Monday 26 May 2014
| Distance (km) | 14 kms | |||
| Distance (time) | 4 hrs | |||
| Climb / Descent | 489 / 389m | |||
| Hard / Soft surface | 25% / 75% | |||
| Landscape |
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| Weather |
 →  17° 2 Bft
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After walking 2 days in the sun the weather decided that today will be a wet day. In the morning still reasonably dry but in the afternoon it will seriously rain. Well, we're not planning a long stage today so we should be able to be back before it really starts bucketing. Also, there is only one proper bus connection per day from Banneux to Wegimont and that is bus 727 to Verviers leaving Banneux at 8:36. This bus gives a 20 minutes connection to bus 69 that will bring us to Soumagne. That nicely coincides with our plan to walk a bit earlier today.
It's still dry when we leave the camping site in Spa to Banneux. We park the car there at the tourist information and walk to the very deserted bus stop. Bus 727 arrives only a few minutes late and so we head for Verviers. It's a bit of a search to find from where bus 69 leaves but with the help of a friendly bus driver we manage. And so we are back in Wegimont just before 10 in the morning where we arrived yesterday completely sweaty. While we gently climb out of Soumagne it starts drizzling. We shelter under one of the few trees here but looking at the weather we decide to change to rain jackets. The rain is only short lived and we can open the zipper and roll up the sleeves while walking through the fields. In Olne we stop for a sip and a bite, but not too long as in the afternoon it will really start raining and we want to be back by then. After Olne the roads descends quite a bit, though not steeply, which makes walking easier. The path ends at a small group of houses along the N604 main road that descents to Nessonvaus, a village we're going to as well. But unfortunately the GR5 doesn't descend nicely along the road: we follow another road moving away from the houses and then to the right climbing very steeply. We're drudging up the slippery hill and with all those soaking wet bushes hanging over the path we are getting wet to the bone. We did put on our rain coats....just not our rain trousers. Not very handy of course, but too late. We're so happy to get to the highest point, but from there it is a small trail in between two barb wire fences with grass so high it reaches my hips. And of course that grass is completely wet, and so are we. Our luck that it's not cold, but it is still not very comfortable in soaking wet trousers. But finally then the road descends to Nessonvaux where pass through the village. In Nessonvaux we cross the Vesdre river and the Vesdre is sometimes seen as the most northern boundary of the Ardennes. The hilly area between Dutch South Limburg and the Vesdre is called the Land of Herve. So now we really and officially enter the Ardennes. But not before we visited to local supermarket for 2 chocolate donuts... The route passes underneath the railroad and climbs rather high in a larg loop along the valley just to descent again to Fraipoint where the GR5 will leave the valley. The first part of the climb is stairs, later changing to a forest track. A bit further the track turns sharply to the left and becomes more worn out rock than forest track and pretty slippery. But then it changes to forest track again and keeps climbing, and climbing, and climbing. Meanwhile it started raining again though we don't really notice it much in the forest. Where the track crosses an open patch in the forest we look at the rain falling down and wonder whether we mind getting wet or not. When we finally decide to go for it and fast cross the open patch it suddenly almost stops raining and we can cross at ease. The path climbs less steep now and alternates between fields and forest until we reach a lonely house. A dog starts barking and long after we passed the house we can still hear him barking. Wouldn't the owners of the house get tired of that at some point? Not so far before Banneux we cross a tarmac road and continue through the fields. It really stopped raining now, it is not even drizzling anymore. Nice, we can completely open the rain jackets. And so we arrive back at the car and head for the camping. Now it can rain! Well....it won't. Even better, after an hour or so the sun comes out and we have a nice sunny afternoon. Weather forecasts....what can I say? |
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