Pete's Blog - Week 5(c)
We walked back down through Briançon the next day crossing the magnificent pont d'Alsfeld ( 1290m ) and passing though the local market. A few hours later we arrived at our gîte in Villard St Pancras where we met Denis and Bernadette, a nice French couple, who would be walking the same route as us for the next few days. We were now staying mainly in gîtes d'étape which have more facilities ( hot showers! ) and are often cheaper than refuges because they are close to roads and have mains electricity.
We needed an early start to avoid too much heat on the climb to the Col des Ayes ( 2477m ). It was another lovely climb through pine trees to start with and we were lucky to see a nutcracker ( a bird! ) hopping about in the undergrowth. We stopped at the Chalets des Ayes for a welcome drink. Our host was a lovely woman who spent the summer up there with her children ( along with others ) and produced craft items for sale. It was then a long hot slog up to the col where we entered the Queyras National Park. There were impressive cliffs and long scree slopes which were a sign of things to come. Cont - 5d