Contents no. 3 - June 2022:
Hiking around Briançon.
Hiking footwear: low-cut or high-cut?
How to adjust your hiking backpack?
Hiking around Briançon
Mention Briançon and images of sunshine and holidays immediately spring to mind. The old town is beautiful and the surrounding Vauban fortifications, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are truly impressive. But once your visit is over, what else is there to do? A wealth of absolutely superb hikes within just a few kilometres.
This article is not exhaustive, but offers a selection of around 10 hikes I enjoyed. Apart from Mont Thabor, all were completed as short day's walks with a child carrier for a little boy who also wanted to walk occasionally. I describe the difficulties as I experienced them, but others may find them harder, particularly in different conditions. As always, I therefore advise you to be careful, responsible and well informed before setting out.
I have grouped them into 4 geographical areas:
- Hikes in the Clarée valley (and Névache)
- Hikes in the Cervières valley
- Hikes around Serre-Chevalier
- A little further afield: Les Ecrins & Mont Thabor
Back to contents.
Hiking footwear:
low-cut or high-cut?
Sometimes the choice between low-cut hiking shoes and high-cut boots is obvious: low-cut for an easy lowland walk, high-cut for a long, self-sufficient trek over very rough terrain.
In other cases, the question deserves thought. Choosing between low-cut hiking shoes and high-cut boots requires several factors to be considered together. We will also discuss mid-cut footwear at the end of the article.
Read more
Back to contents.
How to adjust your hiking backpack?
Adjusting your backpack correctly for comfortable hiking
- To enjoy hiking fully, it is essential that carrying your backpack does not cause discomfort. This means adjusting it properly.
- A correctly adjusted backpack should carry most of its weight on your hips. It should not pull on or hurt your shoulders.
- There are generally 4 adjustment points: shoulder harness height (not always), hip belt, shoulder straps and load-lifter straps above the shoulders.
Back to contents.
We would like your feedback:
If you have 3 minutes, tell us what you thought of this 3rd issue. It will help us improve future issues: Share my feedback
Coming next:
Here is what we are preparing for the next issue:
- Having safe drinking water when hiking
- An ultralight tent? Yes, but...
- Mountain hut and historic monument
Receive RayonRandoZine:
Clear, concise articles:
- Practical advice
- First-hand experiences
- Techniques
- Route guides & destinations
- Hiking and long-distance travel literature...
You will receive 1 free magazine a month for 12 months.
No adverts. No marketing emails.
Missed the last issue?
Here is the link to read it: RayonRandozine no. 2