At 3050m, Mont Pelat is the highest mountain in the westernmost part of the Mercantour national park in Southeastern France. An excellent network of hiking trails of different levels can be found between Col de la Cayolle and Allos. In either case, your starting point can be over 2000 m. Keep in mind that this is a national park where rules apply. The ascent can be done in one day. To be able to start early, an overnight stay in one of the nearby villages is recommended.
Apart from the last 50 m scramble, the climb is basically a strenous 6 to 7 hour hike. No special skills are needed but you have to be in a good physical condition. It is strongly recommended to check the French weather reports for the local mountains. Weather information for nearby Barcelonnette and Allos is particulary useful.
Before a long hike you need a carbohydrate-rich breakfast which settles well and provides sustained energy during the long workout. You can eat a high-calorie breakfast if you allow about two to three hours of digesting and if you choose carbohydrates with less fibre and with a moderate glycemic index. Oat porridge with milk, bananas and orange juice are just a few choices.
It is recommended that about 70 % of energy is from carbohydrates and to achieve this you need to reduce the amount of fat. Too much fat in your breakfast can also increase the risk of gastrointestinal problems during a strenuous hike.
Of course, choices of what to eat before exercising vary from person to person and from sport to sport, so there is no “magic meal” which will ensure top performance for everybody. We all have also unique food preferences so that one has to learn through trial and error what works best for his or her body- and what doesn’t work.
The following porridge breakfast has never let us down during our long hikes or cross-country skiing trips. You also need to consider your body’s energy needs; small women need fewer calories than larger men. The following portions suit us and could be considered as general suggestions.
For girls:
- Porridge made with 200 ml rolled oats, 300 ml low-fat milk (1.5 % fat).
- Cover the oats with milk. Cover the porridge bowl and microwave on medium setting for about 3 minutes. Serve with a sliced banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Make a small fruit salad with a sliced banana and an orange.
- Drink 200 ml orange juice and a cup of milk coffee made of 100 ml coffee and 100 ml warmed low-fat milk.
Total: About 800 kcal, about 140 g carbohydrates (70 energy-%).
For guys:
- Increase the amount of porridge by making it with 300 ml rolled oats and 400 ml low-fat milk. Serve the porridge with a sliced banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Keep the amounts of fruit salad and drink the same.
Total: about 1000 kcal, about 170 g carbohydrates (68 energy-%).
Do you have a favourite breakfast before a long hike?
In a survey a couple of years ago the French people voted duck breast, magret de canard, the most popular dish. In the following recipe, figs give a nice late summer- autumnal twist. Quatre-épices is a spice mixture of ground cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg which reminded us of Nordic vin chaud, glögg, at Christmas time. Quatre-épices is easy to find in Nice supermarkets.
2 servings
- 1 duck breast
- 6- 8 nice figs
- 1 tbsp runny honey, pref. lavender honey
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp quatre-épices
- Freshly ground black pepper
- About 200 g green beans (frozen Bonduelle Le Haricot Vert Extra-fin is super!)
- Finely chopped parsley to decorate
Wash and dry the figs. Cut them into quarters. Make cuts in the fatty side of the duck breast. Heat a frying pan and fry the duck breast 5 minutes on both sides, starting with the fatty side. Discard the fat and reduce the heat to the minimum. Sprinkle the quatre-épice on the duck breast and continue cooking for 10 minutes, turning once. Cook the green beans and keep warm. Remove the duck breast from the pan and keep warm under foil. Pour the honey into the pan and gently cook the figs for about 4 -5 minutes. Turn them once so that they are well coated with the honey. Remove them from the pan and divide on the plates. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and mix with the remaining quatre-épices. Slice the duck breast and divide on the plates. Grind a little black pepper over the slices. Divide the green beans on the plates. Drizzle the vinegar sauce over the duck slices and decorate with parsley.
