Mouthier Haut Pierre to Pontarlier
- Mr Melezet
- Aug 17, 2020
- 2 min read
The source de la Loue
The hotel provided breakfast so we took it easy and set off just after 9. The route today ran up and out of the Loue valley at its source and on into Pontarlier.
Today's date: 17.8.20
Weather: cloudy
Steps: 36,750
Distance: 27.1 km
Climbing: 1,229 m
The climb up the narrow gorge was by far the toughest walk so far. The path was wet and rocky with fallen trees that we had to climb over or under. There were plenty of places where it would have been easy to fall from the path down into the river.
We walked for about 5k in the gorge. The river which was filled with rapids and small waterfalls. We passed some adventure runners heading downhill but saw no other hikers.
There was a bar at the top of the gorge with a good looking menu. On any other day it would be perfect, but we were still full from breakfast so we just took a coffee and pressed on.
Although we were out of the gorge the path was still upwards. We stopped at a hilltop church in Ouhans for a lunchtime snack.
The afternoon started with a walk through a forest which opened into pasture on the walk into Pontarlier. During the afternoon we passed the 1000km mark on our walk.
We filled our water bottles from the cemetery in Vuillecin and walked the last few km into Pontarlier.
Pontarlier isn't a pretty town but it has some good sports shops and we bought some new trekking poles. It seemed sensible as we are doing some proper hiking now.
Hotel de Morteau
Convenient but not the most comfortable of hotels. It is Monday so no restaurants are open in Pontarlier. Luckily we found a shop just before it closed and bought some snacks. France really can be a challenge.
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