Furfande

26 August 2015:  It's 6:00 pm; I'm sitting at a table in front of the Refuge de Furfande, with a glass of Apremont (a Savoyard white wine).  Here's the view from where I sit:

I earned this moment of pleasure by walking from Brunissard (1746 m.), via the Col de Furfande (2500 m.), to Furfande (2300 m.) along an excellent trail, in the company of Mary and Chloé.  It was another sunny day; agreeably warm, not too hot.  

We are in the Queyras (pronounced "kay-rah" – not "kay-ross", in the Parisian manner).  Yesterday, crossing the Col des Ayes, we entered the Parc naturel régional du Queyras.  It's a beautiful area that is not so well known as other regions of the French Alps such as the Mont Blanc massif, the Vanoise and the Mercantour.  Our topoguide describes the Queyras as follows:

"Le Queyras n'est pas un pays austère: peu de régions de montagne sont aussi riantes; de grandes et belles forêts de pins et de mélèzes entourent des prairies dont l'éblouissante éclosion florale du mois de juin est connue de tous les botanistes du monde." 

[The Queyras is not an austere area: few mountain regions are so pleasant; large, beautiful forests of pine and larch surround meadows whose dazzling blossoming of flowers in June is known among botanists everywhere.]

We like the Queyras a lot and plan to return some time soon to explore the area further.  We'll try to visit in June to see those flowers.  A visit in the autumn would also be dazzling, with the mélèze trees turning golden. 

Meanwhile, we are hiking a section of the Tour du Queyras, the GR58.  The location of refuges and gîtes d'étape between Brunissard and Ceillac is more convenient for us on the GR58 than on the GR5.  So this morning, leaving Brunissard, we followed the GR58, rather than the GR5.  We will re-join the GR5 in Ceillac, two days from now.

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As we were leaving Brunissard this morning, we heard the distinctive, strident horn of a traveling bakery.  We bought a baguette. 

We liked the colors of this house in Brunissard:

Chloé was interested to see hops growing over the entrance to this house:

Leaving Brunissard, we hiked on a beautiful trail traversing a forested slope. 

At one point, the trail crossed an open slope and descended for awhile.  Happily, though, it did not take us all the way back down to the valley. 

Mélèze et Montagne:

We re-entered the forest:

Notre déjeuner sur l'herbe: 

Emerging from the forest, our trail climbed to the Col de Furfande. 

This could be the location for filming an American TV ad for a pickup truck.

As we approached the pass, we encountered a herd of sheep being guided and protected by several chiens patous. 

Col de Furfande (2500 m.):

It is surprising to find cars parked at a relatively high pass.  There is, in fact, a dirt road that reaches the pass from the north side.  Supplies for the refuge are driven to the pass and then transported to the refuge on a small, tracked vehicle that can travel on the hiking trail. 

It's a short hike down from the pass to the Refuge de Furfande (2300 m.).  The refuge is quite comfortable (approaching the "hôtel en altitude" category), and the people who work here are friendly. 

The Refuge de Furfande:

The cheese course at dinner in many mountain refuges comprises one little slice of Tomme for each person.  Here, we had un plateau de fromage – a plate with several cheeses, nicely presented and described to us:

Sunset at the Refuge de Furfande: