GR5: Days 29–35 from past Attillioncourt to past Aubure | Hiking from Holland to Nice
As the first half of the journey comes to a close, the trail begins to change. Cooler weather makes a difference, forests and mountain terrain become more prominent, and Sarah reaches the halfway point after 35 days. The daily stats show the distance covered, while the reflections reveal the physical and mental adjustments that come with a long-distance hike.
Day 29 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot & sunny- (but cooler) 27 degrees
From: past Attillioncourt
Start time: 7.44am
To: Dieuze
End time: 5.53pm
Accommodation: WTMG - camping 🏕️
Terrain: forest trails, concrete, hard gravel
Cicerone guidebook stages: most of 45
🥾Km: 35.86
🥾Miles: 22.4
🦶Steps: 45,926
Ascent: 528m
Descent: 564m
Total Distance 918/2,200 km
41.7% Done ✅
💰Costs: €0 (not because I didn’t want to buy anything but there wasn’t any shops)
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: so much cooler. It made such a difference being 26° instead of 36°.
Cool seeing the farmers doing their work. Walking into Marsal - very historic - It had a drawbridge!
The WTMG - was awesome it’s got a hammock, load of space, place for charging, outdoor toilet etc epic!
🏔️Challenges: towards the end of the day the hard concrete on the roads was starting to hurt my joints. Especially behind my right knee.
💭Thoughts: there doesn’t seem to be any resupply options over the next 2 to 3 days - it could make things interesting!
Day 30 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: cloudy 27 degrees
From: Dieuze
Start time: 9.37am
To: Gondrexange
End time: 7.32pm *had to move my camping so finished 9pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: roads, gravel, forests, canal paths (concrete)
Cicerone guidebook stages: 46
🥾Km: 28.85
🥾Miles: 18
🦶Steps: 38,036
Ascent: 296m
Descent: 240m
Total Distance 947/2,200 km
43% Done ✅
💰Costs: €24 food
€7 toothpaste & floss
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: great sleep. Got to the supermarket at 8am to do a resupply. Had a solid day walking
🏔️Challenges: stopped about 7pm and instead of waiting I through I was remote enough to set up my tent - just as I started a while van drove by (in a field). They didn’t stop or say anything. But I knew I should move. 45 mins later… I found somewhere else to camp. I tried the campsite / but it was too late and. Nowhere obvious for me to set up.
💭Thoughts: not a fan of walking extra miles! I’m on target for 70 days. But I don’t know how my hiker fitness will transfer to the mountains walking on flat is very different from walking in the Mountains!
Day 31 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: cloudy, hot 29 degrees
From: Gondrexange
Start time: 6.57am
To: MM 615.5
End time: 8.32pm
Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️
Terrain: concrete and then into forests and the start of mountain!
Cicerone guidebook stages: 47
🥾Km: 36.42
🥾Miles: 22.7
🦶Steps: 48,655
Ascent: 991m
Descent: 552m
Total Distance 985/2,200 km
44.7% Done ✅
💰Costs: €12.90 stopped at a bakery
€13.90 apple juice & an ice cream Sunday!
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10 - just little climbs at the moment
⭐️Highlights: view from Belle Roche!
🏔️Challenges: morning - awful night sleep - killed so many mosquitoes 🦟 got up early to get out of there. Was not great.
Evening - I’ve only got 1/4 left of water and I’ve got so many miles to go get any - I’m annoyed at myself. I carried 2litres thinking it would be enough. As I’d be in the forest and it was cooler. It wasn’t
💭Thoughts: I’m so exited to be leaving the concrete behind and start getting into the mountains also I should finish the first Cicerone guidebook tomorrow! 10.5miles!
