Briançon

We are here in the highest city in France enjoying the sights after some great hikes. We have photos, but the computer in this pizzaria is not cooperating. So later for more photos.

The strangest thing happened on the way from Mondane, we encountered dusty trails for the first time. And the weather has been bright and warm in the valleys, although frosty in the mornings.

We stayed a night in a place called Valfrejus, which was very interesting because it is a ski area tht had closed for the fall season. We rented a condo for the night and scrounged for bread and wine. It was a good thing we are packing enough food to last a day in the back country.

The next day we hiked over the the mountain into what was until 1947 Italy. We stayed at the Refugio i Re Magi and essentially spent a night in Italy. The next day we hiked into Plampinent, the antithisis of the ski area towns. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by terraced hay fields that are dry and full of seed pods and seed fluff. It is ancient and beautiful with pathes between the stone houses and a church dating from 1632. The trails are full of grasshoppers and butterflies. Sometimes we see four species of butterflies in a square meter, and new wildflowers amongst the the ones that have gone to seed.

The hike on into Briançon was very interesting. We climbed to Col de la Lauze through wild country. The col is on a knife edge ridge and on the other side it is ski areas almost all the way down the mountain. We hiked off and on through the day with a German couple and two Dutch men. Nice to have company on the col for lunch.

The dry terrain reminds us of the Sierras and it seems that we can almost smell the Mediterrainian.

Bourg St. Maurice

We have just finished three days in the Alps, staying at refuges and we are taking a day off here. The scene at the refuges is really wonderful.

The last night in the mountains we stayed at Refuge Le Presset next to the Lac of the same name. This place is very remote and has composting toilets and no showers. The people who run it, members of the Club Alpin Francais, pack the food in by back pack from the Refuge one and a half hours away.

There are two rooms besides the staff quarters. One a combined kitchen dining room and the other a sleeping room for 22. The sleeping room is probably 18 X 24 feet, cozy. Toilets are outside and down some stairs and a short trail, tough for the person that gets up every night. Dinner included fresh pears with chocolate sauce. Amazing how they cook such meals on a three burner stove. We had 11 for dinner and late arrivals made 20 overnight.

Late arrivals included two couples and their three kids, all under 6. It is amazing to us that these little kids make it over the Cols to these places. We had people from England, Scotland, Austria, Germany and France in the cabin.

The next morning we got up and had our coffee, tea, bread and jam and watched the weather deteriorate. We left in a light rain and when the thunder sounded and it started to pour. Luckily enough we were next to Refuge La Balm, where we dried out, ate our cheese and bread, and watched it storm. It soon abated and we set out again in sunshine. Caught Patrick from England on the trail and ate dinner with him last night in Landry.

Rhonda is a mountain chick.

Chamonix France

After five days of hiking we now know why they call this the Grand Traverse of the Alps. It is splendid and demanding. We met Ben and Melanie in Samoens four days ago and they hiked with us on the approach to Mont Blanc. This photo was taken at the Col du Brevent, 2368 m. The mountain is 4810 m. The descent from here to Chamonix took two and a half hours.

Here we are at Col d Antern with Mont Blanc in the background.

More photos starting way back in Alsace. It is getting harder to find computers to use as we are staying in mountain refuges in the back country most of the time now. These places are very rustic and feature dormitory sleeping on mattresses laying in line on the floor and communal eating of what the staff fix that day.

Our dear friends from Saarbrucken Germany at Mt. St. Odile -- Ulli and Klaus Fromme and Helga and Christian Faeber. What fun to be with old friends!

Stork on nest in Alsace.

Wet day in the Vosge Mountains near Mittlach.

Band playing at an Agricultural fair in Wesserling.

Putting the bedding out to air, Soultz, Alsace, on tour with Klaus and Ulli.

Guebwiller church window designed in 1984.

This is in Mulhouse on a street named for President Wilson.

On the Doubs in Goumois.

In the Doubs Gorge.

Goumois church.

On trail overhung by a limestone cliff, Doubs Gorge.

The Doubs.

Lunch stop in the Jura near Auberge La Perdix. This is the cross country ski capital of France. Also luge, ski jumping, and biathalon.

