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 Dwight
Peck's personal Web site
Winter
2002-2003
Very
eventful, but in a quiet way
As
round the world some of them were trying in vain
to convince the rest of us that it would be a fun
idea to go bomb a lot of the folks down in Iraq, D. Peck and friends spent the
fall and winter hiding out in the safest place they could think of.
More
snowshoe magic in the Jura What
a very nice winter it's been, though way too short. (Have you noticed that they're
getting shorter every year? Is that climate change? Age?) You
may not find this tangibly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a
good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught
up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go. Pierre
à Ecusson, 23 February 2003
Profs
Durham and Peck set out from Lande Dessus farm above Le Brassus in the Vallée
du Joux, bound for the Ecusson refuge in the limestone forests along the Jura
ridgeline. Lesson
for snowshoers: When posing for photos near snowcovered trees and shrubs, don't
stand too close -- they're likely hollow underneath.
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Lunchtime
in trackless forests of the Bois des Citernes, with Lisa's prepackaged prawn-and-pasta
salads and lebanese bread, tomato and mozzarela sandwiches, and non-sparkling
mineral water. | 
Whilst
wandering in the trackless forests, an ominous shadow -- in fact, a great hole
in the forest floor.
Don't look into it.
Thoroughly
lost in the trackless forest for an hour or two, the hikers stumble upon the refuge
at Pierre à Ecusson as if by snowshoe magic. 
"A
choice of life, to safeguard the Nature". That's the legend on that 30-year-old
shirt. 
How
not to trip over your snowshoes -- 30 meters from the car at the end of a fine
day.
Grand
Cunay in the fog, 2 March 2003.
The trailhead,
the Hotel at the Col du Marchairuz (1449m), on the road from Nyon to the Vallée
du Joux, only kept open in winter since the early 1990s.
(Mr
Peck was a member of the 'Friends of Marchairuz', whose annual dues helped make
the recent renovation of the ancient building possible.)
Which way now?
Dr J.
J. Pirri plunges out through the trackless forest, avoiding bottomless limestone
holes and chimneys where possible, and then darts up onto the second Grand Cunay
on a stormy day. 
Dr
Pirri exults on the second Grand Cunay summit, 2 March 2003. Dr
Pirri (left) is already seeking new summits to conquer, as the narrator comes
along to the top in his own good time (right). 
He
decides to head on over to Mont de Bière, but gets stuck in a thicket and
has to give it up.
Wandering through the forest, with a careful eye out for anomalies
A brief excursion to check out a big hole in the forest
A little disappointment that it was not all that we'd hoped
Pointe
de Fin de Château, 16 March 2003
Dr Pirri
blasts off up into the trackless forests above St Cergue, headed for the saddle
between Poële Chaud and the Pointe de Fin de Château. 
At the
saddle, Dr Pirri breathes deeply and gazes out towards the Swisscom radio-TV towers
on the next hill. 
And
after mere seconds to catch his breath, Dr Pirri sprints up towards the top of
the Pointe de Fin de Château.  ]
A
chilly and very windy 16 March 2003, Dr Pirri on the Pointe de Fin de Château. 
The narrator
being buffeted all about by the wind on Pointe de Fin de Château, 16 March
2003, with La Dôle visible behind. 
The
view towards La Dôle
 Feedback
and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative,  .
All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 26 May 2003, revised 12 October 2008.
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