Col du Calvaire - Col du Hahnenbrunnen
30 km
Elevation: up 730m, down 670m
Min altitude 1134m, max altitude 1363m
Active hours: 9h
Steps: 53053


The good thing about sleeping on the crest is that things don't get so wet. I could actually pack my tent dry.
I left at 7.45. The first part of the day was Lac Blanc. The last time I was there, in 2018, was the moment I decided my route to Rome would take the GR5 because it passes through the Vosges.
I took an alternative route to see more of the lake, because it's so beautiful. Then I missed the first chance to rejoin the GR5, which added some 2km, through forest, past the source of Lac Noir, and I actually think it was a better option than the official route, which passed flat terrain. Nice, but not as beautiful as around the lake. Near the lake I saw a kind of deer, maybe a chamois, before someone started a chainsaw. hissssss.
I rejoined the GR5 at Hautes Chaumes, a moor-like area, and after that it was a long time of relatively flat terrain over the crest, and I kept being distracted by beautiful views, pictures I wanted to take, and rocks I wanted to climb. All of which slowed me down, so it took way longer than I wanted to get to Col de la Schlucht. On the way there were a lot of people and a lot of blueberry bushes. Strange to have so many people around on the trail after days of meeting few people.
Col de la Schlucht is a horrible tourist hotspot, but as I didn't have a real lunch anymore and wanted to use the bathroom, I stopped at a terrace and ate some lunch there and a tarte aux myrtilles (it's unsurprising that's a local speciality, there are blueberries everywhere. I walked between bushes for at least 80% of today. In one place there was a sign saying the picking of blueberries was limited to 3 litres per day per person).

After La Schlucht it was even busier, all the way to Le Hohneck, which is a summit reachable by car (1363m) and therefore really busy. It also looked as if a couple of buses had come bringing people in wheelchairs.
From there I took a variant which did not go down into the valley but stayed on the crest. Why would I descend 800m only to have to climb out again if I can stay up high?
It was really busy with all kinds of people, until my route split off from all the others. Then there were still some people, but far fewer.
More blueberry country, a couple of summits I managed to miss (I followed the right markings but somehow still ended up on a parallel trail that stayed on the slope instead of climbing the tops). I started looking for a place to sleep, though I felt I should walk on, as otherwise tomorrow will be a very long day. I passed a small hut which would have been nice if there hadn't been a whole family with a lot of children staying there. I passed more blueberry fields, a bit of forests, then pastures. Took a short break on a flat summit, and I did see places that might work to camp, but most of the terrain was nature reserve where it's not permitted to camp.
But in the end, it all turned out okay, as I encountered a refuge that wasn't on my maps, which still had space. And not just that. A terrace with a wonderful view, a shower, and a whole group of people who were very interested in what I'm doing and on top of that offered me food, wine (I normally hardly ever drink wine, now 3 evenings in one week), extra bread, and even some trail food packs for later. I felt almost overwhelmed but to them this is normal. They called it the French warmth (chaleur Française). I actually considered skipping Thann as shopping is less necessary now, but there's a valley between the Grand Ballon and the Ballon d'Alsace, so it's impossible to pass from one to the other without descending and climbing again. So I may as well go to Thann. After being offered more food than I could eat for dinner I had more help than I wanted trying to decide on my route for tomorrow (someone kept being distracted by what I would do in Switzerland, which I just don't know yet) and now I'm writing at a table inside a building. It'll be my first night indoors after 10 nights of camping, and it's lucky I could pack my tent dry this morning, as now it doesn't have to be unpacked. Also, this refuge is awesome, and much better than I would have guessed, a wonderful surprise. C'est génial.

Geschreven door Jewaontheroad