Day 45: Besançon to Ornans

May 28, 2019

There was a hiccup with the footpath app, so our path is tracked in two maps, but together they chart what we walked today to Ornans (for a total of 28.4 km (17.6 miles))

It was back to the hike for me today! I was anxious about getting started again because I wasn’t sure if I’d healed enough, but I was excited to have M with me now. He arrived last night, and we hung-out, had dinner, and made it an early evening so we good get a decent start.

We left the center of Besançon and joined the Doubs River. It was supposed to rain all day to Ornans, but it was just damp so far, so we enjoyed the cool air and the quaint scenery.

After following the river out, the path took a sharp left up into the hills. We are working our way into the foothills of the Jura mountains and the elevation was no joke. Early in the day there was a 13% level incline. In print that seems like nothing, but if you walk a treadmill at 13% with a pack for about 20 minutes, you’ll get a feel for the experience 🙂 Seeing these steps was actually a relief!

We soon found ourselves immersed in the wild with a lot of active critters out on the damp morning. One bird in particular was very aggressive with her call. Maybe she had new babies and didn’t like intruders?

Then it was back to more steep climbs over rocky terrain.

Then it was on to some flat country roads for a while. It rained off and on, but nothing too troubling–maybe a total of 2 hours of rain all day (30-40 minutes being hard rain). The worst part was about a 1km stretch on a busy road while it rained, but it was to avoid a sketchy path, and I think it worked out in the long run. We kept out back covers and rain jackets on throughout the day.

We came upon a cute chapel that seemed to be in the process of preservation.

Right after the chapel, there was a bit that reminded me of the North Downs Way in England because it seemed to be personal land that was shared with the historic route. There was a fence penning in cows but with a trail marker and a ladder to take walkers over the fence. We climbed the fence into the field and the cows all started to come our way. One cow broke out of the pack and gave M the stink eye. 🙂

After a bit as we were getting closer to Ornans, the trail got really interesting–rock walls, bridges, and even a 180m tunnel. The tunnel looked a little creepy, and M got out a flashlight, but the inside had automatic lights that turned on as we walked past. t was still a little creepy–it felt like I was in an episode of Scooby Doo 🙂

The bridge pictured above was home for a few lizards. This is one:

About this time M admitted that he was starting to really feel the walk. It sounds odd, and I certainly didn’t want him to be in pain, but it felt good to have the corroboration that this wasn’t easy. I can get down on myself pretty quickly, and it felt reassuring that it just wasn’t me–this was challenging. This day was shorter than some of the days I did in France, too. The last 4 km we were limping into town but keeping each other’s spirits up (or at least he was keeping mine up :))

We eventually arrived in the the town square and turned right to cross the bridge over the Loue River. Our lodging is just left of that clock tower.

We checked in and discovered we were staying in a renovated old tower that seems to be associated with the town clock tower.

We rested for a couple minutes and then noted there was a bakery and grocery store just 200m away, so we ran out to get supplies. On the way back over the bridge we saw a few fly fisherman had claimed some prime real estate.

We’re a bit sore, but overall, it was a great first day back.