Looking through the little hike booklet we got from the Info Centre at Lamure Sur Azergues, I find a really neat looking hike that take us around the 5 fancy Viaducts near Saint-Nizier-d’Azergues, a town about 15km North of Chamelet. The hike is a 12km loop with 334m of elevation change and a long flat portion along the top of a rise where one can catch one's breath. There is also an opportunity to lengthen the hike by a kilometre, to see a grove of giant Douglas Fir near Claveisolles (see top right of the map below).
Last night was actually pretty cold--as if to tell us that our summer here is at its end. With only a couple of days left before the end of our sojourn in France, we start packing up. I calculate that this is very likely the last day we can do a really long hike. It's today or bust for the Viaducts!
Fortunately, today it is a comfortable 24 degrees Celsius, which is great for a longer hike. However, as we drive to Saint-Nizier, it starts to rain. Hard.
Colin and I look at each other doubtfully.
“Look up ahead, there is blue sky there...” I offer. “I’m not walking in
this,” Colin says bluntly. Fortunately,
by the time we get to Saint-Nizier, the rain has stopped and the sun is out.
We park by the church in the centre of Saint-Nizier, which has a cockerel at the top of its steeple. (Yes, the name probably sounds familiar... it's the same saint I discussed in "Last Day in Lyon.") We've actually encountered several rooster-topped churches in France, for example, there are at least two in the Bagnols area, including the Frontenas church, whose patron saint is... Saint Nizier.
The rooster becomes representative of Saint Peter: the one who claims to be steadfastly faithful, yet whose actions do not follow his words. This may sound negative, but as he cries in repentance for his sin of denial, other followers can see an example of someone whose faith wavered, but yet who was later forgiven and welcomed back into the fellowship by Jesus. More than that, Jesus encourages Peter to become a leader in the church, carrying on teaching Jesus' message after Jesus' death. This is how Peter (and the symbol of the rooster) becomes emblematic of the Christian church as a whole, a symbolism made official in the 6th Century by Pope Gregory I.
So is there a specific link between Saint Peter and Saint Nizier? I am not sure. The more famous Saint Nizier church in Lyon does not have a cockerel on its steeple, but it does have a statue of Saint Peter inside. This is because that church was known in the 5th Century as The Church of the Holy Apostles. In the 6th Century, the Bishop Nizier was buried there, and the church ended up changing its name to honor the many miracles reported to have occurred hear his body. Any link between the two seems coincidental, at best. I digress...
At the same intersection as the church, there is a Gite de France and a little corner store. We go into the store to see whether there are any good hiking snacks. It's mostly canned goods and candy. The bakery shelf sits empty, and the cheese shelf has two lonely rounds of goat cheese from Ferme de l'Espoir in nearby Claveisolles. We leave empty-handed.
Right across the street from the church, a giant trail map is posted on the side of a building. It includes the "Green Viaduct Trail" we will be following today, as well as several other trails of varying lengths. It is not as detailed as the other randonnée maps we've been using, but it still seems pretty useful, especially if you don't have a randonnée map (click on photo below to enlarge).
At the same intersection as the church, there is a Gite de France and a little corner store. We go into the store to see whether there are any good hiking snacks. It's mostly canned goods and candy. The bakery shelf sits empty, and the cheese shelf has two lonely rounds of goat cheese from Ferme de l'Espoir in nearby Claveisolles. We leave empty-handed.
Right across the street from the church, a giant trail map is posted on the side of a building. It includes the "Green Viaduct Trail" we will be following today, as well as several other trails of varying lengths. It is not as detailed as the other randonnée maps we've been using, but it still seems pretty useful, especially if you don't have a randonnée map (click on photo below to enlarge).
Nearby, there is a bank of very well-marked Viaduct randonnée signs, attached onto a city signpost. Again, these are different from the yellow randonnée signposts we are used to following, but they seem pretty clear, as they are tiny images of Viaducts, color coded to match the trails.
We follow them up the street and soon encounter a yellow randonnée signpost labeled Le Bourg, with the Viaduct signs attached onto it. The Green Viaduct sign points us down Chevenal road in the direction of Gouttelafay (no, not Gallifrey).