Cannot remember where this is, could be almost anywhere. We could make photos like this every minute of every day.

Rhonda with Jura limestone behind her. The valleys are forested with fir and the ridges are pasture and meadow and rock. It reminds us of Oregon or perhaps of Ireland with trees.

Church in Jura valley in Belle Fontane.

Lake Geneva from Nyon Switzerland.

Window in Abbye la Abondance.

Near Refuge Col de Bassachaux

Still life with car at Refuge Chaux Palin.

ho hum

Three hikers just out of Refuge Chalet d Anterne

Cascades de la Sauffaz and Pleureuse de la Sauffaz

Refuge Chalets Anterne, where we stayed with 30 other people.

Chapelle d Abondance

We are in the Alps. It rained steadily for three days, but the weather broke today, so we will be back on the trail tomorrow, sleeping in refuges an looking at these spectaculer mountains. Will be meeting Ben And Melanie in three days which gives us incentive to work hard hiking.

One more thing about the Jura I forgot the other day. The second day in the Doubs canyon the first part of the hike is along a quiet stretch of water behind the check dam below the Relles Hotel with the usual swans, row boats and fly fishermen. Just as the water was beginning to whisper to us we heard a faint melody. It built as we walked into a very mellow seranade played by a single long horn player (you have seen them in Alpine photos) for a group of hikers on the terrace of a refuge on the Swiss side of the river. We stopped in this priceless forest in awe and listened and broke into applause when he finished. He acknowledged us with a sweeping wave of his hat and we walked on.

A Tale of Two Hotels

As I mentioned the last time I had a chance to use a computer, we stayed at a the exceptional Hotel Tallaird in Goumois, Fr. We had luxurious rooms and wonderful meals. It was so comfortable and also raining so we spent an extra day, using the computer and dozing in the library/game/billiard room watching it rain. Rhonda says that one of the reasons for walking this trip is that it would be too decadent to do it otherwise and this place was exhibit A for that. I had a vegitarian dinner and it included truffles. Rhonda had chocolate desert. That would be chocolate mouse, chocolate cake, chocolate glace and chocolate sculpture. She started to eat it and found that she had a chocolate spoon as well. So, it was very nice, but different from anything else in the Jura Mountains where we have stayed in Gites, Aurberges, and a trailer in a camp ground. Augerges are country restaurants that sometimes have rooms upstairs and Gites can vary from communal eating and dormitories to private rooms. We found in the Jura Gites are mostly of the communal variety.

We left Goumois and spent two days hiking the Doubs River Canyon. The Jura are basically a wind flat plateau with rivers and creeks cutting valleys through it. The Doubs is the biggest river in the area and has a meandering path that cuts back and forth across the plateau. The canyon is exceptional and reminded us of the South Yuba canyon from Washington to the Dry Diggings. The hike is about 20 km each day and has only one spot to stay, right in the middle. The river has dams and power plants like the Feather and there is a road along some of it on the Swiss side (the river forms the border between France and Switzerland in this area).

The river above Goumois is flat and gradually becomes a rushing stream. We didn't see any other hikers for the two days we were in the canyon, except at the falls on one end which is a big tourist area and at the Hotel Relles where we stayed. We have been surprised at how solitary this trip has been. We hike in silence and bird song and talk to each other about life and the beauty around us and what is important and our aches and pains, and we love it. We did see a few fishermen and kayakers on the river. We ate lunch on the steps of a small chapel Bief d Etoz at the base of a limestone cliff just above the river. The door was open so we rang the bells at noon and asked for blessings for friends and family.

The trail winds along the river and sometimes climbs the verticle limestone crags where the cliffs overhang the trail and the river is a sheer drop of 200 feet below. Flat above dams and swift and roaring the rest of the way, the river makes a fine companion. It is dark and damp in the gorge and the trees and rocks in some places are completely covered with moss. It is a watery and green world. The approach to the la Rasse Hotel is along a reservoir with boats tied to the banks and scattered houses set in pastures full of cows with their bells singing on the Swiss side of the river.

