GR571, Vallees des legendes - Ardennes rivers (01/10/2010)

Cilia found a brilliant website called trekkings.be. On that site we found the report of a walk along the GR571. This is a 166km (103 mile) walk through the valleys of 3 Ardennes rivers: the Ambleve, the Salm and the Lienne. It is called vallees de legendes/valleys of legends, because this vast and beautiful part of the Ardennes is full of saga and legends.
Both of us had time available on Friday the 1st of October, so we decided to tackle the first part (from Comblain-au-Pont to Remouchamps) of the walk. We would meet up in the new Liege-Guillemins railway station and travel from there to the start of the walk together.

Things were of to a bad start as Cilia's train got delayed and we lost one hour in Liege. Finally we set out from there to Rivage. Once there we walked towards the Pont de Scay, a bridge over the Ourthe river in Comblain-au-pont and the starting point of today's walk. The trekking site had promised us a challenging climb after only a couple of hundred meters. This seemed to be an understatement. Mudslides and people climbing the hillside with ropes instead of following the path had turned this climb into a mess. A steep climb over muddy and rocky surface, very difficult to find steady foothold. Especially hazardous (and maybe irresponsible) with an injured right arm. Still, we made it up to a cave, where Cilia took a brief rest, before we tackled the rest of our climb. While Cilia sat down, I decided to scout the cave a little bit further and found a path behind the cave. A clear path unaffected by mudslides, that gradually climbed to the top of the ridge. This was a relief for the both of us. This was the walk to the top as we had envisioned it from the beginning. Once topside we had to cross what seems to be the top of the climb, had we taken the difficult muddy climb. A 25cm wide muddy ledge over the mudslide. We conquered that last part of the danger are were in the clear for a carefree walk now.

The climb had taken is through a wood called "les tartines". From the edge of this wood, we took a walk through the beautiful Ardennes countryside towards the village of Oneux. Splendid autumn colours, birds of prey in the air and breathtaking views towards our starting point.... we were happy already.
We passed through Oneux and continued on the Grand Fawe plateau towards another village called Hoyemont. The plateau is situated at an altitude of about 300m. when descending the plateau on the other side, we stopped at le Puits Hayard. This is a old water pit next to the road. We sat down on the edge of the pit underneath the trees and had our lunch here. As we feared at the start in Rivage, it became clear to us at this point that we would not reach our intended destination. The hour we lost because of the delayed train resulted in setting Aywaille as new destination for today.
After lunch we continued our march down towards the valley floor, only to start climbing the next ridge. After the path took us over the top, we came across the wooden cross of Cwimont, from where you have a lovely view into the Ambleve valley and on the town of Aywaille. We passed the hamlet of Septroux in our descend and then found that the GR was closed at this part for the hunting season. Not willing to take the risk, we mate a detour along a busy main road towards the bridge over the Ambleve at Martinrive. After crossing the river, we crossed the railway bridge as well and started our last climb of the day towards the ruins of a 9th century castle. The castle was destroyed in the 16th century. The being a walk of legends and stories, it won't surprise you that this castle has a ghost story connected to it. A woman called Blanche de Montfort supposedly killed her lover and his wife in the chateau, only to throw herself from the castle walls into the valley after her act of despair. It is said that on the eve of All Saints day, you can see her ghost wandering through the ruins. Luckily for us, we didn't see any ghosts.
Because we had a train to catch, we only took a quick snapshot at the ruins and had no time to look at the splendid view from the foot of what remains of the main tower. From there you have an excellent view over again the Ambleve valley and the town of Aywaille. From the ruins our path went down towards the N30 motor way, which took us into Aywaille itself. Aywaille is a smaal town, but has supermarket, bus- and railwaystation and most other stuff you may need. A good resupply point.
Like I said earlier on, for us this was the end of today's walk. We arrived in the railway station 10 minutes before our train arrived and took the train back to Liege from there.
Seems like Aywaille will see us again soon, to start the second part of our adventure along the GR571...

Pictures of this walk right here...

Severe injury right shoulder and upper arm on the 11th of September 2010

On the 11th of last month I took a heavy fall in my brother's garage. While moving furniture out of the house, to store it in the garage while renovations were being made to the living room in his house, I fell into a grease pit in the garage.

It was quite a serious fall and I dislocated my right shoulder.
Meanwhile the shoulder is back in the joint since three weeks, but further examination at the hospital today showed serious muscle damage.
To fix this I will need surgery. After that a long recovery period will begin. Four to six months training with a physio to get my shoulder joint and upper arm back to it old self.

Fingers crossed for a good outcome.

