http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/index/ HikingMoose is a personal blog containing photo's of a.o. landscapes, birds and also offers GPS tracks for downloading en mail@hikingmoose.com Copyright 2010 2010-11-12T13:18:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/le_petit_som/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/le_petit_som/#When:14:18:00Z A stunning walk to Le Petit Som (1772m), which provides great views over the Chartreuse. Good to know: Distance: 9 kms Rate: moderate Map (incl. elevation information): Le Petit Som GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them. We got this walk out of a booklet called "TopoGuides, Le Parc naturel Regional de Chartreuse ... a pied". The booklet is only available in French. Although we do not speak French at all, we were able to understand what was written and managed to do this walk without any problems. Besides there are many signs along the way. Luckily Elgar also knew where to go . The first few km's are through a forest untill you finally reach le Col de La Ruchere (1405m) from where you have splendid views over the area. In the background (picture on the left side) you can already see Le Petit Som. We are going all the way round it to reach the top, via de Pas de Loup. If you just want to reach the top you can also follow the sign directly to the top, but like said before we take the route via de Pas de Loup, which is more scenic (and a bit longer ofcourse). Walks 2010-11-12T14:18:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/charmant_som/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/charmant_som/#When:18:34:00Z A very stunning walk to the top of Le Charmant Som (1867 m) . The return way is not that easy though, so you could also opt to go back the way you came. When we did this walk it was clouded with some minor sunny spells. As you can reach the Charmant Som also by car, we went back a day later when it was blue sky all over and therefore some pictures are more bright than others. Good to know: Distance: 13 kms Rate: moderate Map (incl. elevation information): Le Charmant Som GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them. We park our car at a tiny village called Le Revols and from here you have a splendid view towards Le Charmant Som. The first 20 minutes are easy going and flat, but then you need to go up for a long time through a forest. When you finally get out of the forest, one has a magnificent view over the valley. This part of the walk is called "Dalles" and it is a narrow path over the slopes of the Charmante Som Walks 2010-09-12T18:34:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/cirque_de_meme/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/cirque_de_meme/#When:13:46:00Z You must have been thinking: is the Moose still alive? Yep he certainly is and he has done some great hikes in France in June/July which he would like to show off to you. So here we go. This first hike is done in the Chartreuse, which is just north of Grenoble. Good to know: Distance: 6 kms Rate: moderate (part I, 5 km), difficult (part II) Map (incl. elevation information): Le Cirque de Saint-Meme GPS-track available for download: yes (partly) As always photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them. This track goes to a beautiful waterfall called the Grand Cascade (part I: doable for all hikers among us) and for those who are more adventurous, part II is a small but not easy detour by climbing up alongside one of the waterfalls, crawl into an opening in the rocks and then finally enter into an enormous cave. Our GPS got confused between the rockformations, so therefore only part I is available for the GPS. Part II we will try to explain by text and our pictures; especially where to start this Part II is a bit tricky. It tooks us quiet a while to figure it out. Park at the parking lot of Cirque de Saint-meme. We must warn you that it can be very crowded here in high season; as soon as you see the parkinglot you will understand how crowded it can be. Therefore the last few kilometers by car are subject to toll (only in peakseason) Walk towards the Auberge and pass the so-called panneau (information sign). On the first picture, if you enlarge it, you can spot the waterfalls. After a few hunderd meters turn left into the woods and follow the sign "Grande Cascade". The track goes uphill as you can see in picture two. Finally you will arrive at a crossing with a signpost directing you to the right, towards the Grand Cascade. Mind this spot, cause you will have to return here to do Part II of this track. Walk for a few minutes and you will see and hear the Grand Cascade. You can walk downwards a few meters to have an even better view. If you continue this track you will end up at a bridge crossing the water. That path will eventually take you back to the parkinglot. That completes Part I of this track. Walks 2010-08-13T13:46:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/wahlwiller_walk/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/wahlwiller_walk/#When:12:22:00Z Finally some good weather after 3 weeks of cold, rain and very depressive weather. Even Elgar got in a bad mood but today.....he had a big smile on his face. Good to know: Distance: 8 kms Rate: easy Map (incl. elevation information): Wahlwiller GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them. You can either park your car at the parkinglot of the village or park your car at Viva Lanterne Restaurant but only if you take breakfast there first, of course! The walk itself will provide you with lots of scenery and is very easy going. Only after about 1,5 km the path Walks 2010-05-22T12:22:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/walk_wahlwiller/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/walk_wahlwiller/#When:12:53:00Z It has been a long time, too long actually, that we did a serious walk again. Together with my colleague Eef, I went for a walk of 16.9 km which starts in Wahlwiller. The walk is nr. 77 of one of my