Walking in The Vosges

Apologies for not being out on the UTUP's in recent weeks as Saturday mornings have been taken up with various tasks. Hopefully I can rectify in the coming weeks. The last couple of Saturdays were spent driving through France to and from Les Basses Huttes in the Vosges. As we got out of the car at our overnight stop in Northern France, the heat at 7.30 p.m. was quite noticeable and we were glad of air conditioning for Saturday's journey through Champagne and Lorraine. Sunday's walk was our first heading to the Col de Calvaire for our first walk along the GR5. A short descent was followed by a forest climb to reach the open ridge. Nourishment was provided along the way by wild raspberries and then bilberries. As the morning moved towards lunchtime, the area became as busy as Rivington with everyone benefitting from the gentle breeze to make the temperature of around 35°C bearable. More walks during the week and finally on Friday we got caught in some rain but it was still pretty warm. Excellent walking and running country - saw runners on the route and also the odd mountain bike and a horseman who looked to be doing a multi-day trek.

Sustainance heading up to the ridge

Cairns gone mad

Just for NLN - Boundary stones abound along this part of the GR5. These mark the border between France and Germany, as of 1870. On one side is F, on the other D for Deutschland

A couple of views

In the towns

We think this is a lookout post that has survived from WW2