Start to run = Epic fail :-(

My start to run project ended in failure.
During the early days of August I got an injury on my left hip. I still don't know why, but after several minutes into the STR-lesson of that day, it really started to hurt.
I took it easy for a while.... even interrupted my STR and that was the mistake i made. I should have kept up and continued. I never picked up the program again and so the dream ended.

I have promised myself that I will have another go next year. I want to do this and i want to participate in dwars door Hasselt.

Mechelen => Sint-Truiden Walk III Provincial domain of Kessel-Lo to Norbertine Abbey near Korbeek-Lo on June 6th 2010

I'm way too late with this report. The walk took place on the sixth of June and we're the fifth of October today, so an entire summer has passed.
Still I remember we started the day in the provincial domain of Kessel-Lo. We being, Cilia and her husband Karel, their two sons Kasper and Simon, Cilia's dad Gabi, and of course myself. During the morning we took it easy in the domain and enjoyed the nice morning and let the kids play in the local playground. At noon we pick-nicked in a meadow next to the playground.

Once we had finished our meal, Gabi and Karel went to and parked one of the cars at our destination. While they were doing these, it started to rain: gently at first, but ever more and harder after that. The water was coming down so much, that we decided not to take the kids on this part after all. The cart they were sitting in was not water proof (enough). We feared that they would end up wet and cold in their transport and that they would likely catch a cold.

Karel agreed to go home with the kids and take care of the boys, while Cilia, Gabi and myself would walk part III of our little walking project. Thanks Karel! I know you really felt like trotting along with us on this part and I do hope the day will come soon where you can join us.

I don't remember the exact route we took. I would have to consult Cilia on that matter, since she is the one that prepared the whole routing and was in charge of maps. I do know that via some nice green places we ended up on the other side of the city of Leuven, without actually traversing the city center. A wide semi circle through the green hills that surround the city brought us to the Norbertine abbey near Korbeek-Lo. This would be the starting point for our next part of the track... from the abbey to the town of Hoegaarden.

Update Sunday 30th of May 2010

Been a very long while since I last posted something here, so here's an update.

I picked my "start to run" on the17th of May. I know I know.... that is about a month later than I intended to, but still... I'm back to running training 3 times a week. Starting week 3, lesson number 7 tomorrow. So far all is going great: no injuries, no cramps, and no giving up. The whole difference is that before I felt like "I have to go and run today" and nowadays I feel like "are the two days of rest in the weekend really necessary?". I really look forward to my runs now. The feeling that I am actually on the right track and that I don't have any problems at all (so far) is very encouraging. Add to that the feeling you get after your run.... yeah I'm totally hooked.

As for the walking... haven't really done any major walks after the one in Borgloon. The good news is that the date has been set for the next part in our Mechelen to St-Truiden walk. On Sunday the 6th of June we will be walking part III. I have no info yet on the number of participants and the exact path we're going to walk, but we have a date and that is the most important. More info and pictures will follow soon.

I'm still looking to make some additional walks outside of the hometown to hometown walk. Schedule at work is really busy for June however, so I'll have to see where I can squeeze that in..

16th of April 2010 - The countryside walk in Borgloon/Grootloon

Weather predictions for Friday the 16th were rather good for walking: overcast, with a slight breeze and temperatures that would rise to 13° celsius throughout the day. I took the 09:17 bus (23A - the bus to Tongeren) at Sint-Truiden railway station and descended in Borgloon at 09:45. Not knowing if anybody would join me, I waited till 10:00 as I had announced.
Nobody showed up, so when the towerbell sounded 10 o' clock I set out all by myself for 12.5km through the Borgloon area. Borgloon coming from the word "Borg" meaning fortress or castle and the Germanic word "lauhun", which means wooded hill. So the town is basicly called "Castle on the wooded hill".



