Friday 8th July Brugg to Bulach

Dielsdorf is the last town on Jura Howenweg and the European Ramblers Association web site doesn't really tell you how to cross 50 kilometre gap between Deilsdorf and Lake Constance. Menno, who commented on my original route, has given a list of towns and I will try and go from town to town using these stepping stones. Bulach is on that list and gets me within a long striking distance of the Rhine for tomorrow.

If you have ever been to Zurich than Bulach, where I'm staying tonight is just to the east of the final approach run to the airport.

The weather is a bit iffy at the moment. Last night was very hot and at about three o'clock in the morning there was an enormous thunderstorm and the evidence of the damage done was all along the route today.

I say route but I just couldn't find the Jura Howenweg coming out of Balsthal this morning. Sleepless night and the need to cover a lot of ground today didn't help matters but in the end I gave up and followed the local footpaths rather than get on the route proper. Basically I walked along the bottom of valley and of course the Howenweg sticks limpet like to the top, the "crest", whenever it can.

Walked along the side of the river to Baden, which looks a very prosperous town, past numerous factories and a lot of new building. Two of my favourite counter intuitive facts are that Switzerland's economy has the highest percentage of manufacturing for any country in Europe and its workforce the lowest proportion of graduates. The evidence of the first fact at least was everywhere today.




After Baden I decided to bushwhack my way to the top of ridge. As is usually the case going in a straight line up the side of a 600 metre hill is a lot harder than it looks (explains why they have paths) and the ground was particularly sticky after last night's storm. It was also hot and the horse flies were on patrol again.

Eventually I hit the trail proper and was able to finish of the Howenweg and march in Dielsdorf on the right route. Saw an interesting use made of a silage bale on the final descent. The penultimate town was Regensberg which was very picture postcard.









The last bit to Bulach was very dull but has to be done as I have big ambitions for tomorrow. Today's walk was 33 kilometres some of it in the right direction.

So I'm now yomping across the plain to Lake Constance and I'm trying to get to Stein am Rhien by tomorrow. I guess being so close to Zurich the hotels around here are extra expensive so I don't want to hang about. I'm one day ahead of schedule at the moment and after tomorrow that will be two days. Hopefully I can find somewhere a bit cheaper to hunker down for a bit. It's not just that the hotels are expensive, and I hate being in expensive hotels on my own, they are also not very good, food wise everything wise. Come back France all is forgiven!

Thursday 7th July Hauenstein to Brugg

Big 33 kilometre walk today with about 800 metres of climb. Hot and sticky with a bit of thunder in the air, rained a bit this afternoon but nothing serious.

The big pain at the moment, apart from smelly shoes, is horse flies. They are savage and I'm currently carrying four huge bites on arms and legs. The bite is much worse than a mosquito (although they don't buzz around your ear at night) and if you see them on your arm or leg it's basically too late they've got you. My standard insect repellant doesn't stop them and although I've also got some heavy duty DEET stuff I'm a bit loath to use it as standard. Still, as they say if it doesn't kill you it can only make you stronger (absolute nonsense of course).

On nasty biting things I have also adopted a new approach to ticks. I'm wearing shorts which means I can keep checking my legs. I now know the conditions where your likely to get them and I'm extra diligent when these conditions apply. Saw a deer today and sure enough a tick jumped on my leg but I got it before it made itself comfortable. For some reason had my flash on the camera so the deer shows up with a touch of red eye.



Another nice walk but much too misty to see the Alps. The limestone ridge is definitely starting to fizzle out but what as left, today at least, was a series of outcrops which in themselves made for some nice scenery.







Nowhere to get a packed lunch so treated myself to sausage and chips at Staffelegg, a road side restaurant, very pleasant. Despite the length of the walk it was all very gentle and I was making great time.

Wednesday July 6th Balsthal to Hauenstein

The good news is the Alps haven't disappeared and if it's clear enough you can still see them from this part of Jura Höhenweg. I could just see the sun reflecting of the snow today but not clear enough to actually see the mountains.

Escaped from Balsthal at about 9.30 having struggled as I usually do in a town of any size to find the route out. I think I have mentioned it but the Jura Howenweg is broken down into stages with the end of each stage linked to a public transport access point, usually a train or bus stop. I worked out today that what you need to do is head for the train station where there will be signs for the footpaths. This involves thinking as if your a Swiss person and expecting things to be organised instead of thinking as an English person and wandering around aimlessly on the assumption that they are not.

Well the Jura Howenweg has not fizzled out and the start of the day involved a 550 metre climb up to top of the Roggenflue, which is just less than a 1,000 metres high. The man spreading liquid cow manure on his field kindly stopped as I walked past although it wouldn't have made my shoes smell any worse.

There was an information board on top of Roggenflue describing what I would have been able to see if there wasn't so much heat haze and on a good day this would have included views all the way back along the Höhenweg to Mont Dole above Sant Cergue.

