Hiking in the Mountains

14 September 2012

Happy no-class-Friday! Most of us in our group don't have class on Friday, so we took advantage of it and decided to go hiking. We took a tram and a bus a little outside of Grenoble to a small town named Sassenage. The town was so cute...houses dotting the side of the Vercours mountain range, all of them painted a faint yellow with orange shingled roofs. The streets were quiet and lined with floral arrangements and fountains...it was like walking through a dream! But we had much more to look forward to. We finally found the hiking path, and up the mountain we went! We only had to hike for a few minutes before we found a gorgeous mountain spring, with a waterfall and everything! Naturally, we stopped to splash around in the water and scale the river rocks for a bit. Some of us went all-out and swam in the river, while others decided to play mermaid on the glistening, river-splashed rocks.

After enjoying the mountain spring and wishing we could find a serene spot like that every day, we continued our hike up the side of the mountain. It ended up getting pretty tough...this was a mountain after all, not some humble hill! The paths were small and steep, and sometimes the only thing keeping you from sliding down into the river was grabbing onto a root of a tree. As if that wasn't scary enough, we reached a bridge that was literally made of two metal beams and a pipe. Maybe it wasn't meant to be a bridge, but we made it one!

Up and up we went, until eventually we found some caves, which of course we explored. It was amazing in those caves...I could hear the wind from outside whistling in, and I could also see and hear a small stream rushing through the cave below. It was so amazing, I am still in disbelief. Hiking in the mountains, splashing in the springs, and trekking through caves! I will never forget this experience, and fortunately for me, there are still plenty of other mountains all around Grenoble to trek and explore, and oh lordy will I explore them! =)

After hiking, we went back into the small town and we discovered a gorgeous castle right in the middle of town. It was just like I imagined any castle to be...huge, gorgeous, pristine, with lion statues and triangle-trimmed bushes lining the path. I could practically see the horse-drawn carriages and ladies in their gowns from years and years ago, and here I am in the same spot with my Old Navy jeans and sweatshirt, taking pictures with my digital camera...it's amazing how time changes things!

In front of my castle!

We also found Pride Rock...