Tuesday 4 August 2015
| Distance (km) | 21 kms | |||
| Distance (time) | 4.5 hrs | |||
| Climb / Descent | 335m / 340m | |||
| Hard / Soft surface | 40% / 60% | |||
| Landscape |
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| Weather |
 21° 3 Bft
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Just like that in between the hot weather today will be cool and especially in the afternoon it may rain for a while. Since there is twice a day a bus from Vic to Brin, at 6:25 and at 12:20, and with the forecasted rain in the afternoon we decide to take the early bus. And so we get up at 5:15 (indeed!) in order to leave just after 6 by car to the bus stop at the Rue de Metz in the downtown of Vic. The bus is nicely on time again and we're off to Brin. Still in the bus we notice that in the southwest the sky is pretty dark and when we step out in Brin at 7 it seems like the dark sky is getting closer.
We walk out of Brin in the direction of Bioncourt and cross the Seille. The road curves to the left and we follow the road when I wake up: we don't have to go to Bioncourt! So we walk back until the curve and indeed there is a half-faded GR5 sign on the fence indicating we should go straight ahead up the hill. It's only a short climb and once at the top I look back to see if the view over Brin is worth a photo. And then I notice that the hills beyond Brin are covered in rain and that that rain comes closer. We start to walk faster to at least make it until Attilloncourt before it starts raining but consering the long loop of the track we're walking on this is not going to be easy. And indeed, a few hundred meters before the village the drops come down and by the time we reached the bus stop in the village it really rains. We shelter in the bus stop to check where the rain comes from and whether it is just a shower. The clouds move very slow and it doesn't seem to get any better. Since it is not cold at all we decide to go on without a rain jacket. From Attilloncourt we take the little tarmac road to Gremecey. The first part climbs and we're happy we're not wearing sweaty rain jackets. After that the road flattens and though the rain steadily comes down it is actually not bad to walk here. Halfway to Gremecey the steady rain stops and becomes serious bucketing so we put on the rain jackets after all. We arrive pretty much soaked in the bucketing rain in Gremecey. As so often there is nothing in this village and since we're wet now we might as well just go on. Again up a hill and through the fields towards the forest. As it has been raining for an hour now I have little hope that the forest will keep us dry and indeed: in the forest under the trees it rains as much as in the fields. But the forest has an extra: stinging flies! We continuously have 2-3 around us and several times we have hit to avoid being stung. In one of my enthusiastic hits I forget I have my walking sticks in that hand and they narrowly pass Lupita's face. Oops. Only when we're off the long straight and open gravel road in the forest and now really walk under the trees on a forest path we loose the stinging flies....thankfully. We now walk an overgrown path passing through soaking wet bushes. Somewhere in this forest there is supposed to be a crucifix on a tree as a landmark, but we don't see it. After much turning and twisting in the forest the track starts to descend and that creates a new problem: the track is soft clayey stuff that is not only slippery but also sticks amazingly well to the shoes. So with a lump of clay of at least a pound on either foot we slide down out of the forest and into the fields. Slowly the track becomes more stoney and we get rid of the sticky clay. We cross a small valley and again enter the forest over a narrow path, but no sticky clay here. Halfway the forest a deer runs with lots of noise straight towards Lupita who walks about 10m in front of me. Then the deer realises he's not alone and there are humans on the path and he makes a straight curve to the right running into the forest leaving Lupita flabbergasted. Considering the impressive antlers a collision would have been nasty. We leave the forest again and pass along the edge of a meadow, still in the bucketing rain. We cross a stream and move on along the edge of the forest towards the main road to Château-Salins. When we descend on the other side of the road towards Salonnes it finally stops raining though the sky is still overcast. After Salonne the road climbs and the GR5 follows a narrow path where bushes heavy with water hang over. It's kind of a struggle to pass here, not at least because most bushes have thorns that easily rip open a rain jacket. But eventually we enter Vic. The route nowadays passes around the north of Vic but we just go to the town centre because we parked the car there. At the central square we wring out our socks, fortunately we have dry socks and shoes in the car. Later that afternoon the sun comes back again, of course. We should have taken the afternoon bus and walk later in the day. But as always....afterwards it is easy to know. |
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