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:
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