We’d been waiting for a sunny day to hike the tallest nearby hill, Ménez Hom. Today fit the bill perfectly. In preparation we fortified ourselves with Sunday Lamb, a meal that was almost entirely sourced from the Crozon open-air market – delicious!
Ménez Hom is 330 m (1083 ft) tall. The jury appears to be out on whether it is a hill or a mountain; I thought 300 m (1000 ft) got you bragging rights and some internet sites say that’s what it is. However, the sign on the way there said “col” (hill), so apparently the locals don’t have aspirations to grandeur.
There isn’t much else around that’s tall, so you get some great views from the peak. Peak being used generously here – it’s more like a bald head.
We hiked to the neighboring hilltop then down, around, and back up. At some points, though the trail wasn’t super obvious. We were thankful that the poor soil kept the gorse quite small (a few inches high) – it was growing over the path for quite a long stretch and would have been pretty painful if it was as big as some other specimens we’ve seen.
The lower portion of the hike took us down some country lanes. There we saw some gigantic vegetation…
and a hunter with dogs, flushing a pheasant (the pheasant got away). That was a little unnerving, as we definitely weren’t wearing any orange. Admittedly, neither of us look much like a pheasant, but you never know…
The pay-off on the way back up – radio-controlled model gliders zooming over us. Ménez Hom is a favorite spot for them, as well as for hang gliders (which we only saw from afar). The model gliders are surprisingly loud when they’re going fast. It was great to see them up close.
As we approached the top, an even larger one was being launched:
Our French Adventure 