24 October 2019 – Col de Rates

What a relief to have a bright sunny day for this wonderful walk

We had cancelled today’s planned walk on Carrascal due to a severe weather warning

Instead we planned to walk from Parcent to Jalon, so we could take shelter if necessary

Then the weather forecast changed to light rain, so we decided on Col de Rates

If the forecast was wrong we could do the Jalon walk instead

We then had two very wet and windy days, on Monday and Tuesday

As a result we cancelled our Monday walk

So we appreciated good weather and a lovely walk even more than usual

The high temperatures of last week had disappeared

We all started the walk well wrapped up with jumpers and jackets

As usual layers were removed once we got walking

We became aware of the very cold wind when we has our banana stop

And jackets were put on once again

And remained on for the rest of the climb

It was also quite cold, despite the sun, when we had our picnic on Col de Rates

We soon warmed up when we started walking again

And everyone enjoyed the walk back down to Parcent

Despite the cold wind it was ideal walking conditions

It was a very happy, and pleasantly tired, group who ended the walk with a nice drink at the cooperativea

Great group and a very enjoyable walk     

Stats

Distance – 11 Km

Time Taken – 5 hours

Total Ascent – 501 metres