This was the day we began the final stage of our journey - crossing the Alps. We felt rather fit after walking for 2 and a half months, and we'd refined our pack weights to what we knew to be comfortable. Still the the towering shadows across the lake were intimidating as much as awesome. I had experienced guided hiking in the alps 3 times in the last 12 years and realized those experiences were tame in comparison to what lay ahead.
The GR5 reaches the lake at Nyon on the Swiss side and the continuation is by ferry across to France where there are two formal approaches. St Gingolf is described as a very steep difficult climb from the lake without much in the way of views. The other approach from Thonon- les-Bains is longer and and looks to take two days what the other approach does in one. We chose a third option which was described by David May in his detailed website which is to arrive at Evian and walk to the village of Bernex where lodging is plentiful and then climb to intersect the GR which crosses above it coming from Thonon.
So we packed up and took the later train to Lausanne where the boat runs frequently to Evian. The Swiss train was direct and was amazingly smooth. We decided to look around Lausanne and I'm glad we did. It's from lake level way up on a hill where the old city and cathedral are located. The rail station arrives in between. The walk up winds through cobblestone streets of the old city which is upscale shopping and cafes . The cathedral was interesting and scenic with views over the city rooftops. We wound back down to the station. There is a metro train which runs directly to the waterfront boats, but we elected to walk after figuring out that we had to walk beneath the rail station. There were no obvious signs for this but a street side elevator west end of the station building dropped us to a tunnel which led to the street. Using a street map from the station city info center we worked out the route paralleling the metro train. The metro honestly would have been easier but the walk did afford views of elegant old residential buildings. Finally at the waterfront the area was busy with tourists with lake boat connections to many places such as Montreux . We bought tickets and caught a boat within 5 minutes. The day was quite warm and the crossing in hazy sunshine made the ridges of the alps appear as shadowed lines down to the lake edge. We disembarked at Evian and immediately had lunch along with a liter of water. I had preloaded a route from the harbor to the hotel which worked fine! Evian sits at 376 meters while our hotel was at 993 meters elevation. The distance was a bit over 7 km. Looking more closely though- the route took us through Saint Paul en Chablais 4 km from Evian it was already at 876 meters. The temperature was 32C. For the US reader this averages to 660 ft per mile up in hot still air. In this shaded heat we staggered up until Saint Paul-en - Chablais where we found a running city fountain. There I emerged my head in the frigid water. The view of the lake and cities below and the mountains ahead was spectacular indeed. Our final 3km to the quality hotel was much less steep but along a very busy windy road without shoulder much. It felt a bit dangerous though less steep and a bit of breeze lessened the heat. Coming rocketing down amidst the cars was a bicyclist riding hands free preoccupied with texting.......
We reached the hotel Bois Joli which I mentioned was quality but honestly the key feature was the swimming pool the we rapidly were in. I just sat in the shallows for a hour then migrated to a chair and fell asleep briefly. dinner was excellent but simple - lamb chops with peas. We had some wine which increasingly is a mistake as it disturbs my sleep.
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