RC2: Wrap Up (and Hike Up)

All good things must come to an end.  And, in an effort not to make my recaps last too much longer than the actual trip, I will wrap up the recaps today from our adventures in France and Switzerland.

On the last day of the trip, we started the day with a hike in Gigondas, France, in the Provence region.  This was one of my favorite experiences of the trip.

Look at that "soil"--the limestone rocks are typical Provencal soil for grape-growing.

The mountain range is called the Dentelles de Montmirail (Dentelles = lace) (Montmirail = admirable mountain).  We thought the peaks looked like sharp teeth, not lace.

At the beginning of the hike, we passed several hunters.  We think they were hunting ducks (as in Will's local wild duck entree the night before) and/or wild pigs.

Aside from the hunters, the only other people we encountered were rock climbers.  You can see one climber near the top right of this photo below.  He is no larger than that bush growing out of the rock to the right of him.

We hiked from our Bed & Breakfast to the peek-through hole in the rock that you can see the middle of the photo below.  The highest peak of the Dentelles is over 2400ft, and thanks to the lack of switchbacks, I think we ascended nearly that elevation in about 40 sweaty minutes.

The views were worth it!

View from the peek-through:

The top of the mountain range was so narrow, and the sides dropped off sharply into the valleys below on either side.

Traveler Tip: Do not do the most strenuous hike of the entire vacation the day before sitting for 14 hours on a plane.  Your legs might opt out of working upon landing.

Until Revival Crusade 3!