GR5-E2: Our story
Because the story is rather long, I decided to splitt it up in three parts: | Part 1: Maastricht to the Vosges |
 | Part 2: Through Vosges and Jura |
| Part 3: Lake Geneva to Nice |
Part 2: Through Vosges and Jura
Next morning at 5:30 we were woken up by a car driving along our little campsite at la Borne Brignon. After this early
start we walked via the Donon to Shirmeck, where we took a day off again (date July 22nd). In Shirmeck we met a
Frenceman from Paris who walked the G53 and GR5 from Weiswampach to Belfort.
After this day of rest we went on. The most impressive thing we saw that day was a former extermination camp "Struthof".
Here more than 30,000 people were killed by the Germans during the years 1941 till 1944. Later we met the same Frenchman
again. Together we walked to Le Hohwald, where we spent the night.Next day we went to Barr. On the way we came along the convent of Mont-Sainte-Odile, a first rate cultural and religious centre.
The next stop on our tour would be Scherwiller. Before we arrived there, we passed several ruins of ancient fortresses
that are destroyed during Thirty Years War. Late in the evening (at 10 p.m. to be exact) the Frenchman arrived at the same
campsite where we spent the night. We noticed this because he zipped the tent
open and said: "Allo Maastrich" as his greeting. This was the last time we saw him, because next day we went along and he
stayed in Scherwiller for another day.Next days we walked to Thann. On the way we passed Ribeauviller, Le Lac Blanc, Col de la Schlucht, Le Hohneck and the Grand Ballon (highest point of the Vosges, 1424 m/4672 ft). In Thann we took a day off (date July 31st) again to wash our clothes and have several good meals.
After Thann we had only one Ballon left (Ballon d'Alsace), hereafter the landscape changed and we left the Vosges and
entered the Jura. The first night in the Jura we spent at the campsite of Giromagny. Here we met a Dutch history-master
called Joop, who almost completed the GR5; the only part left was from here to Lake Geneva. 
The first few kilometers of the Jura we passed several large lakes. Because of the quite flat land we make good progress;
in one day we walked from Giromagny to a lake just south of Nommay.Next day we walked to the French-Swiss border. The GR5 follows the border for several kilometers. Because the evening would fall soon we were looking for a place to spend the night, but there are harly no places along the border to pitch a tent. Our first attempt failed because it was already getting dark and we did not notice the bramble-bushes till I went into the tent and one thorn sting through the ground sail. We immidiatly decided to break down the tent, go on for a little while and pitch our tent somewhere else. This time we succeeded. Because we pitched our tent on farmer's land without asking for permission, we left early.
Our next stop we planned at Saint Hippolyte, where we arrived at noon. During the afternoon Edwin took a dive in the Doubs. At the campsite of Saint Hippolyte we met another
GR5 walker, this time a Belgian (Marc Vandelaar).Next day we walked from Saint Hippolyte to Gousmois. The weather is not that good but that did not bother us. In Gousmois, we met Marc Vandelaar again.
From Gousmois to Viller-le-Lac the GR5 follows the Doubs. This part we did not make good progress, because of the troubles
we had. We found that we are not good in walking over paths with large stones, and there are a lot of them near the Doubs.
A nice spot is the Échelles de la Mort. At the
end of the day near the Chatelot Dam we were caught by a thunder-shower. Entirely soaked we pitch our tent near a small
house. Next day we walked to Viller-le-Lac. Here we met my parents, at whom we spent a week to rest and recover. We also met
Marc Vandelaar and Joop for the last time.
Next week we stayed at Morteau, a somewhat larger village near Viller-le-Lac. Here a
shoemaker resoled our shoes (we are still walking on them). During that week we
walked one etappe of the GR5 without luggage and celebrated my mother's birthday (date August 13th).
Next few days, sometimes we took some short cuts by following the road instead of the GR5. We spent the nights at the
campsites of Les Hopitaux-Neufs and Mouth (Source du Doubs), in a small refuge in the
Foret du Risoux and 
at a hay-loft near Trélex (Switserland). This time we asked for
permission to pitch our tent on his land (in French), he answered in Dutch that we also could spend the night at the
hay-loft, because the weather forcast for the night was not very promissing. The farmer told us that a long time ago he
lived in the Netherlands for a few year.
Next day (August 18th) we arrived at Nyon at Lake Geneva early. Here we took the boat to Saint Gingolph.
To be continued in part 3
Last modified March 2000