Day 41 – at Masevaux

The Vosges is a good place to visit at this time of year. Last time I was here, just passing through, it was early September and too hot for me, early 30s, cooling to late teens at night. At the moment it’s scraping into the 20s in the afternoon, and the nights in single figures.

Here as Masevaux we are 530 metres asl, which helps with the cooler nights also.

It’s also, markedly cheaper than the Alps, and even the Jura. The site here charges me 10 euros a night, an off-season rate, but still very reasonable. Should I want it, which I haven’t, there’s free entry to the indoor pool nextdoor, and a new bathroom block. There are a handful of other people here, so plenty of space, and the dog’s happy, as there’s a river about 30 metres away.

The town itself is incredibly quiet. So much so that I thought today was a public holiday that I had missed, but I think, sometimes that’s just Mondays in France, most shops are closed, and pretty much all restaurants and bars.

I planned a route in the forest on the far bank of the river to the next town down, Louw , then returning on the near side.

It was far more difficult, and therefore interesting, than I thought, again because of the pandemic. There was actually a sign in one place today that said to expect fallen trees, as work to clear them hadn’t been possible. Out of all occupations, one would have thought working alone in a forest with a chain saw would attract little chance of catching a virus.

Certainly initially, the path I had selected was completely disappeared, and only possible to follow it with GPS.

It took far longer than I expected, but I was back for late lunch, and a leisurely afternoon.

Some duffers reading wise in the last couple of days, but that happens occasionally.