We quickly exit the town, and pass a public bath. It appears that this bath could be heated, as there is a spot for a fire. A nice option for the tired pilgrim. I hazard a guess that the pilgrims might heat rocks on the fire, then put the hot rocks into the bath to heat the water. Colin guesses that they heat water in a cauldron on the fire and then transfer the hot water to the bath. Well... that sounds very sensible too... and if Xena: Warrior Princess has taught me anything, it's that they heat the water before they pour it into the hot tub... and that there were a LOT of hot tubs in ancient Greece. ;)
The road curves to match the end of the valley, and we can see the town of Saint-Nizier above us on our right. Looking down the valley, we are rewarded with our first view of a Viaduct! The five Viaducts in this area follow the Givors/Moret railway line, which joins Lyon to Lozanne. The railway makes an interesting "helical loop" in this area (see map above), so that the trains can change a great elevation over a short distance, without ever exceeding a dangerous grade. The hiking trail will take us both past and through this loop, giving us ample opportunities to see the Viaducts up close.
We continue on Chevenal road as it heads towards a small cluster of houses. In the driveway of the first of the houses, we see some wayward sheep turning someone's carefully tended decorative planter into a quick and easy snack.
Arriving at an intersection of Chevenal and Chevenal, we guess that this little hamlet is named Chevenal. This corner hosts a lovely old Pressoir, filled with flowers. The gates of the house on the corner are wide open and adorned with giant pink and white paper flowers. We assume there must be a wedding happening. Beside the gates, a Green Viaduct trail sign directs us to make a U-turn to our left, from Chevenal onto Chevenal, and almost immediately we see another Green Viaduct trail sign telling us to turn right onto a grassy path. The driveway of the house here sports a pair of stone lions. It's all very picturesque.
We are impressed at how well-marked the trail is. These Viaduct trail signs were obviously installed by a hiker. Someone has taken great care to carve each little Viaduct out of plastic, affixing each one onto a little wooden sign, and anticipating each and every point where the hiker might need them.
The trail forks, and we follow the sign to the right. We head downhill to a creek. The creek is small enough that the path is dry as it crosses the creek and swings to the right.
The Gouttelafay randonnée signpost--and its accompanying Green Viaduct signpost--points us right, towards Les Douglas. We change direction and continue to head downhill. We are descending into the valley near the hamlets of Le Paquet and Le Magot.
The dirt trail joins up with the paved road, called Les Pins, at the little hamlet of Paquet. We continue on the pavement only a little ways before the gravel trail drops off the pavement to the left, and we find ourselves in the woods. Actually, the gravel road is the continuation of Les Pins, while the paved road continues on as Le Paquet. It might sound confusing, but the handy little Green Viaeduct signs easily keep us on track.
Les Pins very quickly ends at Highway D385, which runs the length of the valley, and we find an untitled yellow randonnée signpost telling us to cross the highway here. On the other side of the Highway, a city sign for Le Magot points down the appropriate road we should take.
As we wak along road Le Magot, there is no fence separating us from a fairly large herd of white cows grazing in the adjacent field. They stare at us as we pass, but fortunately, make no attempt to approach us. One mother cow has a lineup of youngsters waiting patiently for their turn to feed.
We assume these cows belong to one of the two farms along Le Magot. We cross a small metal bridge over a creek to get to the first farm. It feels better at least having a creek between me and the herd of cows. This farm has a large wooden cross with a heart on it.
Passing the first farm, we can see a rather large pond on our left, and the Viaduct suddenly appears ahead of us on the path. A farmer at the second farm is using a tractor to pile logs under the Viaduct. We wonder whether the Viaducts are on public or private land.
The walking path takes us right underneath the arches of the Viaduct, then swings around to the right and takes us up level with the top of it. From this vantage, we can clearly see the train tracks running along the top. We can also see where hikers have beat their own trail over to the top of the Viaduct. There seems to be a wide enough stretch of gravel beside the train tracks to safely walk alongside them. However, today we stick to the established hiking trail.
Colin is eager for a snack, and pulls out a gigantic slice of cured ham he packed in the backpack. As he bites directly into it, I laugh in surprise and keep telling him to "eat his delicious ha." He doesn't take the bait and just grins. I leave him to his ham, and am satisfied with a few nuts left over from a previous hike.
At the first fork in the road, we follow the Green Viaduct sign left, then at Les Douglas randonnée signpost, we turn right, and the trail nearly folds back upon itself. The Les Douglas signpost also has a green arrow announcing "Les Douglas 0.5km."
According to the giant trail map we saw in town, at 200m tall, Les Douglas are the biggest Douglas Firs in Europe. According to the Claveisolles village website, where the trees are located, the tallest tree of the group is only 50m tall.
Being from British Columbia, Canada, I like big trees. Our third-biggest Douglas Fir was narrowly saved from one of the many wildfires BC suffered last month. Hindsight tells me we should have extended our hike by 1km to go see the big Douglas Firs, but at the time, I didn't realize what Les Douglas was, or why it had a different colored arrow on the signpost.