Although the Jura Höhenweg hasn't fizzled out, my ability to say anything new about what remains very nice countryside but basically the same very nice countryside, probably has. I have now been walking through Jura Howenweg for eight days, will probably miss it when it's gone but I'm getting ready for something else. As it was, on a hot and sticky day, I've devoured another 20 kilometres despite a 1,000 metres of climb.

Hill side restaurant

Down to Hauenstein

Shady Path

By the way fortifications re-emerged again today, lines of obstacles to stop tanks, some fairly new looking. Just before arriving at Hauenstein a whole hill had been fortified in 1915 and I think it's still used in some way. All along the side of the hill insignia of the army regiments who served there had been carved into the rock.

 Belchenflue

Staying at a Gasthof in Hauenstein which is very pleasant. They have brilliant wifi but the landlady doesn't know the password, which is a bit frustrating. If this gets published then I must have found it.

Tuesday July 5th Hinter-Weissenstein to Balsthal

Staying in a hotel in a Balsthal, a big hotel but it doesn't have wifi. This is a major pain because I have just finished my book and I can't download another one. When I'm walking on my own, and I've now had a long stretch on my own, I'm listening to podcasts all day and reading books, on my Ipad, in the evening. I'm dependent on a wifi connection to keep this all fresh and this useless place hasn't got wifi. Still I did knock them down three times on the price of the room.

Another nice day on the Jura Höhenweg. I think things will change after today. Although I've still got another 50 kilometres or so before I get to Dielsdorf, the end of the route, I think I have finished the 1200 metre plus part with the last two days at around 600 metres. In fact the big feature of today's 20 kilometre walk was the 700 metre descent at the end.

Left the splendid Gasthof at Hinter-Wiessenstein at about 8.30 (where they did have wifi) and the scenery was very similar to what I've been enjoying for the last week, although no views of the Alps today. Not sure if that's because I've run out of Alps for the time being or because it was too misty.

As good as it looks

It was a lot warmer today and heat was giving the countryside more of a high summer look, grass looking dry and the trees darker. Lots of haymaking activity and they really don't let any scraps go to waste. No idea what the weather forecast is but it could get seriously hot as I get lower down.

Picture postcard landscape

There was a final peak to climb, the name of which I forgot to record, before the drop down to Balsthal. Before the descent you walked a path along the ridge with a tall fence topped with razor wire on its side. This was definitely about something a bit more serious than deer management. Sure enough at the end of path, and on the other side of the fence, there was a group of young uniformed military men with blackened faces. Didn't have the nerve to take a picture.

And then the drop down to Balsthal, the first place since Saint Cergue with an ATM machine.

My shoes, although dry, continue to smell. Not sure if this is because they are basically trainers or whether it's what happens when you walk miles and miles in the same pair of shoes. They, the third pair, are wearing very thin and it will be touch and go as to whether they are still in one piece by the 19th when the next pair arrives.

Monday July 4th Frinvillier to Hinter-Weissenstein

Another bit of luck this morning. Had mentioned to Urgi, the guy who ran the hotel I stayed in last night, how difficult I find it sometimes to sort out accommodation, not speaking the language, and that this was the most stressful part of the trip. This morning he offers to ring up the next place. I was just going to walk there assuming that there would be plenty of places. He rings them up and finds it shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays, that walking on would be another two hours and away from the trail, and then persuades them to open up just for me. Urgi also made a top breakfast: fresh fruit salad in yoghurt; two fried eggs perfectly seasoned with coarsely ground black pepper; and, fresh rye bread with an apricot compot. He also made me two sandwiches for my lunch.

The walk turned out a bit harder than I expected, just 22 kilometres but a lot of climb, 1400 metres. Expecting a walk to be hard makes it easier and vice versa. It was also another great walk, good views again, warm but not too hot.

Left Frinvillier at just before 9. It's a slightly odd place, right at the bottom of a valley with a motorways exiting and entering the sides of the valley at both the north and south end of the village. The village is in box with cliffs forming two sides and motorway flyovers the over two sides.

Because Frinvillier was right at bottom of a valley it takes a couple of hours of walking up hill through trees before you get to the open pasture which has been such a feature of the trail for last week or so. You also go through the village of Plagne which has a couple of hotels.

More green meadows

At some point after Plagne I cross from one canton into another and there some stone markings designating the "border". More important it seems that I crossed from French to German speaking Switzerland. The trail I'm on is now described in German and the greetings have changed.

From French to German speaking Switzerland

The mountains I'm looking at across the valley are also a lot further east than I thought yesterday, just to the east rather than the west of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. The distinctive mountains I mentioned yesterday are the Wetterhorn, Shreckhorn and the Finsteraarhorn all over 4000 metres.

More Alps

The last third of the walk was a bit different. The usually broad ridge became very narrow with drops on both sides. It was also tough walking with a series of ascents and descents.

