November 2, 2014

Tour du Lac d'Annecy by bike

The Lac d’Annecy (Lake Annecy) is located in Haute-Savoie and is the third largest lake in France. In spring, I took my bike on a loop around the lake. The loop is about 42km and should take about 3 hours to complete in one go. Starting in Annecy-le-Vieux, I first followed the road southwards on the eastern shore of the lake and stopped at Roc de Chère, Cascade d’Angon and Réserve Naturelle du Bout du Lac. It started raining heavily at that point so I rushed to go back to Annecy. However, the western shore of the lake is actually the nicest for cyclists, with a flat and fully separate bike lane (Voie Verte), which goes all the way from Annecy to Albertville. I used photos from other times I was on that path instead.

November 1, 2014

Walk in Réserve Naturelle du Bout du Lac

The Réserve Naturelle du Bout du Lac is a nature reserve located in the marshland at the southern end of Lake Annecy, where the Ire and Eau Morte rivers flow into the lake. The park has trails for pedestrians and horse riders, as well as viewpoints on the lake. There are also beavers in the rivers but I did not see any during my visit. Unfortunately, it started to rain pretty hard while I was there so I had to rush a bit.

October 31, 2014

Hike to Cascade d'Angon & Ermitage de Saint-Germain

After the Roc de Chère, I continued on my loop around Lake Annecy: My next stop was the center of the village of Talloires. The short path to the so called Cascade d’Angon (Waterfall of Angon) starts there. The waterfall is at the end of a slippery trail carved in the rock. I then kept going up, in the direction of the Ermitage de Saint-Germain. Saint Germain was a monk who founded the abbey of Talloires, on the shore of Lake Annecy, in the 11th century. The ermitage is a church built on the location where he used to come for retreat. There is also a great view on the lake from there. I then went back down to Talloires.

October 31, 2014

Walk in Roc de Chère

The Roc de Chère is a national nature reserve in the village of Talloires, on the eastern bank of Lake Annecy. I went there by bike from Annecy, while doing a loop around the lake. There are many trails in the forest and a few viewpoints on the lake.

October 30, 2014

Hike to Pointe de Banc Plat

Pointe de Banc Plat is a peak located at the south-west of Lake Annecy in the Bauges Massif. The area around it is known as Montagne du Charbon. The summit has a great view on the Bauges and the mountains around the lake. This page has the itinerary that I tried to follow: After the summit, instead of taking the ridge to Dent des Portes, I actually went back on the same path as the one I took on the way up.

October 27, 2014

Hike to Taillefer & Montagne d'Entrevernes

The Taillefer (in the foreground on the photo above, taken from the Ermitage de Saint-Germain) and the Montagne d’Entrevernes (background) are mountains in the Bauges Massif, on the western shore of Lac d’Annecy. This page details an itinerary similar to the one that I followed (except that, at Col de la Cochette, I stayed on the ridge instead of going down on the other side).

October 26, 2014

Hike to Mont Veyrier & Mont Baron

Mont Veyrier dominates the north-east side of Lake Annecy. This article describes the itinerary that I followed.

October 18, 2014

Hike to Mount Mikuni, Mount Shoto & Mount Jinba

For my last hike in Japan, I went back to the Lake Sagami area. I went to Mount Mikuni, Mount Shoto and Mount Jinba, basically following this itinerary, except that I took the bus at the beginning.

September 22, 2014

Lake Okutama / Ogouchi Dam in the rain

After completing the Otama Walking Trail, I took the bus to Lake Okutama. My goal was to walk the Ikoi trail to the floating bridge but the path was closed for repair. It had also started to rain very hard on the way there so I cut the visit short.

June 22, 2014

Hike around Lake Onuma at Mount Akagi

In May, I went to Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in order to visit Mount Akagi (赤城山). There is no actual peak named “Mount Akagi”: It refers to the whole mountain range in the area. Its best-known attractions are Akagi Shrine, Lake Onuma (大沼) and Mount Kurobi (黒檜山). While I was there, I took a series of trails going through some of the peaks surrounding the lake. This page can serve as a reference (although it differs a bit from what I did).