Day 23 - Roya to the Vacherie de Longon - Travelling Alone

The final ridge leading to Mount Mounier

I'm hiking alone and there is no-one else on the hike on the 'same day' as me. I know that there are a total of 7 people hiking a day ahead of me (I've been told that in the gite) and it would be nice to have a bit of company in the evening. But people interact differently with you when you are alone and today that worked in my favor.

The day stared with a long climb. At one point I went through a big herd of sheep (it wasn't really practical to go round them) and I met a total of 7 guard dogs, but they were pretty friendly. Then I had a decision - to climb Mount Mounier (2817 m) or not. It would add 2 hours to an already long day, but I felt like it. The top was the highest point of the hike and there were great views, including the snowy Ecrins to the north, the mountains around my home to the west and a hazy view of the Med to the south. 

Viewnorth from Mt. Mounier - the Ecrins in the center 

Afterwards the day seemed a bit long. After a long, gradual descent I had a short climb over a col (les Portes de Lognon, 1952 m) and then wonderful flat walking along a grassy valley to arrive at the Vacherie de Lognon. This is a working farm run that is also a refuge. I had an excellent welcome; a young daughter (7 or 8) showed me the dormitory and explained everything very well ("you can sleep upstairs or downstairs, but it will be warmer upstairs..."). The husband put some logs on the fire so I could read in comfort. Then the wife started baking - Friday is baking day - and she had 12 loaves to bake. 

Lovely hiking to the Vacherie de Longon

When the bread was ready, the wife shared some just baked socca (a specialty of Nice, a sort of cake made with chick-pea flour) and a home-made appertif and we chatted. At the same time, the two daughters prepared a couple of pizzas to go in the oven - one round, one square. The wife explained that they were in the course of moving everything down to the valley for the winter - the cows were down and the goats were going down tomorrow. After a while, she asked me what I wanted to eat and suggested an omelette (made with eggs from the hens roaming outside); I said yes. There followed a huge, excellent meal - I'm afraid I didn't quite finish the 5! egg omelette but everything else was consumed. An excellent evening!