Trip Report - L'Échappée Jurassienne (GR59): Arrival and Day 1

 After returning from my GR34 5-day stretch (a post on this later...) I had a lot of time on my hand and quickly got bored at home. So I looked into other walks/hikes I could possibly be doing in early May (which unfortunately rules out high mountain treks due to snow) and came upon the Échappée Jurassienne on outdooractive: https://www.outdooractive.com/en/route/long-distance-hiking/jura-mountains/l-echappee-jurassienne-long-distance-hike/65528654/

The Échappée Jurassienne is usually done in around 20 stages (according to outdooractive) but I felt like I could do 317 easily in about 14 days. I also knew from the start I didn't want to go into Switzerland due to transport being difficult (just try Nyon to Amsterdam in Google Maps! Looks complicated!) and Switzerland being slightly on the more expensive side. Luckily there's a re-route that allows you after the first 18 stages to stay in France and end in St. Claude rather than Nyon.

I also knew I'd likely not be sticking with the exact path as I love to explore and I will take shortcuts if I'm feeling too tired- and I have the tendency to push myself too hard with 40km days at the beginning that leave me absolutely exhausted after 3-4 days. Yeah... I'm working on it.

As to the actual hike:

Day 0.5

I arrived in Dole on a Monday around 7pm. It takes about a day to get there from Amsterdam even if you do start at 6AM like me.

I went to the F1 Hotel to stay the night and it was great! It's very basic and the rooms tiny and rather sparse (literally there's only a bed, a very small shower, a barely-there sink, and a toilet). However, it was clean. The one issue I had was that there weren't any towels... and I'd already gotten into the shower by the time I realized. But... I suppose you can use a pillow cover in a pinch. The rooms are 40€ per night with a shared bathroom and 50 with a private toilet bathroom. I do want to mention that it is a "trucker" hotel in an industrial area at the edge of town so some of you might want to be aware the clientele is mostly male. However, even as a lone young woman I wasn't harassed in any way and everyone was quite polite. (I did pay for the private bathroom and shower!)

You're probably wondering at this point why a backpacker doesn't just sleep in a tent. Hotels are expensive! Tents are the spirit of backpacking! And I have to agree on both counts: Yes they are and tents are great when you're out in the wilderness.

However on this trek I wasn't really that out in the wilderness and while I could have stealth camped I've actually never tried that before in a populated area and didn't feel comfortable with it. It was also high bug season and I'm not super keen on sleeping in caterpillar-webs and other crawlies when I've just walked through them all day. I'm also scared of random noises, animals, and people in the woods, so this time around it was rooms. On the HRP and the Tour des Ecrins (which are planned for July-August-September-potentially-October) I'm definitely going to have my tent

 On to the hike itself... 

Day 1

STATS

START: Dole

END: Port Lesney

KM: 41.97 km

TIME: 7:53:05 hours

The first stretch of the hike is Dole to La Vieille Loye, around 13km. After leaving Dole, at first you walk on a road for some time, but it goes through forest land and there are few cars. It's quite pleasant! I met no cars at all in the entire hour and a half I walked it. It was warm, shady, and the birds were singing a concert all around me. Among the trees there was a cool breeze and the shade really made the walk easier. It was around 25°C at the height of the day, so this shade and wind were really a great respite.

Note: It's a bit difficult to find on the outdooractive website but basically you are following the GR59 trail. If you happen to go off the main GR59 it's usually possible to follow an alternate offshoot route for a while, such as the GR559 or 509. If, however, you simply stay on the GR59, you'll be doing exactly the described route in outdooractive. The path is very well-marked with white and red blazes.

After about an hour or so you've left Dole behind and the GR59 takes you into the forest. I was mostly alone on this stretch and didn't meet anyone else (except some dude walking with an oddly straight back... but on the road instead of the forest path) so I collected a lot of spiderwebs (caterpillar-webs?) and occasional caterpillars as well as copious amounts of flying things.

You pass a parc animalier (an animal park/zoo) early into the hike and can stop there to see some renards (foxes) and other animals:

The path continues through the forest for a long time and in early-mid May it's quite pretty. The sun is shining through the trees, the birds are loud because there's no disturbing noise, the climate is hot but not humid, the earth underfoot easy to walk on due to its softness. I greatly enjoyed this stage of my walk.

 

 The first stop of this stage was La Vieille Loye village. It's honestly not much more than a few cows, horses, and some nice-looking houses. I got there around mid-day, but there was no opportunity to buy any food, so it's advisable to bring enough snacks and your own lunch.

(This sign used to say "La Vieille Loye".)

(This picture is just before La Vieille Loye.) 

(Very fancy blaze placard rather than just painted on in front of the first house of Loye!)

LA VIEILLE LOYE

 

(There's no water in here...)

 

After Loye you're back into the woods for another roughly 13km stretch to Arc-et-Senans. This is a small town with a little bit more happening. Staying on the route I passed a small cafe and some benches to rest on.

I also passed this building which I learned is the Royal Salt Works, a tennis court with a bench to rest on, and the great fella below made of spare metal:

The Royal Salt Works

Some unspecified metal... dear!

Note: In between Loye and Arc-et-Senans you will find a fountain called Fontaine des Prés Bas. It looks like this:

I met a man filling a collection of plastic bottles here so I assumed the water was safe to drink without a filter.

I'd decided not to bring my water filter that I would've brought on the HRP and high mountain hikes because I knew there'd be plenty of opportunities to refill due to the hike staying close to cities most time but I definitely would have liked it on this trail. It turns out I didn't get sick from drinking the water of the fountain, however, in an effort to keep my pack weight during the hike low enough to be fast I often ran out of water about 75% into the day's hike. Having my filter (a Katadyn BeFree) would have been super beneficial as there are plenty of sources if you can clean them!

I also met a mud patch that looked mushy on the top but solid underneath.

It wasn't.

The official first stage of the day stops at Arc-et-Senans but I (a chronic overachiever- or at least trying to) decided to go until Port Lesney to bring the day to an even 40km (which turned out to be 41.97km instead). I've long been used to lengthy hikes, doing 38km on the HRP in rough terrain, a few 40km here and there on other hikes, and this time my backpack wasn't as huge or heavy so it felt all right to do this. Note: I'd do it again but only the first day (for reasons on which I'll expound in another post) and because Port Lesney is a lovely place to stay.

The last stretch of the day led me through rolling hills and plenty of vineyards. It was getting a bit tough after 30km but I was fresh from not-hiking for a week or two and I do love to challenge myself. Here are some pictures that speak for themselves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the space opened up quite a bit after Arc-et-Senans and I could see plenty of meadows, hayfields, and vineyards where farmers were already busy with hip-high grape plants.

I ended the day in Port Lesney, a small but lovely village with an old church and a great river running through it.

 

I stayed in the Hotel-Res L'Edgar and was treated very well. The owner, Alexi, speaks French, enough German to converse, and a fair amount of English (He prefers to speak German to English). The dinner was salad, chicken, and apple pie. I didn't get the pie (I know! Heresy!), opting for a larger salad instead.

I can definitely say I recommend this place! The rooms are comfortable and quiet. The breakfast room and the outside terrace is gorgeously decorated in vintage American style and they play the kind of slightly jazzy vintage American music that just lets you chill out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all it was a lovely place to stay the night.

That concludes the first day of the Échappée Jurassiene trip and the first report! I hope to see you again next week for Day 2.

- Jimney