Grand Ballon to Thann: Day 154

A day with more reminders of the blood shed among these forested mountains in the Great War.

Clear sky above me as I looked up from my tent this morning before dawn.

After decamping I continued over the mountains of the Vosges, over fields of cow pasture and forested slopes. Two early reminders of the deaths during the First World War included a chapel and a monument at Col Amic. Freundstein Castle saw more ancient battles, I climbed up to the ruins located on a outcrop of rock at the summit of a hill, only a few walls remained.

Today's main memory was of the Hartmannswillerkopf military cemetery and the nearby remains of fortifications from the 1914 to 1918 conflict. In the first years of the war this was the scene of many attacks and counter attacks due to its position overlooking the Rhine Valley. After viewing the many crosses for the dead in the cemetery (and one Muslim headstone) I followed a trail around the remains of trenches, underground shelters, observation posts, shell holes and machine gun positions. Several parties of school children were also making the tour. Laughing and chatting they seemed to be having fun, whereas I was thinking of soldiers being blown apart, leaving bits of them hanging from those trees which were still standing. There was also a museum giving a background on the causes of the war, examples of the munitions used, and extracts from soldiers letters among other things. I also welcomed the coffee vending machine.

Crosses for the French dead from the First World War. 

Barbed wire along the side of trenches.

Leaving this place of killing I continued by two closed refuges, a closed Ferme Auberge and a sign saying the footpath was closed due to forestry operations. No diversion was provided for the footpath closure and the forest was silent, so I ignored the sign. I was soon passed patches of freshly felled trees and the pleasing smell of newly cut timber. 

Walking down to Thann.

The Military Cemetery was at an apex in my route and I was now heading in the direction of Thann loosing height steadily. Although I passed to slight remains of Chateau Engelbourg I did not stop, keen to finally arrive in Thann. Once in the town I soon found a Salon du Thé for a coffee and tart while admiring the church because of the intricate and delicate carving of its spire and the coloured tiles in a pattern on its roof. Now settled in my hotel I have flooded the bathroom floor due to a poorly designed shower. At least I can be sure its clean having used a towel to mop up the water.

Full from dinner at a nearby restaurant, by the wonders of Zoom on my phone, I watched and listened to a lecture organised by the Austrian Alpine Club of Britain on walking in Northern Albania.