Les Trois Fours

29 June 2015:  Today was a long day – about 7 hours of hiking, from the Étang du Devin to the Trois Fours – and parts of the trail were difficult, because it was very rocky.  The numerous rocks of every size and shape on a descending slope make walking difficult and tiring.

However, the trail was both interesting and beautiful.  It began with another hike in the forest.  We climbed steeply from the Étang du Devin to the Tête des Faux, passing remnants of the fighting that took place here during the First World War.  It was eerie to see tangled, rusted barbed wire filling the space under blueberry bushes.  The hike up to the Tête des Faux took us through a sector controlled by the Germans; the hike down the other side took us through an area that the French managed to seize and hold.  There, we passed the most important reminder of the war: a French military cemetery. 

After passing the Col de Calvaire, we emerged from the forest and entered a different world: the Gazon du Faing.  To the west, a vast high prairie extended for hundreds of meters.  To the east, there were stunted trees and bushes along the edge of rocky cliffs.  The trail rose to several high points along the way to the Col [Pass] de la Schlucht, providing 360 degree views of Alsace and the Vosges.

We were walking here along the Franco-German border as it existed after Germany's annexation of Alsace in 1871.  At regular intervals, there were stones (bornes) marking that border, with F carved in the western (French) side and D carved in the eastern (German) side.  The D's had been effaced from the bornes near the Col de la Schlucht, but they were mostly intact on the bornes farther north. 

The Col de la Schlucht is a dreary place, with a big hotel that appears to be abandoned and another heading in that direction.  We were pleased to hike farther south, through a forest, to the Trois Fours, where there is a refuge run by the Club Alpin Français (CAF).   This is our first mountain refuge – quite different from the hotels, B&Bs, and chambres d'hôtes where we have stayed until now.  We sleep in collective bedrooms ("dortoirs") and eat communal meals.  It is interesting to meet people in refuges and share experiences.  There are several other people here who are hiking sections of the GR5, including the couple we met two days ago on the trail to Aubure. 

We have entered an area where access to the internet is intermittent and weak.  Hence, I will not be able to upload posts on this blog regularly.  I plan to write the posts daily, as usual, and then upload them when I can.  So... watch this space!

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Hiking up through the woods from Étang du Devin to Tête des Faux:

Ruins of German fortifications and works from the First World War:

This is the arrival station for a 3 km téléphérique that was used to transport equipment and supplies:

Tête des Faux:

La Cimetière Duchesne:

Lac Blanc:

Hiking accross the Gazon du Faing:

A sample of the bornes marking the Franco-German border (1871-1918).  Some of the D's are gone; others remain. 

One this borne, it appears that the D was chiseled into an F:

No D here!

The final leg our our hike: back into the forest on an easy trail:

The CAF refuge at Trois Fours:

Étang du Devin

28 June 2015:  Our hike today from Aubure to Étang du Devin took us through forests and over two mountains: the Petit Brézouard (1203 m.) and the Grand Brézouard (1228 m.).  We appreciated the shade of the trees – it was another sunny, hot day – but we also enjoyed the open views from the high ridges and summits.  

We are following trails that we hiked in 1989, but memory plays tricks:  We are surprised sometimes not to recognize certain distinctive features (e.g., Koenigsstuhl yesterday and the Brézouards today).  However, as the valley curving down to Le Bonhomme came into view in the late afternoon, both Mary and I immediately recognized the sight and feel of that place.  We remembered, too, that we had camped on the football field near the center of town.  Alas, that field is now a vacant lot, overgrown with weeds.  The only evidence that it was once a football field is one of the goals still standing forlornly (and without its net, of course).  

We also remembered the steep hike through the woods south of Le Bonhomme.  In 1989, we hiked up that trail the morning after our night on the football field.  Today, we ended out hike on that trail, which led us to the Hôtel Étang du Devin, a simple, comfortable place run by friendly people.

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Leaving Aubure, we passed this structure, which was originally a monument built by German soldiers during the First World War, in honor of their commander, the Duke of Wurtemberg.  After the war, the French removed the dedicatory inscription and the martial statues, but left the coats of arms of Baden and Wurtemberg.  The structure now serves as a viewing point, with a good map (table d'orientation). 

Great views along our forest trails:

Local associations (e.g., sections of the Club Vosgien) have erected some impressive shelters in the woods. 

There is a lot of logging in these woods!  Fortunately, the loggers generally do not clear cut the forest. 

Mary shows the way!

The trail leads down from the Petit Brézouard to a saddle where there is a shelter and picnic tables, before the trail rises again to the Grand Brézouard.  Our lunch spot!

Grand Brézouard summit:

The descent from Grand Brézouard:

Approaching Le Bonhomme:

The former football field – and our campground – in Le Bonhomme:

A more flattering view of Le Bonhomme – from afar:

The trail from Le Bonhomme climbs steeply for about 45 minutes. 

The Hôtel de l'Étang du Devin:

We have a room with a view!

Aubure

27 June 2015:  Today's hike was excellent.  The trail climbed gradually from Thannenkirch, through pine forests, to a high point crowned by the ruins of the Château de Haut-Ribeaupierre.  The trail then descended steeply to Ribeauvillé, passing the Château de Saint-Ulrich and the Château de Guirsberg, each of which is perched dramatically – indeed, implausibly – on rocks above the valley.  One marvels at the human and material resources – extracted primarily from the peasantry – that were required to build and maintain those castles!

Ribeauvillé was a good place for a coffee break.  The café was so pleasant – with a shaded terrace, from which smokers were surprisingly absent, and a friendly owner – that we extended the break to include our picnic lunch.  

We then set off on the long, gradual climb up to the Koenigsstuhl (a total of about 650 vertical meters from Ribeauvillé).  The trail was excellent, apart from one section where a broad logging road had obliterated the trail.  Along the way, we met a French couple who are hiking the GR5.  They started at Wissembourg and followed the GR53 to its junction with the GR5 north of Schirmeck.  They, too, are hiking to the Mediterranean.  They were carrying camping gear and appeared to be very heavily loaded.  That reminded us of our hike on the GR5 in 1989...

The final section of today's hike was a long, gradual descent from the Koenigsstuhl to Aubure.  The trail was broad and smooth, apart from an interesting section where one clambers over large boulders.  Arriving in Aubure, we were pleased to settle into the comfort and warm hospitality of our chambres d'hôtes!

There will be a short delay in posting this entry on my blog.  Aubure is a fairly isolated village.  The weak mobile telephone network here cannot handle data transfer, and our chambres d'hôtes does not have internet.  I'll prepare the post in the comfort of our cosy room here and post it later.

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The church in Thannenkirch:

Carroll marche toujours avec élan!

A medieval garden in Thannenkirch:

An easy forest trail:

The ruins of the Château de Haut-Ribeaupierre:

The ruins of the Château de Saint-Ulrich:

Views of Ribeauvillé:

The ruins of the Château de Guirsberg;

Ribeauvillé:

The trail leading up to the Koenigsstuhl:

The one bad part of the trail, several hundred meters long, where a logging road has been built:

Carroll surveys his realm from the Koenigsstuhl:

Perhaps it should be called the Koenigensstuhl!

Big stone steps on the descent from the Koenigsstuhl:

Aubure, first visited by Carroll in 1980.  We camped in Aubure in 1989, but unfortunately the campground no longer exists.  The town used to support two bakeries, but they, too, have closed.  There is just a little shop with a dépôt de pain (a place where bread made elsewhere is delivered). 

The Ferme Lossow, our chambres d'hôtes in Aubure:

Our friendly hostess: