Randonnée été : Voyage au bout de l'alpage
A varied hike alternating between forest and mountain pastures with beautiful views of the valley. There are no technical sections, but distance!
The marmot will welcome you with its shrill cries.
It was hunted and poached for a long time. People came to pick it during its winter sleep, its fat, flesh and fur were sought after. Marmot fat was used against rheumatism.
Many legends have been told about alpine animals, some claim that chamois have been seen hanging from cliffs by their horns, or that marmots are dragged on their backs by their fellow marmots to bring hay gathered between their paws into their burrows (Gabrielle Sentis)
On this route you will find:
– The old mines: “No other country contains such a complete mineralogy as Oisans” (Abbé Bayle). In 1900 the Fare copper mining concession employed 16 workers. Production yielded 20 tons of raw ore in 000 and stopped in 1904. This concession included a place called Saint Florentin, near the Fare waterfall. In the absence of gold, beautiful rock crystals were found there. Brown ones were found at Vaujany in the 18th century and other colors elsewhere. The deposits have been overexploited. Some crystal hunters continue to occasionally discover beautiful specimens perched in perilous locations, but they are rare, as the crystals were highly sought after.
– Alpine flowers:
There was a time when everyone took care of themselves as best they could. Often with plants. We didn't go to the hospital to get treatment, and even if we did, we wouldn't believe it!
Getting the doctor up took time, so it was better to act alone, thanks to the knowledge of plants. In the mountain pastures you can find arnica, which has all the virtues and cures paralysis or bruises. Lichens were also used against whooping cough, and anemone as a nervous sedative. The great gentian, queen of the mountain pastures, was used as a healing lotion. Lime blossom and sage were used as a plaster to treat sprains.
If the use of wild plants is fashionable today, know that at one time they were mainly part of a way of life. We consumed everything that Mother Nature offered: sorrel and wild spinach, or even the carline (vulgarly called the thistle) whose bottom is a delicious artichoke heart, a plant protected today.
It was hunted and poached for a long time. People came to pick it during its winter sleep, its fat, flesh and fur were sought after. Marmot fat was used against rheumatism.
Many legends have been told about alpine animals, some claim that chamois have been seen hanging from cliffs by their horns, or that marmots are dragged on their backs by their fellow marmots to bring hay gathered between their paws into their burrows (Gabrielle Sentis)
On this route you will find:
– The old mines: “No other country contains such a complete mineralogy as Oisans” (Abbé Bayle). In 1900 the Fare copper mining concession employed 16 workers. Production yielded 20 tons of raw ore in 000 and stopped in 1904. This concession included a place called Saint Florentin, near the Fare waterfall. In the absence of gold, beautiful rock crystals were found there. Brown ones were found at Vaujany in the 18th century and other colors elsewhere. The deposits have been overexploited. Some crystal hunters continue to occasionally discover beautiful specimens perched in perilous locations, but they are rare, as the crystals were highly sought after.
– Alpine flowers:
There was a time when everyone took care of themselves as best they could. Often with plants. We didn't go to the hospital to get treatment, and even if we did, we wouldn't believe it!
Getting the doctor up took time, so it was better to act alone, thanks to the knowledge of plants. In the mountain pastures you can find arnica, which has all the virtues and cures paralysis or bruises. Lichens were also used against whooping cough, and anemone as a nervous sedative. The great gentian, queen of the mountain pastures, was used as a healing lotion. Lime blossom and sage were used as a plaster to treat sprains.
If the use of wild plants is fashionable today, know that at one time they were mainly part of a way of life. We consumed everything that Mother Nature offered: sorrel and wild spinach, or even the carline (vulgarly called the thistle) whose bottom is a delicious artichoke heart, a plant protected today.
