Day 4 in Suisse - Hiking Vallée du Rèche

July 16th, 2011 – On a beautiful Saturday morning, after a lovely breakfast of croissant with strawberry rhubarb jam and coffee, we drove to the opposite side of the Rhône valley and began our hike to peaceful meadows in Vallée du Rèche.

The hike began uphill along a dirt road and after several switchbacks we arrived at a beautiful vista: perfect place for a token “couple” photo. Just up from there, a trailhead for an almost flat hiking trail along a timeworn but still used irrigation ditch. We said “Bonjour!” (yay for learning French) to several other parties going the other direction and crossed several well-constructed walkways along some steep, rocky sections. After perhaps an hour and a half of walking, we arrived at a chalet situated at the edge of a meadow where ringing Swiss cows peacefully meandered about; a picturesque waterfall lay just ahead at the end of the meadow. We took our picnic of cheese, bread, dried meats, and apples under a tree near the meadow.

Finishing our meal and subsequently wrangling my wedding ring that decided to fling itself into the grass, my beau-frère JJ and I continued up into the valley along a trail much steeper than the path we had just traversed along the irrigation canal.

Wife, belle-sœur, and nephew would return to the vehicle where we would meet up later. Pausing only a moment so JJ could explain that there is a person appointed by the community to manipulate the various locks along the canal (to change the flow of the water without permission was unlawful), we trekked upward along the waterfall.

About an hour and 15 minutes later we arrived at the top of a second waterfall. At the edge of the top of the fall which interrupted a serene alpine pasture, we took only a moment to take in the view, worried that our spouses would begin to fret over our already overdue return (which turned out to be an undue thought, they hardly realized we were gone). Rapidly descending the trail, we passed our picnic location and continued down a steep road past small farms and houses, bypassing the flat canal-trail we used to ascend. Eventually meeing our loved ones at the now-awaiting vehicle, we drove back into town as my legs sighed in relief and my sweat dried. 2 days later, my legs would still be upset about our accelerated down-hike, but I was content: sore legs are a sign of a great hike.