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07:13: Up.
07:34: Washed, dressed, heading for breakfast.
08:31: Packing.
08:56: Out the gate! Now to sharpen my 1:25,000 1cm=250m navigation skills. At that scale, every house is visible. You can almost tell what vegetables they’re growing in the garden.
09:41: A steady climb out of town, a last look back over Épinal and I dive into the forest at the crest of the hill, tunnelling under the main road. Tarmac ends.
A last look back over Épinal
09:51: Onto a forestry track.
Mind the tanks
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10:05: The forest is a military training area. As I approach a particularly complicated junction, a voice from the shrubbery says “Bonjour”. There are a couple of infantrymen keeping guard. I introduce myself and they respond warmly with their first names. We figure out which track I’m aiming for while one of them calls a superior. I’m given the go-ahead but told to keep well clear of military vehicles. We part with handshakes. Initially I was told the route was closed. A warm approach works wonders.
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11:30: Entering Mossoux.
11:52: Leaving Mossoux after a couple of wrong turns.
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13:07: At Docelles. Looking for a boulangerie. It’s closed from 12:30 to 15:30.
13:13: Lunch is porridge. Prepping it in the shade of the church where there’s grass to wash up afterwards.1
13:22: The young mum, of whom I’d earlier asked “Il’y’a un autre boulangerie dans la village?” has returned as I’m prepping my porridge to give me a baguette, some fruit and a mystery gift in tinfoil. Such generousity! And a litre and a half of water which I can definitely use!
13:40: The mystery tinfoil item is “Zeytenli Tavuk”, ESMA brand and halal. It’s a chicken and (German paté style) sausage with olives. Bloody tasty. I’m keeping the bread and fruit for dinner. So, chances are my saviour is Turkish.
14:05: Moving again, entirely sated. I ate the two peaches. Gorgeous.
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14:16: Back into the forest and shade.
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14:42: Back out among stunning rolling hills. Entering Xamontarupt.
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15:03: Leaving tarmac again at Haut de Gemel.
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16:01: High on a hillside on a forest track — time to change maps.
16:09: Surprise, surprise — I’m only about 6 or 7km from the camping! I feel awesome. The mountains are totally fine, much less daunting than the Wicklow Hills.
16:27: At the ridgeline. Forest, with some views to the north-east.
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17:55: Arrived at the Camping Noirrupt! Have to find the office yet, though. Awesome day. Looking forward to dinner of cheese, butter, baguette and soup.
No-one in reception even though it’s officially open. I have until 20:30 to check in, so let’s chill and have dinner in the shade of this Magnolia tree.
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18:14: That was delicious. I ate all of the Comté. I didn’t bother with the soup. I checked reception again and a lovely friendly girl checked me in. The price was €12.00 but she only charged me €10.00 “because you’re on foot”. Two random acts of kindness today! I’m about to set up where she indicated. “Over on the right” seems to be the sunniest spot.
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19:19: Basha pitched. It’s a gorgeous evening. I think I might listen to some tunes or a podcast quietly. I’ve spotted that there’s a youth hostel in Colmar! I should check it out while I’m there.
The insect population has exploded lately. The newest chitin-coated arrival is a kind of giant flying ant that’s a bit rubbish on the flight controls.
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20:30: I’ve been horizontal under the basha for a while, reading. This is bliss. Today was a really fun day — varied terrain and underfoot conditions, super-detailed maps and therefore very reassuring navigation and a super pace, covering 30km in under nine hours including lunch stop, two map-folding stops, wrong turns, water consumption stops, shoe-and-sock decluttering and chats with two or three sets of people about what I’m up to.
I’ll read for a bit longer before setting out the bag and bivvy. I think I’ll skip showering tomorrow so I can get a quick start. I’m also thinking of skipping the refuge and wild camping instead. The weather conditions are superb and I have the option to buy food in in Gerardmer tomorrow at about lunchtime. I also pass through Tholy shortly after leaving the campsite.
20:58: It’s getting cold and damp. I’m going to get into the bag.
21:05: A chatterbird has started up. Those things are insanely loud. Earplugs in for the night!
Grass makes a very efficient pot-scourer!↩