favorite websites called Wandelgids Zuidlimburg Good to know: Distance: 16.9 kms Rate: easy (in the beginning only going upwards) Map (incl. elevation information): Wahlwiller-Vijlen GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them. BUT...before we head off for this walk we go to the cafe/restaurant Viva Lanterne for........our breakfast. This is also the startpoint of this walk by the way. You have to make a reservation upfront but then you will be rewarded with a splendid breakfast with strawberry smoothie, orange juice, all kinds of breads, jam, cheese, eggs, oh well too much to name it and certainly too much to eat it all. After having consumed our breakfast we get our stuff together and take off from the parkinglot of this cafe/restaurant. The sun just popped out behind the clouds and it was rather warm......mmh...was it a good idea to do this particular walk with not much shade?.............. the scenery is however stunning. In good spirit we just continue our walk and finally Walks 2010-04-25T12:53:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/elgar_moose_went_to_paris/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/elgar_moose_went_to_paris/#When:12:40:00Z Although we are real 'nature'-persons we once in a while tend to visit a city for just a few days. This time we went to Paris and we have to admit it is a great city with lots to see and do and also..... a lot of people . It is such a big city that you just can't see everything in 3,5 days so here a just a few highlights of our visit. We visited the Notre Dame and The Louvre. This museum is so huge you really need to make choices what you want to see. Elgar only was interested in the glass pyramids which form the entrance to this museum. And what is visiting Paris without Miscellaneous 2010-03-06T12:40:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/brunsummerheide_limburg_nl/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/brunsummerheide_limburg_nl/#When:14:23:00Z Today I went for a hike with my colleague Eef from work. We opted for the Brunssummerheide which is nearby. Completely dressed up for this winterwalk we headed off only to discover 15 minutes later that we were somehow lost as we were unable to follow the track instructions as all tracks were covered in snow and thus not visible for us. Damn. So then we decided to just follow our instinct and to find the restaurant, which should be halfway this track, on our own. And.....we made it to the Restaurant Schieversheide in about one hour and 15 minutes. Hot chocolate was our reward. We grabbed ourself a booklet with available walks and map of the area and opted for the darkgreen route........but ......we could not find a darkgreen colored signpost, only a blue and yellow and light green one. Oh well, we managed to get here, so we will manage to get back to the parking lot...won't we? We are able to pick up the darkgreen track after about 20 minutes and are definitely on our way back. Unless you oversee a signpost somewhere and end up at a spot we had been 1,5 hours ago. Duh......... Somehow we make it back to the parking lot afterall. We have been walking for almost 3 hours on snow covered grounds (instead of the 2 hours we anticipated). But....a great walk full with creativity, LOL. Landscapes, Walks 2010-01-16T14:23:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/winter_has_arrived/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/winter_has_arrived/#When:12:00:00Z wow....This year our winter is a real winter. With temperatures dropping at night below - 10 Celsius and during daytime an average of - 4 Celsius. And the last 1 week we were presented with lots of snow........... we just love it. Here some pictures taken on January 3rd, 2010: and one week later we had this very cold winterday with gusts and lots of snow. Despite those weather conditions we went for a walk and took the following pictures: 2010-01-10T12:00:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/strathconon/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/strathconon/#When:12:39:00Z It is a beautiful sunny day when we, together with Sue & Stewart of Homefarm B&B, go for a walk in the glen of Strathconon. As we have to cross a river this is not a good walk when it has rained a lot or when it is raining (difficult to predict ofcourse in Scotland) Good to know: Distance: 9 kms Rate: easy (a bit of stone climbing when crossing the river) Map (incl. elevation information): Strathconon walk GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's (but not all of them) can be enlarged by clicking on them. First you will have to drive to the end of the glen, where there is a parkinglot. Here you have a lovely view over Loch Bennacharian. Walk along the loch and past the estate mansion. We spotted a herd of deers and ofcourse other wildlife..... Landscapes, Walks 2009-10-25T12:39:00+01:00 http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/culbin_forest/ http://www.hikingmoose.com/index.php/site/culbin_forest/#When:14:02:00Z After 10 days on beautiful Ardnamurchan Peninsula, we head for the area of Inverness and stay at the Homefarm B&B of our co-authors in Muir of Ord. In this area we make some lovely and not too complicated walks. The first is to the area of Culbin Forest near Nairn (East of Inverness) Good to know: Distance: 11 kms Rate: easy Map (incl. elevation information): Culbin Forest - Hill 99 Viewpoint Trail GPS-track available for download: yes As always photo's (but not all of them) can be enlarged by clicking on them. The walk starts at a huge parking where there are toilet facilities and there you can also pick up a leaflet of the area . The track is well-marked and is called Hill 99 viewpoint trail, although we did a small detour along the waterfront. First you will come across these Gravel-pit Ponds, which were dugged to provide a source of fresh water for birds, mammals and insects. The track continous through the forest and after a while you will be at the base of Walks 2009-09-25T14:02:00+01:00