The weather cleared after we crossed the Col de Coux. We enjoyed sunny weather as we walked down to the Refuge de Chardonnière And since we arrived early (3:00 pm), there was time to enjoy that sunshine on the terrace!
This is not our first visit to the Refuge de Chardonnière. In September 1989, we hiked down from the Col de Coux in wet weather, on a very slippery trail. We were looking – without much enthusiasm, it must be admitted – for a place to pitch our tent. We saw and followed a little sign pointing toward a refuge. The place was just starting as a refuge; it didn't yet have a name. We happily took a room with mattresses on the floor and no electricity. It was warm and dry! The dinner menu offered standard dishes, such as poulet frites, spaghetti, etc., but our hostess told us that, instead, we could have some of the couscous that the family was eating that evening. Would we prefer that? Yes!!
We have retained a special fondness for this refuge since that evening. We enjoyed telling the story to our hostess upon arrival this afternoon – and she even remembered that couscous dinner...
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Departure in the fog this morning from the Refuge de Chésery:
Swiss mountain trail marks:
There wasn't much to see outside, but we found a delicious tarte à l'abricot inside a refuge along the way!
The roof of a farmhouse painted with Swiss national colors – or perhaps a big GR marker?...
No rain on today's picnic spot!
Hiking up to the Col de Coux, with some blue sky beginning to appear:
The customs (douane) post at the Col de Coux could, surprisingly, be operational: It has a solar panel. It remains a puzzle why there is a customs post here and not at some of the other passes that lie on the Franco-Swiss border. If I wanted to smuggle something across the border, I would know which pass to cross and which to avoid!
Another (and probably the last) border stone – borne – for my collection on this hike. We will touch the Italian border once or twice farther south, but I doubt that it will be marked in the traditional way.
Descent from the Col de Coux:
The trail down from the Col de Coux was not so slippery as in the past, but it is badly eroded. Trail maintenance, including such things as water breaks, is rare around here.
There are now numerous signs on the trail pointing the hiker toward the Refuge de Chardonnière.
The Refuge de Chardonnière:
We shared the refuge with a pleasant family whom we had first met in La Chapelle d'Abondance and later encountered on the trail:
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