Day 43 – at Ballon d’Alsace

I stayed a second night up at the pass, as there was a hike I had been keen to do.

I haven’t done many mountain hikes where every part of the day is lower than the start, if any. Setting off from the pass at 1170 metres, I rejoined the GR5, which I was on yesterday, but headed north, the other direction, and descended until a refuge (la Grande Goutte). My intention from there was to take the forest ridge that took in several tops, returning on the GR533, the long distance path between Belford and Sarreborg.

But I decided late on, it was best done in reverse, the more sedate, less fun, less climbing, longer, outward section done first. It was very peaceful, no other people at all, just a few deer, scarpering..

The return was, as I expected much slower and more difficult, both in path-finding, and in the obstacle course that was the very many trees down. It took in 4 named peaks, but from only one of them, and occasional other lower sections, was there any view.

It was a hot day, just below the pass up to 25C, but the wind at the pass kept it cooler, as did the canopy of the forest for the majority of my day. There was just enough stream water around for the dog, but the won’t be for many weeks. Though the dog did find one if the muddiest and smelliest bogs to submerge in just before lunch.

It was a good route, fairly typical of the forested Vosges, but made more challenging by the pandemic, and the lack of any track work taking place.