Day 32 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: 🌧️rain in the morning! Sunny in the afternoon ☀️
From: MM 615.5
Start time: 10.41am
To: Schirmeck
End time: 5.16pm
Accommodation: Apartment- booking.com 🛌
Terrain: forests! Little bit of road at the end going into town
Cicerone guidebook stages: 49
🥾Km: 18.21
🥾Miles: 11
🦶Steps: 23,189
Ascent:436m
Descent: 830m
Total Distance 1002/2,200 km
45.5% Done ✅
💰Costs: €46.21 - steak, eggs, ham, cheese, sweets, crisps, peas, potatoes, orange drink (for dinner, breakfast, lunch & snacks)
€77 apartment
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10
⭐️Highlights: after not sleeping well the night before I had such a good sleep. Nice to be staying in an apartment tonight,having a shower, eating food and doing a full reset. I didn’t realise it had been 7 days since I slept in a bed and had a shower! Finished the 1st guidebook- 2 more to go!
🏔️Challenges: the rain in the morning made it incredibly difficult to get out of the tent. I’ve actually did get moving but it was very slow going. I also had only a very small amount of water. Luckily I bumped into a French school group and the teachers gave me water.
💭Thoughts: if I do approximately 20 miles per day for the next three days, I will be bang on halfway at the 35 day mark.
Day 33 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: rain 🌧️ 20 degrees & thunderstorms 🌩️ (severe WW in place)
From: Schirmeck
Start time: 11.10
To: Le Hohwald.
End time: 5.34pm
Accommodation: camped - campsite ⛺️
Terrain: forests trails
Cicerone guidebook stages: section 4
🥾Km: 18.84
🥾Miles: 11.7
🦶Steps: 25,274
Ascent: 786m
Descent: 476m
Total Distance 1024/2,200 km
46.5% Done ✅
💰Costs: €8 camping (such a fair price)
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 5/10 - felt a lot more tired today
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: the mountains, the terrain, the forests, the way markings.
🏔️Challenges: rain & thunderstorms! lol!
💭Thoughts: the memorial at Struthof concentration camp - was emotional to walk past/through
Day 34 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: dry and sunny 22 degrees
From: Le Hohwald.
Start time: 9.31am
To: MM 662
End time: 8.58pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: forest trails
Cicerone guidebook stages: section 4
🥾Km: 37.52
🥾Miles: 23
🦶Steps: 50,166
Ascent: 1,337m
Descent: 1,399m
Total Distance 1059/2,200 km
48% Done ✅
💰Costs: €8.60 steak sandwiche with an orange drink
€6.74 2x water, juice drink & 5x snickers
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: castles, good dog cuddles, drinking cold water, plus my sleep last night was epic - 11hrs!
🏔️Challenges: took me a while to get going in the morning then it was gorgeous walking all day. Lovely forest trails, nice climbing, good temp, perfect conditions.
💭Thoughts: slept so well last night 8pm - 3.30am - then 3.45am - 7.30pm - hope I have another good day tomorrow 🤞also decided I’m going to try and buy a new pair of hiking poles and I’ll post these poles home and fix them later. Too hard to fix on trail.
Day 35 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Half way point 35/70 days… where has the time gone! Weather: sunny ☀️ 24 degrees / perfect!
From: MM 662
Start time: 8.45am
To: past Aubure
End time: 8.57pm
Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️
Terrain: gorgeous forest trails
Cicerone guidebook stages: end of section 4 - start of 5
🥾Km: 39.74 - more due to ease of the trail than me!
🥾Miles: 24.8
🦶Steps: 52,375
Ascent: 1,467m
Descent: 1,150m
Total Distance 1,100/2,200 km
50% Done ✅
💰Costs: €9.06 water, juice, crisps, humous, sweets.
€14.55 quiche, pastry’s, water
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10 apart from trying to find camping at the end of the day
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10 excellent trails, great gradients
⭐️Highlights: chateau’s, rock formations, towns, resupply, flowers, weather. Everything came together
🏔️Challenges: just finding camping at the end. Ive got 1.2litrs and have 9 miles to go tomorrow before the next water source. Should be ok. The weather is a lot cooler - so not drinking as much.
💭Thoughts: focus on the next 5 days - get to 40 days. Then end of August and push to reach Switzerland 🇨🇭.
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