Walking Down The Jura

View of La Dole and the limestone rock.

Today I woke up and instead of cycling up to see this view and have a meal I decided to do the opposite. I would walk down. Two or three summers ago I walked up and they took four or five hours. Walking down is much easier.

One or two bits are steep and my shoes lost traction. It wasn’t serious or life threatening. The ground is soft and the gradient is simply steep.

I went from around 20 degrees and cool at the top, with the feeling that I should wear an extra layer to warm up. As I descended i walked from a cold season to warm.

I miss walking in the mountains. I haven't done such a walk in at least a year. It's nice to be away from cars and other machines. It's nice to be in the countryside/mountainside, in nature. I didn't spot or hear any wildlife this time but it might be because I'm louder when I'm walking than when I'm cycling. I did see two or three people cycling up. I saw one person heading up with an electric bike. It's amusing to see, because they're going much faster than you would expect on a bike to go. It looks out of place to see a bike going up those roads so quickly.

During this walk I realised how good it would feel to walk for several days or weeks in a row. I don't think that it would be wise to do so during a pandemic but I do think that it would be pleasant to do in the near future. In Europe you can walk either with, or without a tent, depending on the route. You could walk far without having to carry a few days of food with you. We'll see.