Randonnée été : Les enfants de là-haut
A mountain of stories tells you about the climb and life in the mountain pastures: flowers, cows and freedom!
At the level of the cable car pylon there is a place called "Coutigat", in patois the left side, the left bank of the stream. This is where your zigzagging ascent towards the mountain pastures begins.
This path, entirely dug with a pickaxe, is called "the baker's path" after her first name, Marie Fidéline, wife of the village baker. At the beginning of the 20th century, during her youth, she regularly went up to the Clos Giroud mountain pasture (now Clos Giraud) where the family spent the summer in the summer pastures. The path was restored a few years ago. Beautiful views of the Belledonne and Rissiou massifs will surprise you, as well as the village of Vaujany and the hamlet of La Villette.
Remember to admire the view of the village of Vaujany, enjoy the layers of vegetation and the mountain pastures of col du Sabot strange translation when we know that in the past it allowed passage to Saboia (Savoie in patois).
You will cross mountain pastures: perhaps a marmot's whistle will welcome you. Here are the ruins of houses of La Chalp. This name will later give the word "chalet". These old sheepfolds are witnesses of a time when people went up to spend the summer in the high-altitude meadows to graze the herds of cows, goats or sheep. This is still the case today, the animals migrate from the south of France or from the plains to the mountains (mainly cows and sheep). You will be able to see this during this hike.
In the past, men would go and restore the paths for “enmontagnage”. This announced the summer season in the mountain pastures.
The mothers, for their part, were preparing their things in their trunks. A wind of freedom was taking hold of the children who would soon leave the village. They would not finish school, except for those taking the Certificate of Studies.
When the big day rang, the mules ready, the families composed of grandmothers, mothers and children left to migrate up there, in the wide open spaces. The fathers remained down in the village taking on other chores.
The days were filled with picking of all kinds. In particular, picking flowers commonly called “thistles” to feed one or two pigs who had also been taken up to the mountain pastures.
Hay, this mountain gold used to feed the animals all winter, will be brought back down on sleds/sleighs along the trails. A very delicate and yet necessary undertaking. Moreover, we find a meaning of Vaujany, in “val jaunit” which could be explained by the color that the valley covered with fields takes in summer.
On the mountain pastures, life was punctuated by chores of all kinds, which nevertheless rhyme with space, freedom and mutual assistance.
Near the chalets was a vaulted cellar, keeping the cool (the fridge of yesteryear), which is called “the stou”. It was a way of preserving cheese, tommes and butter.
Milking cows made it possible to make butter and, above all, to sell it. Indeed, Vaujany, the pastures are among the most extensive and productive in the canton in terms of butter and cheese. According to Abbot Bayle, Vaujany is even one of the municipalities that exports the most.
Rainy days sometimes announced the arrival of the men from down below. The fathers would go up to bring provisions to the family. On this occasion, good, non-stale bread would be the subject of succulent lunches or a snack of buttered toast awaited by the children.
The descent from the mountain pastures or dismounting takes place at the end of summer. A move then takes place from the top to the bottom.
The children know that the start of the school year is approaching. The herd is being brought back down and will now graze on the meadows mown during the summer. The regrowth of the grass after the first cut will provide good food for the animals and supplement the food in the mountain pastures before the arrival of winter.
This path, entirely dug with a pickaxe, is called "the baker's path" after her first name, Marie Fidéline, wife of the village baker. At the beginning of the 20th century, during her youth, she regularly went up to the Clos Giroud mountain pasture (now Clos Giraud) where the family spent the summer in the summer pastures. The path was restored a few years ago. Beautiful views of the Belledonne and Rissiou massifs will surprise you, as well as the village of Vaujany and the hamlet of La Villette.
Remember to admire the view of the village of Vaujany, enjoy the layers of vegetation and the mountain pastures of col du Sabot strange translation when we know that in the past it allowed passage to Saboia (Savoie in patois).
You will cross mountain pastures: perhaps a marmot's whistle will welcome you. Here are the ruins of houses of La Chalp. This name will later give the word "chalet". These old sheepfolds are witnesses of a time when people went up to spend the summer in the high-altitude meadows to graze the herds of cows, goats or sheep. This is still the case today, the animals migrate from the south of France or from the plains to the mountains (mainly cows and sheep). You will be able to see this during this hike.
In the past, men would go and restore the paths for “enmontagnage”. This announced the summer season in the mountain pastures.
The mothers, for their part, were preparing their things in their trunks. A wind of freedom was taking hold of the children who would soon leave the village. They would not finish school, except for those taking the Certificate of Studies.
When the big day rang, the mules ready, the families composed of grandmothers, mothers and children left to migrate up there, in the wide open spaces. The fathers remained down in the village taking on other chores.
The days were filled with picking of all kinds. In particular, picking flowers commonly called “thistles” to feed one or two pigs who had also been taken up to the mountain pastures.
Hay, this mountain gold used to feed the animals all winter, will be brought back down on sleds/sleighs along the trails. A very delicate and yet necessary undertaking. Moreover, we find a meaning of Vaujany, in “val jaunit” which could be explained by the color that the valley covered with fields takes in summer.
On the mountain pastures, life was punctuated by chores of all kinds, which nevertheless rhyme with space, freedom and mutual assistance.
Near the chalets was a vaulted cellar, keeping the cool (the fridge of yesteryear), which is called “the stou”. It was a way of preserving cheese, tommes and butter.
Milking cows made it possible to make butter and, above all, to sell it. Indeed, Vaujany, the pastures are among the most extensive and productive in the canton in terms of butter and cheese. According to Abbot Bayle, Vaujany is even one of the municipalities that exports the most.
Rainy days sometimes announced the arrival of the men from down below. The fathers would go up to bring provisions to the family. On this occasion, good, non-stale bread would be the subject of succulent lunches or a snack of buttered toast awaited by the children.
The descent from the mountain pastures or dismounting takes place at the end of summer. A move then takes place from the top to the bottom.
The children know that the start of the school year is approaching. The herd is being brought back down and will now graze on the meadows mown during the summer. The regrowth of the grass after the first cut will provide good food for the animals and supplement the food in the mountain pastures before the arrival of winter.
