Hiking Vésubie Valley Cros d'Utelle
We took a day yesterday to do some serious field research work for Beyond. The hamlet of Cros d'Utelle is just into the Vésubie Valley, less than an hour's drive from Nice and the last of the summer crowds on the Cote d'Azur beaches.
The lower end of the Gorges de la Vésubie and the valley open into the Var river at Plan-du-Var, a tiny village about a half-hour inland from the Nice airport. The upper end of the Gorges de la Vésubie and the valley start at St Martin-Vésubie, a mountain town popular as a vacation spot and a center into the hiking mountains of the Mercantour National Park.
A 6-1/2 hour hike shook the computer cobwebs out of our system, and got the leg muscles back into action. A beautiful hike in beautiful mountains.
Still August, and still very few people out there in nature. We passed two pairs of hikers coming the other way along the GR. On the upper part of the hike, we met with three hikers heading up to the Sanctuaire de la Madone d'Utelle on the top of the ridge. It was off our planned loop, but the Beyond team (solo) branched off to the top to see the view before dropping back down to continue the journey. Well worth the effort, of course.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hike in the Mercantour! Great scenery and 2 good companions: my wife and a donkey!
Posted by: Rik | 29 October 2008 at 22:11