I have gone up to Leukerbad at least three times for the via ferrata and this could have been the fourth or fifth time that I do it. I chose not to do it. During the pandemic I spent a lot of time hiking, with little to no exposure to heights. As a result of this I lost the habit of being high up.
I realised this when I was just three or four meters up on a sea defense in Javea/Xabia and felt afraid of the height I was at.
This weekend has been physically demanding. On Saturday I rode with people who do nothing but ride, so they’re far fitter, on a bike than I am, so by the end of the ride I was struggling to keep up.
The Options I fully expected the weekend to be difficult, Originally I considered the Tour D’Aï walk but that would have been a long climb, followed by a long descent. It would have also been exposed to the sun during a sunny hot day.
For several years I explored every route that was walkable from my village. In the process I found loops that took up to four hours to complete. When there was no traffic they were all pleasant, whether it was wet, dry, hot, cold or windy. As cars and driving re-emerged plenty of the plaths I enjoyed walking became unsafe so I stopped walking them.
Over the last two or three weeks I have been looking at Komoot and Alltrails to find new hiking ideas and I tried two and they were both a success, in my own opinion.
It’s good to browse Komoot because sometimes you find nice hikes to enjoy. Today I drove towards Vallorbe and specifically Juraparc. Juraparc is a park with bisons, wolves, alpacas, goats and bears. I saw the goats, the alpacas, the bison and deer. I didn’t look for the bears and wolves.
The hike itself is quite short but it starts with an “alpine” section that almost a scramble. It may feel dangerous to proceed beyond this point but in reality the more challenging part is quite short.
It’s easy to find a group, and to do the same thing, again, and again, and again. Each year you do the same things in the same order, at the same time. It becomes routine. You get used to that routine. You don’t deviate. That’s where Komoot and Meetup come in.
Online Exploration With Komoot you get suggestions of routes to try, whether on foot, by bike or other. You can explore a curated list of things to do at a specific time of year, or in a specific area, or even in a specific town or location.
It is possible to walk from La Sarraz to Romainmotier and back with barely any time spent on roads. You can get there by train b taking a train to Renens, and then switching to a train from Renens to La Sarraz. You can also drive to La Sarraz via the motorway and park at the P&R parking for five francs per day, via the app. It costs 1 CHF per hour but the walk took five and a half hours so I amortised the parking by staying more than five hours.
Now that the hiking season has started again it isn’t rare for me to have to choose between two or three activities on a Sunday. Do I do the mountain hike from Villars Sur Ollon or the historical one to Romainmôtier?
This is what I was thinking about last night. Should I do the hike with 15 people or the one with just two or three people?
Small Groups are Better There are a number of ways to simplify the decision process.
The Cascade Du Flumen are in the Jura, on the French side. They can be accessed either with a 1.6km walk from a large parking nearby that requires going over a few pot holes or down a steep path with loose scree. What makes the waterfalls so spectacular is that they are formed not by water flowing over a cliff and falling to the ground. They are formed by holes in the rock allowing water that has been through underground caves to seep through the rocks.
For a while I have wanted to go on linear walks but I had no groups to do that with. Now I have the opposite issue. I have groups that only do linear walks so I’m missing circular walks.
I like linear walks. I like taking the train to the start of a walk, and then walking for a day or two, and then taking the train home. As you can tell from the context I like linear walks that last more than one day.
For a while now I have been wearing a Casio and an apple watch or a Garmin and an Apple watch, or a Casio and a Garmin watch or a xiaomi smart band and a casio or a xiaomi smart band and… it goes on.
A Break of Routine The reason for which I’m flying between so many devices is two fold. I have too many devices. There was a time when I went climbing, hiking, cycling, diving, swimming, on via ferrata and more and I was happy with just one watch.