Hiking the Foothills of the French Alps

We explored this beautiful 5-mile loop trail near Brison-Saint-Innocent, in Savoie, France. It is just south of Geneva, Switzerland, and directly east of Lyon, France.

The trail is considered a moderately challenging route and takes an average of 2 hours 53 minutes to complete, based on the All Trails app (see more details about the trail below). This trail is great for hiking because it offers a variety of terrains (open fields, tall pine trees, and thick brush).

I was equipped with my Osprey 22L Talon and my Cool-Dry Frame to help increase the airflow between my back and my backpack. Increased airflow helps evaporate sweat more quickly, stabilizes body temperature throughout the hike, and provides more comfort.

Plus, it protected the backpack from turning into a giant sponge of sweat.

The overall combination of gear offered me a better experience to enjoy my Alpine views! I wore my 22L Osprey© Talon backpack and equipped it with a Vaucluse Gear Cool-Dry Backpack Frame. Plus the frame protects your pack from getting soaked with sweat.

This hike near Brison-Saint-Innocent in Savoie takes you on the wooded slopes of the Montagne de la Biolle. The route starts at Granges de Brison (a village just above the lake) and takes you to the Grotte des Fées via a balcony path with splendid views of Lac du Bourget.

The return path leads up to where you can see the lake, the massif of Epine, and Chautagne. A very nice course without much difficulty and the reward is some magnificent views!

We used two apps during the hike: All Trails to keep us on the path, and Strava to give us an exact measurement of our steps.

Here are the data points for our walk while using the Strava GPS app:

Total Distance: 5.46 miles
Moving Time: 2:15:22
Elapsed Time: 2:26:35
Pace: 24:47/mi
Elevation: 1,410ft
Calories: 945

You can discover more about the hike by following my Strava activity here.

You can discover this trail on the AllTrails app by clicking here.

To beat the heat, we started our hike at 8 AM. The forecast was for the temperature to keep rising, from the low 70ºs F to mid-90ºs F throughout the day. The temperature was higher than normal for this region and a heat advisory was issued in the area during our hike.

There was a steady rise in temperature with little to no breeze. Wind speed, at most, was 3 mph.

Humidity was just under 50%, not usually a good sign for anyone who naturally sweats a lot.

Learn more about the weather in Les Granges de Brison, Savoie, France by visiting weather.com.

The first half of my hike was pretty much cool and dry. The temperatures were still in the high 70ºs, and I could feel the heat dissipating off my back. The front of my t-shirt was also a good indication of my body temperature (just a small amount of sweat).

We only stopped for 15 minutes during the entire hike. So as the temperature rose to the mid-80ºs, my body temperature definitely increased. I started sweating, not uncomfortably, but particularly on my back. I could keep hiking without any issues, although my face was starting to sweat a lot.
My Osprey backpack is equipped with a curved frame called an Airscape that (I have found) doesn’t contribute much space for encouraging airflow or allowing heat to dissipate.

As you can see from the photos, I definitely did sweat, but I remained very comfortable. I was not soaked in sweat and my backpack was completely dry where the frame had lifted it away from my back.

Here is a photo of my shirt after the hike:

You can see more pictures of the sweat check by visiting the Vaucluse Gear Instagram account.

You can also watch videos on our YouTube channel.

Hiking the Foothills of the French Alps - Brison Saint Innocent

Part 1 of 3: Trail

Part 2 of 3: Weather Check

Part 3 of 4: Sweat Check

The Cool-Dry Frame by Vaucluse Gear

It's your best way to stay cool and dry with a backpack.

Vaucluse Backpack Ventilation Gear