It's Serre-Poncon - again!..........

Today I had to start from Saint Apollinaire or more precisely, from the little lake above the village. We drove through the village, much changed by renovated houses and some new villas, all with a tremendous view over the Serre-Poncon lake and the surrounding mountains.

{Lac St-Apollinaire}

After lunch, which we ate while watching small red dragonflies, I set off up the brutally steep track that would take me onto the forest road I wanted to follow. This is the GR 50 again, and winds above the lake until I can drop down into Chorges. It wasn't until I did this walk that I realised how close to the lake Chorges actually is. When we're driving along the main road from Gap past Chorges back to Embrun, there is no view of it until closer to Savines.

{A fine place for a picnic}

The forest track provided the expected sightings of the lake below me. I should have taken my binoculars but I had forgotten them again. There were white winged insects in the air today. One landed near me and I saw they were Praying Mantis.  The photos I took were no good so I won't post them here! It's surprising how well camouflaged these insects are even at close quarters.

{Looking across the fields}

A bit of navigational difficulty occurred when I decided to leave the large stony track and take a smaller path across some fields. Three times I made the wrong decision about which way to go, each time having to climb back up to where I had started. Finally I found the right way and began to descend to Chorges.

Along a wooded path beside a farm I encountered a very large pond of water barring my way. With no way round it apart from climbing a fence, which I was reluctant to do, I plunged in and waded through it. Half way across, thick grey mud squishing round my toes and over the tops of my socks told me I might have made a mistake! If I'd been wearing boots I might not have done it. The Keen water shoes had encouraged me to give it a try! The next kilometre was not pleasant, as the mud was rather smelly, and my feet were well clarted.

{Mud bath!}

I found a small stream of clear water at a junction as I neared the village so there I washed my feet, shoes, legs and socks. Refreshed, and smelling much sweeter, I arrived in Chorges to meet John for coffee in the village square. It's quite an old town, with crumbling buildings, but a good atmosphere. We had a look around before setting off home.

{One of the locals?}

Viewranger tells me I walked 16 kms in 4 hours 40 minutes, gaining 958 metres and descending 1625.