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08:42: Up at just after 07:00. It’s a warm day with high clouds. I skipped having a shower despite the early part of the night being quite warm — I want to be on the move before 09:00. I’ve eaten, washed socks and broken camp. I’m ready to move. I’m just going to peel off the top layer and trouser legs. It’s going to be another scorching day and I have 30km to cover to get just beyond the noth-south backbone of the mountain range. I slept reasonably well, without earplugs in the end.
I’ve decided to skip shopping in Le Tholy and instead push on to Gérardmer, which I should reach by lunchtime.
08:54: Bag on, ready to leave the campsite.
09:01: On the street. I drank 5 litres of water yesterday, so I drank a litre this morning and I have my full complement of four litres in my trusty Ballygowan bottles.1
09:08: Entering Le Tholy.
09:35: Out of the village, onto a forest track at a bend in the road. I’m glad to be in the shade. It’s surprisingly hot.
09:50 Back among houses and fields. I just saw a sign five minutes ago saying it’s 5 hours 5 minutes to Gérardmer. Let’s see! That gets me to Gérardmer for 16:00.
10:11: The maps brought me into a gravel works. The GPS and Open Street Maps has a better idea.
10:49: On the forest trail that’ll bring me to the lake at Gérardmer.
“Gérardmer 1h30m” says a sign!
11:23: Just dumped a kilo and a half of water. I’ll get more in Gérardmer.
11:26: First view of the lake.
11:38: At 826m above sea level. At the turn to bring me to the lake’s edge.
11:54: Almost at the lake’s edge. Path starts climbing again. 704m ASL FFS.
12:05: Really tough going climbing on a very rocky path.
13:03: In the town — it’s quite tacky. I’ve found a place that’s going to serve me another Salade Vosgienne. It was quite spectacular last time. After that, I’ll find a shop selling cheese and post the redundant maps to my mum.
13:33: I’ve got directions to the supermarket. The post office reopened a few minutes ago. I think I’ll just buy cheese. Hopefully it’ll remain edible until tomorrow lunchtime. I’ve bought two baguettes avec grains, €2.95. Assuming I’m wild camping that’s one for dinner today and one for lunch tomorrow.
13:40: Making a move now. I’ve asked for the bill. I followed up the main course with two scoops of ice-cream.
Cool, just checking the map, I see I get to follow the ridge which makes up the spine of the Vosges for a couple of kilometres.
I’ll also need to get water before I leave town.
€21.10 for lunch: salad, tea, ice-cream. No tip, even though the waitress was lovely and genuinely interested in my trip. She told me about a friend of hers who hitch-hiked around South America alone.
13:53: The supermarket reopens at 14:00. I’ll hang on. Not gonna post the maps though — they can wait until Colmar.
14:08: Temperature is 26°C. I bought water and cheese. €4.44.
14:16: Ready to move. 4 litres of water. Cheese deep in the rucksack interior.
14:47: Back onto forest track between Gérardmer and Xonrupt-Longemer.
15:24: Back on tarmac entering Xonrupt-Longemer.
15:53: Exiting Xonrupt-Longemer.
17:03: Onto the forest trail that’ll take me to the ridge.
17:20: 888m ASL.
17:37: 980m ASL.
18:04: On the ridge top. 1,102m ASL.
18:29: Top of the pass, Col de la Schlucht.
18:33: Back on the trail. It’s about 3km to my destination.
18:35: Mountainpeak Spitzenfels, 1,254m
19:41: Decending eastwards from the ridge. 1,252m.
19:54: I’ve spotted the refuge. Camping might be an option.
20:03: The refuge is closed. I spoke to the farmer and his wife, crossing the meadow in their flatbed. They’ve given me permission to camp in a particular spot further on. Making my way there now.
20:14: Found a spot, among a school trip from Germany! Martin is their leader. Very chilled guy. He’s invited me to eat pizza with them. Only trick is where to take a sneaky wizz before bed and first thing in the morning. Oh the farmer told me the refuge is closed. Dusk will fall soon, so and need to find a flat spot and get set up pronto.
21:47: Dinner with the German school kids and the Turkish girl who made me pizza.2
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The pair of ordinary two-litre plastic bottles lasted me all the way to the Eastern end of Croatia. They were crumpled and grubby but still serviceable. Don’t ever bother your arse buying dedicated (especially hard) plastic water bottles. Fizzy water bottles are virtually indestructible.↩
There’s another terrific story to be told here! I didn’t take any snaps of the German kids, which I thought was the right thing to do then, but which I regret now.↩