On the edge of the ridge

The Gasthof at Hinter-Weissenstein is on a working farm and has a brilliant location high up the side of the hill. Had my dinner on the terrace looking across the valley to the Alps, great way to finish a great day.

Hinter-Weissenstein

Sunday July 3rd Vue des Alpes to Frinvillier

At last the mist above the Alps, which has been hanging around for the last five days or so, cleared and I could see right across the valley. I got to view the Alps from the Vue des Alpes.

Actually the hotel was pretty awful, had one of worse meals of the trip last night. The man on the organ in the corner playing a Procol Harum medley should have been a warning that the food might not be good but when the other customers, all Swiss, started singing along to Whiter Shade of Pale, I perhaps should have just asked for a sandwich.

Given the terrible food, and the mean breakfast, I decided not ask them to make me a sandwich, my original plan, and instead left as quickly as I could this morning with absolutely no food in my bag. The weather was perfect, the views were great, and I just knew I would find somewhere to eat along the way.

The first bit of the walk was along a ridge with views to the Alps. Mont Blanc was no longer facing me and was at the western end of the perspective and I think the Weisshorn and Dom des Mischabel, almost as high as Mont Blanc, now took centre stage (could easily be wrong about this).

Weisshorn?

The initial target was Mont Chasseral, just over 1600 metres, and to get there I had to drop down from my ridge, walk along a valley, and then climb up the ridge opposite. The valley was particularly nice, everything fresh and clean. The little village at the end of the valley, La Pacquir, is the birth place of the three times world champion skier, Didier Cuche, and his photograph was everywhere.

Georgious

Found my lunch stop just before the final climb up to Chasseral and, after last night's Procol Harum ordeal a plateful of cured meat and cheese, and yodelling on the radio, restored my faith in authentic Swiss culture.

Apart from the amazing views Chasseral was a bit of a disappointment. It was very crowded, and the hotel, which is expensive, was being rebuilt. The distinctive feature is the huge telecommunications tower which dominates the skyline.

Chasseral

Carried on along the ridge enjoying the same amazing view of the Alps and then got confused about which route to take down to Frinvillier. I chose the wrong one and instead of staying high went down the slightly more suburban path. Not the end of the world but suspect I had to walk a little bit more on hard surfaces than would otherwise have been the case.

Alpine views - catch them if you can

This was a brilliant walk. Must admit I was starting to worry that the trail was becoming a bit suburban towards the end of yesterday but it kicked in again today and was just great. It was a big walk and by the time I got to Frinvillier I had clocked 36 kilometres and climbed 1,000 metres.

Staying at the brilliant Auberge des Gorges. Spent the evening chewing the fat, and drinking brandy, with the owner and his friend. Good day all round.

Saturday July the 2nd Le Soliat to Vue des Alps

So today's walk involved a steep walk down to the town of Noiraigue and then an equally steep walk up the other side, back onto the ridge and a walk along that to the Hotel at the Vue des Alps. Total walk of about 28 kilometres with a 1000 metres of climb.

The weather is just the same as yesterday, sunny but with a chilly wind. Still can't see the Alps.

Sleeping in the refuge was fine last night, a bit cold. Got a good nights sleep although woken up very early by people with weak bladders tramping through the dormitory. The floor literally shook every time someone walked across it. I was the only person in the dormitory so the family rooms were actually more crowded. Good food, had a fondue, one a year is about right I think.

Le Solait

Met up with a walker I saw a few times yesterday and walked with him for a couple of hours. A Swiss guy, spoke perfect English, he is training for a big walk in Sweden and was carrying 22 kilograms which makes my load look a bit pathetic (have worked out that the weight I'm carrying is less than the weight I've lost). He tells me the weather is unusual, and is normally much hotter than this. He thinks the best time to walk this ridge is late May. Mind you there were loads of walkers out today, literally hundreds piling of the train in Noirague, most of them going in the other direction.

Having climbing out the valley the first 10 kilometres or so was very close to the edge but in trees. The views were either down to Lake Nuechatel or back across the valley to yesterday's incredible gorge. Got very close to a chamois but the picture didn't work.

Lake Nuechatel

Left my Swiss friend as he wasn't going as far as me and I needed to crack on a bit. Compared to him carrying all that weight I was super speedy.

The countryside then opened up. For a time I was walking away from the edge but through some lovely park like scenery.

Meadows

For the last bit of the walk I was on the ridge again with views in all directions. Such a shame that it is still misty over the Alps.

Must admit that I had high hopes of this hotel. It's actually situated on a col going over the ridge next to a busy road. There is also an enormous car park and it's a bit of a tourist attraction. To be honest the last two or three kilometres were just a bit busy compared to what I have got used to.

The place I was going to stay tomorrow night no longer does rooms so I have now got a bit of rejigging to do with my schedule. This is where maps would have been useful!