We had a beer in the yard in front of Hotel la Rasse and watched the hikers come in, three families hiking together totaling 11 people and a couple and two guys. It was great talking to them and comparing notes, something we haven't done much of. The room was small, the bathrooms and showers down the hall and the walls thin. Dinner was a simple menu with everyone eating the same. We had the kids in the families next to us chattering and playing, but everyone was so tired from hiking that the place was silent by 10. The next morning, madam was late with breakfast so she hurriedly got our bread, jam, butter and coffee or tea or chocolate on the tables. It was totally different from Goumois, but for us it would be hard to choose which one was best. Well, maybe Rhonda has a preference, but I'm writing this...

The Jura Mountains are a winter skiing area. Lots of cross country skiing, in fact the Grand Tour of the Jura cross country trail is the same as the GR5 much of the way through the mountians. There are also down hill areas, that are used by mountain bikers in the summer. In fact we have seen more bikers on the GR5 than hikers outside the major tourist areas. We have seen winter areas for luge and ski jumping.

Rhonda spends a lot of time on the trail day dreaming about haircuts and pedicures. She wears the same things each day and I think looks better with every step. I talked her out of getting a haircut today, pointing out that she will have more options in Nice.

We are in Noyon on Lake Geneva tonight and it is raining. We walked along the lake today and had a picnic of morbier cheese, (have I mentioned how good the cheese is?) and bread and chocolate. We leave tomorrow for the Alps hoping to meet Ben and Melanie in a week or so.

Stuck Inside of Montebeliard With the GR5 Blues Again

There is adventure travel, featuring thrills and chills all planned and priced out to the last detail. And then there is travel adventure with its ups and downs provided by lucky breaks and missed connections. We have been experiencing travel adventure non stop and especially since we left Rouge Gazon.



We stayed two extra days there to rest up enjoy the atmosphere, and avoid some foul weather. This messed up our itinerary, which we have changd and fiddled with all along the way. It is, after all, only to keep us pointed in the right direction. After looking at options we decided to walk to Ballon d Alsace and then bus and train across the Belfort Gap, a major industrial area, between the Vosges and the Jura Mts, to St. Hippolyte back on the trail. This I thought I could do even with the queasy stomach I had developed.



We have cut off portions of the trail as it wound around cities before. We find riding the buses and trains through the suberbs and industrial centers gives us a more complete view of Europe, with strip malls, freeways, and big box stores. Its not all castles and outdoor cafes here.



So we left Rouge Gazon in the rain (best laid plans) and hiked to the summit of Ballon d Asace, thinking that we could get a bus, as there were buses all along the rest of the Crete de Vosges. There are no buses here, so we retreated to the Hotel Sommit for some food. We asked about travel arrangements in pidgin French and the owner said he would give us a lift to the bus stop in Giromagny. The ride through the switchbacks in his Peugot roadster was hair raising. Before this we had only watched with wonder how cars, cyclists, and hikers avoid catastrophe.



We waited a short time for the bus, but found when it arrived that the driver would not take cash. After many hand signals, shrugs, and "poofs" the exasperated driver let us ride for free and let us off the bus at the Belfort Garre. We caught a train for Montebeliard ten minutes later.

At Tourist Information we found out that a bus would leave for St. Hippolyte back on the trail in less than an hour. We repaired the the Cafe Garre to celibrate and call ahead for a room when our luck changed.



This is the weekend of the big music soiree in St. H. so there were rooms to be had. We took a room around the corner, even after getting a whiff of an oder upon opening the door. The plan was to take a bus the next morning to the trail and start hiking.

The next morning I was sicker, so we decided to stay over another day to rest and recuperate. We were too lazy to change hotels and noticed the smell a bit more while resting in the morning. It was the sunniest day in a while so we spent the afteroon at a cafe people watching.

Yesterday morning we got up and I was feeling no better and the smell in the room had become intolerable. We bailed out of the hotel and looked for options to get back into the countryside near the trail. We called to Goimois and got the last room in town and then found the only way to get there was by taxi. We will not divluge the fee.

