around L’Argentine.

The hike back was hot, but manageable. I did hitchhike part of my way back, but it was super awkward and we didn’t talk past the first sentence when I got in. Totally failed that social moment lol. Once I worked my way back to the hostel I devoured the rest of my leftover harira and started packing up my stuff since I leave tomorrow. A large group of six from France pretty much took over the main room so I retreated to a small playroom across the building and took refuge there for the evening.