The trail opens to a valley on our left and gives us some nice views of the little hamlets within Claveisolles. I don't think I captured Les Douglas in this one random photo I took of the area.
Then, out of nowhere, a car passes us on the narrow path. We jump off into the grassy shoulder. I look inside the car as it passes and see a forlorn little girl looking out at me. A few minutes later, it is coming back in the opposite direction, sans little girl. We hear voices up ahead, and soon encounter a large group of children in a field. They seem to be divided into groups, and some are yelling out random things in unison. Others are just randomly screaming. It must be some kind of day camp. We wave to one of the adults present. The children ignore us as we pass by.
As we continue onward past the children, we get some nice views of the valley in the opposite direction. I think we are looking at the town of Le Brie (no, not Bree). Sadly, this is not the same town of Brie which produces the awesome cheese, or I would be hoofing it down into the valley and that would be it for the hike today. lol. The cheese-producing town of Brie is near Paris, nearly 500km North of here.
We follow the path in basically a straight line all along the crest. Just past a field in Combe Villars, we pass a metal cross inset with diamond designs and M and C overlaid on each other in the centre. I make a guess they are for "Mary" and "Christ."
We soon reach the Combe Villars randonnée signpost, which is next to a heavily loaded signpost declaring "Croix Des Moines" at the top, and carrying a yellow VTT arrow, a yellow painted randonnée flag, the Green Viaducts arrow, as well as a new trail sign I've never seen before: four differently colored Christmas Trees. Perhaps they are showing trails related to Les Douglas?? The style of the sign suggests they are made by the same person who made the Viaduct signs. Regardless, all of these signs point towards Les Chazelles, so we continue straight onward in that direction.
The path is flat and even, with dense brush on each side. It's very easy walking along this stretch, and even though the sun is warm, we begin to feel refreshed. Elevation changes--or lack thereof--can make such a difference on a hike!
Then I hear the telltale sound of a vehicle engine. There is no-where for us to go on this narrow road... we clamber into the brush, and manage to get about a foot and a half off the road. Soon, a tractor with a big trailer comes puttering by from behind us.
It's quite a nerve-wracking moment, particularly since the tractor has several long sharp metal poles sticking out from its hood. I muse that it would be a good vehicle to use for defense in a zombie-apocalypse, but Colin, who is much more well-versed in zombie lore, claims it would actually be a terrible defense system, since--unless you impaled the zombies in the head--they would all just be stuck on the poles and carried along with the vehicle, still wiggling around and trying to eat your brains. "A snow-plough type vehicle would be much more effective..." he continues, but I'm already distracted by a tastier treat... blackberries!
After munching through a half-dozen berries each, we continue onward. There are a few forks off this main path, but each time there is a Green Viaduct Trail signpost to keep us going straight onward. The path goes through a grove of Douglas Fir, but based on the size of the trees, I am fairly certain these are unrelated to Les Douglas. We next past another open field on the right before arriving at a paved road.
At the road, there is a yellow randonnée signpost, telling us to turn left. Several other trail signs also point left, including two Christmas Tree arrows. It takes us a moment to find the Green Viaduct Trail sign--hiding in the shade of the corner fencepost pole--as the only arrow directing us to turn right.
We follow the paved road through the little hamlet of Vigue. A brown and white cow watches us pass. We reach an intersection with Highway D9 with city signs pointing to Les Granges and Le Reynard to our left. However, the green Viaduct sign points us to the right, and we pass underneath a railroad bridge.
We follow the Highway as it crosses the Azergues River. Crossing the bridge over the river makes me nervous, as there is no sidewalk. We must simply watch for traffic, then walk right on the Highway. Fortunately, there is not a lot of traffic, and we cross without incident.
On the other side of the bridge, there are several city signs announcing Highway D385. The ones on the left point towards Lyon (54 km away) and Lamure Sur Azergues (a more reasonable 1.5 km away). The signs to the right point to Les Echarmeaux (13 km away), which means nothing to us.
For the first time, we can't easily find the Green Viaduct signpost. We check the map in the booklet. It says, go under the railway track. Check. At Le Gravier, cross D485... (well, this highway sign clearly says D385... close enough??) and then climb up between houses near the garage on the left.
We examine all the buildings at the intersection. We see a car garage on the South-East corner (on our left), but no houses near it. On the North-West corner, we see a building with a statue on the roof... it doesn't seem much like a house, and appears like it might be abandoned. The statue is really nice though... it appears to be a Madonna, except she wears a crown. (Writing this blogpost, I just learned a lot about why some statues of Mary wear a crown! As they say, "The more you know...")
