Stage over the flat land between the Vosges and the Jura. In the beginning the route passes by Fort Dorsner and runs over the Salbert massif, where you’ll see a NATO fort from the Cold War era and Fort Lefebvre from 1874. From here there are magnificent views towards the Vosges and Jura mountains. Halfway, the route passes a beautiful lake area.
Today we start our hike across the Burgundy Gate, the plain between the Vosges and the Jura. This stretch is about 80 kilometers long and we want to try to do it in 3 stages. The first stage is from Giromagny to Belfort, about 20 kilometers away.
We start out luxurious; in the hotel where we slept, we take it easy, have an extensive breakfast and by 10:30 we set off in the rain.
We walk out of the village and the route soon passes Fort Dorsner, an impressive 1875 structure with a deep moat around it. We look around abandoned buildings surrounding the fort. It is a bit overcast and this drizzly weather makes it extra “spooky.
Fortunately, the weather slowly gets a little better and we walk on to a lake area, about 6 kilometers further up the trail. There are many lakes, but most are on private property and it takes a while to find a bench for our first break.
The trail is flat and it’s a bit cooler than the past few days, so it’s lovely to walk today. A little further on, there is one more hill on the program. On the map it looks like a small hill, but walking up it we appear to have underestimated it. With 260 meters difference in altitude in 2.5 kilometers it is quite a challenge. So, a little less fresh than expected, we arrive at the top of the Salbert massif. Here lies Fort Lefebre, from the same era as the fort we passed earlier, plus a NATO fort from the Cold War era. This fort houses aircraft, air raid shelters and formerly atomic weapons, which has earned the mountain the name “James Bond mountain.
At the top, we take a good break and enjoy the view of Belfort in the sun, from one of the last mountains to the Jura.
On the bench next to us a couple is apparently taking a nap, but just as we want to walk on again they ‘wake up’ and the man starts a chat with us. Where did we come from? What are we doing? He checks the weight of our backpacks and expresses his respect that we dragged this all the way from the Netherlands with us. But that respect is completely mutual, because he is already of age, has walked up this mountain and still cycles regularly through the Vosges Mountains. Impressive!
From here it is still about 4 kilometers downhill to Belfort and we speed up because there is a thunderstorm coming, we hear it rumble in the distance. At the bottom, the bus to the campsite is already waiting for us and just before the storm breaks out, our tent is up and running.
This was a beautiful and varied start to the 5th part of our trip. On our way to the Jura!
