Beautiful walk through the hills of the Jura. Challenging stage due to many ascents and descents, but the route is mainly on easy walking paths and lots of asphalt. It runs through forests and beautiful mountain meadows with nice views. The route ends at the Swiss border in Goumois.
Early in the morning, the day begins damp and cold. The tent is wet with dew and the hills around us are shrouded in a layer of fog. According to the forecast it will be quite warm today, but for now there is nothing to suggest it will be. We have breakfast, drink a cup of coffee and pack our gear to continue walking another ridge of the Jura.
From the campsite we ascend a steep section and from there we walk parallel to the valley for several kilometers, passing beautiful waterfalls and nice mountain meadows. The weather continues to get better and as we descend and cross the Doubs River to go back up on the other side, the sun is already shining brightly. The asphalt road from the village gets smaller and narrower, leading us back into the woods. Halfway up a steep climb, a hiker stands to catch his breath and we chat. A French GR5 hiker who is on his last leg of the trail this year and whom we will probably meet several more times in the coming days. The nice thing about walking a route like this, is that you regularly meet people you come across more often for a while, after which eventually the paths separate again, because everyone has his own pace. Always interesting to hear other people’s stories.
We continue walking and because of the many ascents and the now high temperatures, our water supply diminishes rapidly. But we reach the village of Courtefontaine, so we have high hopes that we can find some drinking water. But alas, in the small village there is no ‘fontaine’ with ‘eau potable’ and even the local ‘lavoir’ is dry… But as we walk out of the village someone calls out to us in French: “Do you want some water?”. Wow, what a luck! The man fills our bottle with fresh water and we thank him warmly in French (luckily we had just enough time to check Google Translate briefly) for his help. We hike a little further before it’s time for a descent break. We enjoy a cup of coffee from the friendly gentleman’s water and let our tent dry in the sun.
The scenery varies between sections that look like high mountains and Ardennes-like landscapes, which does make the hike nicely varied. After a short descent, we have one more steep climb to today’s highest point. By now we have climbed quite a few meters and the pace is starting to slow down. We are overtaken by an energetic lady who is walking here for the second time today (this morning she crossed this mountain while running) and knows the area like the back of her hand. Chattering in half English and half French, she accompanies us for half an hour and we talk about hiking, the area and the Hexatrek, another route that also runs here. She teaches us a few more words of French (French people often leave out letters in the pronunciation, but with the river le Doubs, even the last two letters are not pronounced. You just have to know…) and tells us that on top of the mountain is a French farm, where the Swiss owners have set up a “little bar” along the road with drinks for hikers. We expect a little terrace where you can order some drinks, but surprisingly, we find a cute little cart along the road, with a sign inviting us to take a break and grab a drink. A coffee pot with real coffee cups, a bouquet of flowers and a guest book complete the picture. Next to it is also a cooler with bottles of cold water. What a delight… With a cold bottle of water we take a rest on the bench next to the cart. How nice people are! Offering water to hikers passing by their house….
The uphill part went more quickly than expected and now all that remains is the descent to the campsite near Goumois. It’s steep and runs over paths with lots of loose stones, but the refreshment we’ve just had helps us cope.
The campground is on the river le Doubs on the Swiss border, and the GR5 hiker we met earlier is also at the campground here. It’s nice to discuss today’s and tomorrow’s stage. We pick a nice spot to pitch our tent and enjoy the quietness of the small campground.