Scanning South along the other side of the Highway, it's only then that I notice there is a cross to the left of the building with the statue, completely covered in vines. Next to it is a small group of houses. "Well, at least there are houses here..." I begin, "let's get a closer look and maybe we can figure out where the path is?" We cut through the car garage's parking lot to the cross-walk in front of the houses. It's only as we are actually crossing the Highway that I see the Green Viaduct arrow, pointing us up a dirt incline next to the orange house. VERY easy to miss!
gravier (ɡʀavje )
Translations
masculine noun
(loose) gravel (no pl)
We follow it across a small field and through a small patch of woods. Then, through a bigger field and a bigger patch of woods. While passing the bigger field, we can see a Viaduct across the highway from La Collogne.
We do one more field-woods series before arriving in the town of La Collogne itself. I am very impressed with a tree fungus that looks like a stack of potato chips. Colin is less impressed. "That's gross," he declares emphatically.
We follow the Green Viaduct signs through La Collogne. There is also an untitled yellow randonnée sign, and a neat-looking well. While overall, the hamlet appears traditional, at least one house is enjoying the conveniences of modern life...
Heading out of Le Collogne towards Montcenis, we are approached by three big off-leash dogs, two of which are not exactly acting friendly. I'm nervous, after our last off-leash dog encounter. This time, fortunately, the owners are also there on the side of the road, and call their dogs over.
The houses in Montcenis are an interesting mix of traditional stone and unfinished concrete. We pass two crosses: one is wooden with a cut-out we think might be a wine goblet; the second is stone with a detailed carving of Jesus.
The latter has a carved inscription on the base, which is difficult to read due to weathering: "O Crux Ave" (Hail to the Cross) and "Pater Ave" (Hail to the Father), which are the names of Roman Catholic hymns/prayers. Underneath this, I think it says "200 J d'Indulgence" (200 days of indulgence), which I think refers to the reduction in punishment for your sins you would get if you perform the hymns/prayers in question. It is quite interesting to me, as most pilgrim crosses we have passed on our randonnées do not have this amount of writing on them. Many, like the wooden cross with the goblet, do not have any.
The "indulgence" cross is quite near Highway D9, and we cross the Highway. Right on the other side of the Highway, there are both city signs and Viaduct signs pointing us down the road towards the hamlet of Chez Pierre.
In Chez Pierre, we pass a group of cows with very painful looking rings in their noses. These are the angriest looking cows I have seen so far in France--although I can imagine why. One small wire strung along the road separates them from us. I'm not positive it's even electrified. I do nothing to aggravate these poor souls. It is much more pleasant to admire the roses at the first house we encounter.
At the first intersection in town, the Green Viaeduct sign directs us to follow a pair of tire tracks. Googlemaps names it Le Brie road. We are sad to see the flattened carcass of a frog who didn't make it across the road. He needed a rooster escort.
Arriving in Le Brie, we cross a paved intersection where the yellow Les Petits Trèves randonnée signpost tells us to continue on the gravel path. From here, we can see the first Viaduct we that saw heading out on our hike today, and looking behind it, we can see where we walked along the crest of the hill by Combe Villars.
The very last section of the trail heading back in to Saint-Niziers is a very steep grassy path through light woods. Feeling a little emotional about the end of one of our last hikes in France, I start singing "The Way" by Fastball: "They made up their minds, and they started packing... They left before the sun came up that day. An exit to eternal summer slacking... Where were they going without even knowing the way??"
Colin surprises me by picking up the second verse: "Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold... it's always summer, they'll never get cold!" We sing together as we climb: "They won't make it home but they really don't care... They wanted the highway: they're happier there today!!!"
Even though I labour from the steep climb (why did the trail have to end like this?), my mood is much buoyed by the time we reach the cemetery and rejoin the road. From here, it's only 150m to the camionnette. We pass one more wooden pilgrim cross, and walk to the church.
Even though I labour from the steep climb (why did the trail have to end like this?), my mood is much buoyed by the time we reach the cemetery and rejoin the road. From here, it's only 150m to the camionnette. We pass one more wooden pilgrim cross, and walk to the church.
Back at the gite, we set out our cheese selection and dig in. Then, we drank up the wine, and got to talking… We now had more important things to say! ;)
We decide to set aside most of tomorrow for packing. It means we will have less time to hike tomorrow, if any. However, by completing our packing one day early, it means our last full day can be spent relaxing and dealing with any last minute surprises, instead of rushing around like maniacs.
With potentially only time for one hike left, I spend a lot of time with the randonnée map, trying to pick the perfect hiking conclusion to our marvelous summer séjourn.
No comments:
Post a Comment