Hike from Le Grand-Bornand to Saint-Jean-de-Sixt & Thônes
Last summer, I went on a hike in the Bornes mountains: Starting from Le Grand-Bornand, I walked all the way to Thônes, passing by Saint-Jean-de-Sixt on the way.
river
Walk along the Seymaz river (Geneva)
At the end of last year, I went on a walk along the Seymaz river, which flows entirely inside the canton of Geneva: Starting from Château de Rouelbeau (Rouelbeau Castle), I followed its entire course until the confluence with the Arve.
Here is an official brochure about the river (PDF).
Vidange du Rhône 2021
A few weeks ago, the Vidange du Rhône (or Chasses du Rhône, meaning Flushing of the Rhône) took place between Barrage de Génissiat (Genissiat Dam) in France and Barrage de Verbois (Verbois Dam) in Geneva. Both the CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône), which manage the dams on the French side, and the SIG (Services Industriels de Genève) cooperate on this operation: It is performed every few years in order to purge sediments brought into the Rhône river by the Arve, which accumulate and increase the risk of floods.
For a few days, the dams in the area are opened and their reservoirs emptied, in order to increase the discharge rate with the goal of flushing the sediments from the river bed. The river then turns gray, just like the Arve. Another side effect is that the level of the Rhône is lowered, almost as low as before dams were built along the river so it becomes quite the view. One other, less happy, consequence is that it is a bit of a fish apocalypse, with many of them dying because of the increase in solids suspended in the water.
I went to see this phenomenon in the area around Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, first in Éloise near Pont de Grésin, as part of a hike. Then a few days later, I visited Bellegarde itself just for this purpose and walked along the Rhône. Because of the the Corona restrictions on border crossings, unfortunately, I couldn’t visit the area upstream of the Verbois Dam in Geneva.
Hike to Mont de Boisy
During winter 2020, I went on a hike to Mont de Boisy, a small mountain next to Lake Geneva between Annemasse and Thonon.
Hike to Nâves-Parmelan, Villaz & Argonay
In winter 2020, starting in Annecy-le-Vieux, I went on a hike on the other side of the Fier river to Nâves-Parmelan, Villaz and Argonay.
Walk along the Aire river: From Saint-Julien-en-Genevois to Geneva
Last winter, I went on a walk along another river in Geneva: This time I followed the Aire river from Saint-Julien-en-Genevois until the center of Geneva.
Hike along the Viéran river
At the beginning of 2020, I went on a hike along the Viéran river, north of Annecy. I had already followed part of it when I walked from Pont de la Caille to Argonay & Annecy: This time I followed the course of the river all the way until its confluence with the Fier river.
Hike along the Drize river / Bois du Milly (Geneva)
At the beginning of 2020, I went on a hike in Geneva: Starting from the Lancy-Bachet train station, I followed the Drize river until the border with Haute-Savoie, then walked back passing through Bois du Milly in Plan-les-Ouates.
Hike to Barrage de Génissiat & Berges du Rhône
As my last outing of 2019, I went on a hike to Barrage de Génissiat, a large dam on the Rhône, then followed the river north to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
Hike to Barrage de Chavaroche & Centrale Hydroélectrique de Brassilly
At the end of 2019, I went on walk in Poisy, near Annecy: From the center of Poisy, I went down towards the Fier river and Barrage de Chavaroche then walked along the Fier until Centrale Hydroélectrique de Brassilly.