Hiking and bivouac stay on the wolves tracks

Description

Between Hautes-Alpes and highlands of Provence, in an exceptional natural and wild environment, preserved from polluting human activities (no phone network), I propose you to hike on the tracks of the wolves.

For this trekking and bivouac stay, several destinations are possible:

• The valley of the wolves above Gap in the Hautes-Alpes.
• The high Verdon massif in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence (with overnight stays in a shepherd's hut).
• The perched Queyras massif in the Hautes-Alpes,
• The Monges massif in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

These are for me two massifs that I like to share.

Those few days are perfect to reconnect and find your roots, far from the stress of modern society.

It is also an opportunity to discover and practice many activities:

• Learn to make fire with a flint.
• Eat grilled grasshoppers as an appetizer (a treat, and very nutritious).
• Make a clay bath.
• Find a spring and purify its water.
• Learn to cook on a wood fire.
• Take height and discover while hiking.
• Set up a camp.
• Discover a territory inhabited by a pack of wolves.
• Spend an evening by the fire...

This immersion allows us to become buddy-buddy with nature. To do this, you have to leave your comfort zone. It is not in a bed locked between 4 walls that you can be lulled and impregnated by the atmosphere of the night, the hooting of the owl, the twinkling and the infinity of the stars, the unknown noises and sounds, and maybe a stag's bellow or a wolf's howl (as it was the case in 2020).

Finally, walking with a backpack is the most suitable means of locomotion for a gentle approach to the natural environment.

Doing things together is a principle that animates the stay. We prepare the meals and set up the camp together, as well as looking for wood, drinking water, reading the maps and choosing the next day's route... This route is not really predefined, even if I know the areas we will cross very well. We navigate according to our desires and according to the mountain encounters (shepherds, forest rangers, hikers, locals, etc.), the weather, the shape of the moment, the magic of a place, the observations of animals, etc.

When we can (depending on the destination), we will make fire every night. You will learn how to make a fire with flint, how to collect the right wood, the right dry herbs, how to find birch bark to start it. I'm a fire addict, it must be something passed down from my Neanderthal ancestors. The fire will be used to cook food (guinea fowl on the spit, grilled grasshoppers as an aperitif, semolina dumplings, chocolate or almond puree chapatis, small ratatouille, chocolate bananas...) but also to be warm and to be lulled by the magic of the dancing flames.

You can also propose me your dates and come for less than 5 days (see below).

It is possible to organize these hikes with bivouac on the tracks of the wolves in family mode.

If you have other desires, I also propose throughout the summer:

• a Retrouvance stay in Haut Verdon and Entraunes valley.
• another Retrouvance stay in the Buëch and Dévoluy.
• This 5-day hiking and relaxing stay in Gap, in our cottage.

Program

There is no specific program as such but plenty of activities to discover:

• learn the techniques to make fire (flint - iron, piston lighter, solar lighter, firesteel, etc.),
• go on the tracks of the wolf,
• look for a spring and filter its water,
• find a spring and estimate its potability,
• recognize edible and non-edible berries,
• find animal tracks and clues, especially the wolf, but also observation of chamois, mouflon, marmots, fox, eagle, vulture, etc.
• make your own toothbrush, soap and toothpaste,
• land'art,
• cook a farm chicken on a spit,
• cook together,
• set up a camp,
• carve cutlery,
• survival skills,
• mountain first aid,
• river crossing techniques,
• photo contest,
• natural beauty contest,
• wash in the river,
• etc.

The price includes

• Supervision by the mountain leader.
• The meals, well the ingredients of the meals, a whole art to choose and a big logistic beforehand, but then the idea is to make together.
• Part of the equipment (big canteen,tarps, saws, various materials like flint).

Here are the possible durations and corresponding rates:

Duration	Rate
3 days / 2 nights	265€ per person
4 days / 3 nights	355€ per person
5 days / 4 nights	415€ per person

The price does not include

• Transport to and from Gap.
• Cancellation/repatriation insurance via Europ Assistance (5% of the price of the stay, optional). On request I will provide you with a summary table of the refund, especially in relation to Covid.
• Anything not mentioned in "The price includes".

Accommodation

• Depending on the place and your desires: tent, outside, hammock, rustic hut...

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