Day 4: Refuge de l’Arpont to Refuge Plan du Lac
Wednesday 12 August 2026, 13.5km, 730m up, 680m down

Light rain yesterday evening hardly left any trace in the early morning when we set off. The rocks were already dry but the paths were a little less dusty. The forecast was for a hot afternoon so, although we had only a short hike today, we hoped to do most of the work in the pleasant cool of the morning.

We climbed up from the hut and into the next valley. Up ahead on the trail we saw a small herd of bouquetin (ibex). They were not at all shy and we were able to get quite close before they loped off up the hillside. This is the first we have seen of them and we were delighted to get such a good view.

The trail was not too arduous and we had plenty of opportunity to take in the incredible mountain scenery. From the rocky slopes glaciers reach down towards the valley and we passed the moraine below them and could see how far they have shrunk with the warming climate. Water levels in the streams were low, and those without bridges were easy to cross without getting our feet wet.

For the first few hours, we almost had the path to ourselves, and in the quiet we watched marmots scampering up and down the grassy hillsides. We first heard, and then saw a flock of sheep and, after passing them, we came upon a shepherd who was calling loudly to his dogs to round the sheep and we watched how the dogs circled around the flock to bring the stragglers down from the higher slopes.

On then from there and we came across a group of campers who were busy packing up their tents. What had been a quiet walk turned into quite a highway as we passed tens of other hikers struggling up a long climb. This for us, meant a long descent to a valley with a river below. Along the path I almost trod on a snake. The snake and I both took off in fright, Rob followed the snake and managed to get a photo before it slithered off to a less busy spot.

Of course the long descent was followed by a longish climb up the hill on the far side of the river, where we found Refuge Plan du Lac. A little beyond the refuge is the lake for which it is named. It might have been inviting for a swim had the water level not been quite so low.

The bonus this evening was a solar eclipse that occurred while we were having dinner. The refuge guardian distributed solar filtered glasses and we all went outside to view. Unfortunately the sun set below a mountain before the eclipse completed.