We arrived at the Hotel Talliard and immediately decided it is what we needed to get well and then head up the Doubs Gorge on the trail. So we are staying another day today. The hotel has wonderful food, is very quiet, is decorated throughout with the owners own paintings, and overlooks the village below half in France and half in Switzerland split by the River Doubs. Did I mention it poured yesterday and today?

Rouge Gazon, Last stop in the Vosges

Rouge Gazon, red meadow, named for the blood spilled here during war time, is now a popular place for for hikers and skiers. It is located in a pass with access by highway so we see many day hikers. We got here as usual by foot from Thann the last town on the Alsacian wine road.

We left le Hohwald almost two weeks ago and have been bumping up and down from Crete (ridge) to wine town and up and down the Crete du Vosges the whole time. The forest and highlands are lovely here and we have been lucky enough to scare up chamoix several times while hiking as well as other deer.

The first day out of le Hohwald we met the Fromms and Christian and Helga Faeber at the Mt. St. Odile Monestary for lunch. The monestery is located on a rock outcrop high above the Alsacian plane and from the terrace there are probably twenty villages in sight in the valley below. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Christian wore his Wilson hat and we had a fine time discussing the American tea party. The Europeans are dumbfounded by this type of behavior.

From there the trail goes through wine towns Barr, Chatenois, and Ribeaueville surrounded by vineyards on the foot hills of the Vosges, with beautifully preserved buildings and lots of tourists. So we spend hours each day in the forest and fields along with the history, culture and food in the towns.

After Ribeauville we left the tourists behind and had five days totally in the mountains. We stayed in two villages, Aubure and Mittlach and the rest of the time in Ferme Aurberges out by themselves in the mountains. Ferme Auberges are country inns in farmhouses that prepare only food made on the farm. They serve smoked meats and sausage, salad, potatoes, cheeses, tarts from local berries and a luscious soft cream cheese cake with kirsch and burnt sugar topping. The visitors this time of year are mostly hikers so the commedier is high in the dining room and the rooms comfortible and cozy, especially when it is raining, which it was for three days.

We also stop at Ferme Auberges for lunch or for a glass of wine or beer on the trail. When we climbed from Mitlatch to the Crete it was cold and misty and when we got to the Col du Herrenberg it was windy and Rhonda needed her mittens, so we followed the sign to Auberge Hus just down the hill out of the wind. We were the first people there for lunch, but the small dining room was soon filled with pleasant French families. We had a perfect lunch with a bottle of wine. Stepping out to the toilet was stepping into the barn, which was like all european barns connected to the house. I stopped in the cheese making room and got a lesson from our proprietess on cheese making. We marched off after lunch waving to the families and singing most of the way to Le Markstein, where we met Ulli and Klaus for two days of car touring.

What a difference it is in the car! We swooped down the highways and through the cols where a few days earlier we had emerged from rainy woods. We visited several lakes and more villages than we had seen in the last four weeks. The high point of the first day was finding the U. of Nancy Alpine gardens along the Crete highway. They have a collection from all over the world and we saw many plants we had been seeing in the woods for the past two weeks.

In Wesserling we visited a textile mill that closed in 2003 and is now a public place. There was an agricultural fair on the grounds with animals, including the small Alsascian cows with their now familiar bells, displays, foods made on the local farms and great down home music, including yodellers. The factory is now a fascinating textile museum and the french formal gardens in front of the former owners chateau is an amazing place where artists create gardens and vegetables are mixed in with flowers in creative ways.

The next day we visited several wine towns and then a large city, Mulhouse, where we shopped for supplies and tried to get my sandles fixed, which are now adhesive taped together. Klaus and Ulli, as usual had a great plan for a tour and we got to see some of the Europe hidden from the solitary walker.

I am standing here using the computer in the dining room, while everyone is working to get the place ready for dinner after the lunch rush. Elvis is on the the sound system, Rhonda is snuggled by the fire, it is rainning, all is right with the world. And voila, I am useful -- the waitress just asked me for the english word for the lentil soup they make here so she could explain to a German tourist (she does not know German and the Germans know no French) what is on the menu tonight.

Tonight they are having a special dinner and there will be a band and dancing. Will we be able to stay up long enough to participate?