Le Randonneur: Belacker

3 July 2015: I am writing this post in the shade of a big tree beside Le Belacker, a ferme-auberge where we will have dinner and spend the night. A light breeze is cooling the air (which is otherwise about 30 degrees in the shade). I've had a shower, and I'm enjoying a glass of cool Pinot Gris. A couple of men, friends of our host here, are sitting at a table next to mine, drinking beer and speaking in Alsatian. We chatted in French for awhile, and they asked me if I'm Belgian... They were, of course, interested in our hike from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. One of the men is a forestry worker, so I took the opportunity to tell him about my work as a choker-setter in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington more than 40 years ago. I had no idea how to translate "choker-setter" into French, but he easily understood my description of the work done by a choker-setter.

La vie est belle!... We hiked here from Thann – a short étape that was well-suited to the hot weather. The trail climbed steadily from Thann (340 m.) to Vogelstein (1180 m.), before descending to Belacker (989 m.). Fortunately, most of the trail was in forest, providing shade. And when we emerged from the forest for the last hour of walking, there was a light breeze that softened the impact of the sun. But it was still very hot today – well into the 30s. As sweat ran off my head, dripping down my face and the back of my neck, I felt as if I were melting. I wondered if I would end the day a little shorter than I began it!...

The warm welcome of the hosts at this ferme-auberge and showers have restored us to mid-season form. We look forward now to a hearty dinner!

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The trail climbed from Thann into the forest: