Hike to Pont des Pierres & Gorges de la Valserine
In the fall of 2019, I went on a hike near Bellegarde-sur-Valserine: I walked the Voie du Tram until Pont des Pierres and took a trail along the Valserine river on the way back.
river
Hike to Trou de l'Enfer, Canyon de Ternèze, le Grand Joueret & Mont Saint-Michel
In the fall of last year, I went on a hike in the Bauges mountains above Chambéry: I passed through Trou de l’Enfer, Canyon de Ternèze and Motte Castrale du Grand Joueret on the way to Chapelle Saint-Michel.
Hike along the Fier river in Thônes: Betwen Pont de Morette & Pont Romain des Clefs
In the fall of last year, I went on a hike along the Fier river in Thônes: I walked upstream from Pont de Morette to Pont Romain des Clefs.
Walk along the Arve river: From Annemasse to La Jonction in Geneva
Last fall, I went on a walk along the Arve river, from Annemasse (Haute-Savoie) to La Jonction in Geneva.
Hike to Cascade du Nant Trouble, Gorge des Usses & Pont de la Caille
Last fall, starting from Andilly not far from Col du Mont Sion, I walked through Cascade du Nant Trouble, Gorge des Usses (visiting the Bains de la Caille there) and Pont de la Caille.
Ruins of Bains de la Caille
The Bains de la Caille (Baths of La Caille) are former thermal baths, now lying in ruins at the bottom of Gorge des Usses below the Ponts de la Caille, between Cruseilles and Allonzier-la-Caille in Haute-Savoie. There have been baths on the site since the middle ages, because of the presence of a source of sulfur water. However, the modern Bains were built in the mid-19th century. It drew customers from Annecy and Geneva and there was extensive construction done over the years, including a hotel, a church and even a casino. The Bains closed for good in 1960. Most of the buildings have been dismantled it seems but, for some reason, the building containing swimming pools is still standing today. There is also a small metal bridge (which is kinda falling apart) to cross the Usses river near the swimming pool building, as well as ruins here and there on both sides of the river.
Visiting the Bains is officially forbidden and dangerous (apparently there is a risk of rockfall from the cliff above) but the ban is not really enforced and the path is not blocked very convincingly. The most direct way to come is by hiking down from the Ponts de la Caille (Bridges of La Caille), on the Allonzier side: There is a steep road with many switchbacks that goes to a large bridge over the Usses and then to the Bains nearby. However, erosion over the years and lack of maintenance have transformed it into more of a trail (barely passable at one point). There is also an easier path from the mouth of Gorge des Usses: This is the one I took on the way in, hiking from Copponex (I used the direct road to the Ponts on the way out). I will post more details about that hike in a few days.
Hike to Crêt de Chambellon & Source du Biel (Faverges)
Last fall, I went on a hike in Faverges, south of Lake Annecy: I walked up to the summit of Crêt de Chambellon, a small mountain that overlooks the town, then walked along the Eau Morte river, making a detour to the Source du Biel, which used to provide drinking water to Faverges.
Turin
Back in October, I headed to Italy starting with Turin, the former capital of the Duchy of Savoy, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Italy. I went there by direct bus from Annecy through Flixbus. It took about 4h and just €15, passing through Chambéry and Tunnel de Fréjus on the way. I stayed in Turin for one week and did a lot of visiting. The weather was not that great but I still had a good time. Here are a few photos I took with my new Sony RX100 VII I had bought before the trip. I will soon make more in-depth articles (once I have cleared the backlog of hikes from the summer / early fall).
Bonneville
When I visited the Château des Sires de Faucigny in Bonneville last summer, I also took the opportunity to walk around the town and crossed the Arve river a couple of times.
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
While waiting for a bus to Nantua, I stopped at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a city west of Geneva, for about an hour in early morning. I walked around, visited a park along the Rhône then went back to the train station.