This is another great hike up to the summit of Tête de la Boulière (2708m). In spite of being classified as “Rando Alpine” in the Randoxygène guidebook, the trail neither too steep nor particularly difficult. Even so, the vertical ascent is 930 m and the duration between 5 and 6 hours. The starting point is at Estenc at 1780m. The initial trail is well marked through the little village followed by a long ascent in the Estrop river valley to signpost 279 at the Gialorgues mountain pass. From there, a narrower and rockier path continues to Baisse de la Boulière and signpost 280. The final ascent is not actually marked but evident towards southwest, an easy walk-up. The view is magnificent. Don’t go there in bad weather though! The only drawback of this tour might be the 2+ hour drive from Nice (117km).
Map: IGN 3540 ET
Guidebook in French: Les Guides Randoxygène/Haut Pays.
Music courtesy of: Sabrina Malheiros: “Brisa Mar” (Instrumental) New morning De Luxe Edition; Far out Recordings.
In Nice, you can often
buy fresh small cleaned and scaled daurade, sea bream, in supermarkets. The
following recipe is an easy and carefree way to cook daurade. Daurade is a
tasty white fish, and like all seafood it is good for your heart. It has very little fat so you can well use
some heart-healthy fat, like olive oil, in the sauce. Olive oil, garlic and Piment
d’Espelette give this recipe a nice twist from the French Basque Country.
- 2 cleaned and scaled daurade,
about 300 g each
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1 tsp Piment
d’Espelette (mild chilli powder)
- Lemon slices to serve
Preheat the oven to
200 ⁰ C.
Make cuts all the way
along the daurades and place them in a large oiled baking tin. Sprinkle with 1
tbsp olive oil and bake in the oven for about 20- 25 minutes.
Meanwhile peel and
slice the garlic cloves. Gently heat 2 tbsp olive oil, the garlic slices and
the Piment d’Espelette in a small sauce casserole until the garlic is golden
brown. Set aside when ready and take the
daurades from the oven. Pour the olive
oil sauce over the fish, and serve with lemon slices.
I like to serve
daurade with steamed new potatoes and wilted spinach or green lentils and
roasted cherry tomatoes, as in the picture. Green lentils need about 30 minutes
cooking. I prefer the small Puy lentils for the taste and texture. Cherry
tomatoes are roasted in about 10 minutes. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil in a small
baking dish, add the cherry tomatoes and swirl the dish so that the tomatoes
are coated with the olive oil. Place in the oven together with the fish when 10
minutes of the cooking time remains.
This is a really great recipe when tomatoes and basil are at their best in the end of summer..
This was a super hike we made on 14th of July!
The hamlet of Boreon north of St-Martin-Vésubie has become a
centre of both winter and summer sports activities.
In the summer, the hiking trails offer numerous options and
grades of difficulty. The hike presented here is one of the most popular ones
because of relatively easy access and stunning views. The parking of Salèse is
already at 1670 meters. Even so, the ascent to Lac Nègre is roughly 700 m
vertical, and if you opt for the Préfouns mountain pass at the Italian border
it’s about 300 meters extra.
The trail is well marked up to the lake. There are some
steep parts before the lake. Some parts
were even covered with snow in mid-July 2013. From the lake upwards, the trail
is marked with cairns only. The view from Pas du Préfouns (2615 m) is dramatic
enough but experienced hikers may wish to continue by climbing the nearby
mountain tops of Tête des Tablasses(2855 m) and Tête des Bresses(2824 m). This
variant is well described in French in the book:” Les plus belles randonnées
les Alpes du Sud” (Bernard Ranc; editions Gap) page 26.
The tour from the parking to Pas du Préfouns and back takes about 6-6,5 hours. The distance from
Nice is 70km.
Climb: 720 m (Lac Nègre) 980 m (Pas du Préfouns)
The booklet Les Guides Randoxygène “Haut Pays”, also in
French, gives excellent basic information.
Map: Moyenne Tinée 3641 ET.
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