The morning surrounds me with fog as I continue along the ridge from yesterday. There is spitting rain as I begin a massive decent into the valley towards town. The clouds lift and the rain subsides as I reach Vieux-Thann. I expect to resupply and continue on my way but the grocery store is closed.
I panic a bit as I have no food left. This is actually a positive thing because it means I planned my resupply timing perfectly...under the assumption that I'd be able to buy more right now. I google for other grocers only to discover all grocery stores around are closed. I can't continue forward without food so eventually I end up paying for a hotel to spend the night. I learn a valuable lesson for the rest of the trip: grocery stores in France are usually closed on Sunday. I spend the majority of the day in my hotel room watching Youtube.
I eat an amazing breakfast at the hotel with buttery croissants. At checkout I get a surprising charge of 20EUR for laundry. I had misunderstood that it would have been free... Anyway I head off to the grocery as it opens, get my resupply and hike out of town.
The weather today is perfect blue skies as I climb out the other side of the valley back into the hills. Up on ridges with expanse views again, I'm in a great mood. Around lunch I pass a beautiful cabin and take a break from the sun. I don't stay and eventually arrive at a small shelter in the early evening.
From the shelter I have a cool lookout down into the valley below. There is another HexaTrek hiker here, a lady from New Zealand. I spend the evening chatting with her before setting up a sleeping on a picnic table in the shelter. Clouds roll in and there is some rain over night.
There is near-zero visibility in the morning as the fog hugs the hilltop. The day consists of walking along a bike path and urban trail. I take a lunch break at a McDonald's. The weather remains lightly overcast all day which is alright as there is little shade along the urban route.
An uneventful day of walking. I walk by and scare a group of wild piglets. I arrive early to Saint-Hippolyte and stay at it's campground. I spend the rest of the day reading on my phone.
I blast off early in the morning and run into a fox on trail. I walk along a lush valley on a smooth path and run into another three foxes, seemingly a mom and two pups. I meet at trio of HexaTrek hikers: Billy from New Zealand, Astrid from Netherlands and Alan from Australia. I end my day at cozy cabin in the forest along a river, sharing with a French HexaTrek. There are tons of ticks crawling around I pull off at least a handful that evening. A mouse keeps us company for the night.
There is a light drizzle all morning that is amplified by the wet overgrown trail spilling it's water on me as well. I cross into Switzerland without much fanfare, taking the Jura Crest alternate. The day is easy going and the weather clears in the afternoon.
I meander through gorgeous gorges and get my first glimpse of Lake Geneva. I end up camping suspiciously on the edge of a small village which the HexaTrek app says should be okay. Doing my daily tick check, today I find a tick on my genitals... Heavy rain overnight...
Periodic rain continues into the morning so I sleep in a bit, hoping that it will stop to allow me to pack up. Thankfully it does and the sky makes slow progress to clearing up. I arrive on top a gorge staring down massive granite walls. There is a chamois standing near the edge also enjoying the view of misty fog boiling up from the valley.
The sun peaks out enough for me to dry out my tent at midday. I descend into town via ski resort and pass hundreds of people participating in a Spartan Race. I do a small resupply in Vallorbe and eat some snacks in a park. The climb out the other side of valley leads to nice views as I wild camp for the night.
There is some brief rain overnight again but the morning is just overcast. I get my first glimpse of the Alps looming in the distance in the morning as I walk along farmland and cows. I meet two French HexaTrek hikers and hike with them until the evening. The Alps are now a bit closer and in better view. They are completely covered in snow! I camp alone along the trail.
Brief rain overnight again and the morning greets me with one big climb. There is a nice panoramic view at the top over looking Lake Geneva, the Alps and Geneva itself. The early afternoon is dominated by a extended descent towards the lake. Eventually I reach Nyon and arrive at the lakeside, completing stage one having the Alps staring me down from across the water.
I check into the local hostel and try to decide what to do next. I don't feel like struggling on snow through the Alps so I plan a way to get myself the southern terminus where I can begin hiking back to reconnect to Nyon. I spend the evening hanging out with my room mates at the hostel: Sierra from Vancouver, Justin from New Hampshire and Lindsey from Missouri.