The first part of the walk, indicated by the yellow markers on the signposts, takes you over the remnants of Borgloon's city walls and past the chateau on the hillside. From the very beginning Borgloon made me happy. I felt why I loved this town so much right away and if ever the possibility is there, this is the place where I want to settle. A small medieval town with lots of history and friendly inhabitants. After you have gone down the hill on which the towncentre is situated, you have to cross the N79 motorway (Sint-Truiden - Tongeren). Mind the traffic as this is a rather busy road at times. Once across this road a dirt road takes up a light hill towards the orchards that are surrounding the hamlet of Grootloon. On this first part of the path you already have some splendid views of the hilly Haspengouw countryside surrounding Borgloon. Through the meadows and orchards the path continues towards Grootloon. You actually pass through some meadows that have cattle or sheep on them. A small path with a fence on each side and enclosed by turnstiles takes you safely past these animals. Once past the last turnstile you reach the church of Grootloon. From here the path makes loop around the village, following the GR for some time.
The way connects to the old Roman military road, called "de Romeinse Kassei" (the road from Boulogne sur mer in France to Köln in Germany) The Romans paving stones are no longer visible and the road has been reinforced to support the tractors that use them nowadays, but still... it's not hard to imagine a regiment of Roman legionaires marching through towards Tongeren. (called atuatuca Tungrorum back then. Tongeren is Belgium's oldest city, founded around 16 B.C.)
After following the military road for a short while the path turns South towards Magnee bos and Manshovenbos. Two small wooded patches, remnants of the woods that used to be in these lands before Roman occupation. Magnee bos is privately owned and access is forbidden. Manshovenbos is a nature reserve and so there as well you are not allowed to enter the wood. From the dirt road along Magnee bos you take the cobblestone road past Manshovenbos and a large farm estate called Manshovenhof. The cobblestone road crosses a road, watch out for the traffic and then takes you to the hamlet of Sassenbroek. On your way in to this place you pass a nice and cosy little holiday house called "het saske" (www.saske.be) which can be rented for up to 8 persons to enjoy the beautiful Haspengouw countryside.
From Sassenbroek an unpaved hollow road takes you up the Haringsberg. A slight climb and only a trial for rise up ahead. On top of the Haringsberg you make a right turn and rejoin the Roman military road. A short but steep climb up, only to take you down again on the hollow road on the other flank. From this high point you can already see Borgloon again. The descent along the hollow road takes you back to the N79 motorway, which you again have to cross. (once again watch out for the traffic).
Once safely across the road, the small and picturesque streets take you all the way back up the hill gradually climbing back towards the town square.
I added a small walk around the town to get to 15km. My pedometer showed 16570 steps for 15km in 2 hours and 36 minutes. You can immediately jump in your car or take the bus back to Sint-Truiden or Tongeren. Another possibility is to sit down in one of the many nice little cafe's and enjoy a meal or a well deserved pint of beer. For the fans, brasserie "De Burcht" serves all 7 Trappist beers.
Check the pictures I took on this walk HERE

Friday 16th of April - 12.5 km walk around Grootloon

To keep up practice and to step up the rhythm, I have decided to walk the countryside walk of Grootloon. A 12.5km walk in and around lovely Haspengouw.
All friends willing to join are more than welcome of course, but if nobody shows up, i will walk all by myself. The way Scotland was initially planned.... my very own crusade :-)
I chose the Grootloon walk because it was the longest they had around here. It will be a bit weird as well. Since Borgloon, the starting place for the walk, was the last place I called home, it will be special to be back there. Lots of memories and unhealed scars there. But hey... may as well start replacing them with some positive vibes. Grootloon here I come ;-)

12 till 16th of April

The good thing about night shifts is that you always have a couple of days off after them. I'm at home from the 12th till the 16th, restarting with late shifts on the 17th.

As promised I will REstart to run on the 13th.
This time I won't let go. Training for dwars door Hasselt, for which I officially inscribed today.

I also want to make a local walk during these days off. I will go and buy the maps of the Local walks on the 13th and choose one. There seem to be several very nice walks around my hometown.

Lately my heart and mind have been wandering off to the Ninglinspo valley



Time to gather a party and rediscover this beautiful place...

...anybody wanna join?

Mechelen => Sint-Truiden Walk 2.... completed!

Sunday the 11th saw us (Cilia, Gabi and myself) complete the second part of our walk from Mechelen to Sint-Truiden.
It was a bit hard to find a suitable day in our plannings and this one was the best solution we could come up with. As for me, it still was a tough undertaking. I was at the 6th in a series of 7 night shifts at work. This meant I only had got home at 0800 in the morning and slept till 1330, when i got up, because Gabi would come by to pick me up at 1430. It also implied that after the walk I would have to go work to do my last night shift of the series. To top all of this off, I also had to take my selor exam the day after at 0845 in the morning... quite a challenge.

Today's walk would take us from Haacht (where we left off last time) to Leuven. We were joined by Kristien (Cilia's colleague) this time. Liesbeth (her other colleague) canceled, due to a better offer that came through. We started out at 1600, since I had been sleeping all morning because of my night shifts.
Like last time Cilia had plotted the course in advance. Taking us over the GR from the place we left off at the end of walk nr 1 to Leuven. We started out from Haacht railway station and right away decided to turn into the fields avoiding the main roads, changing them for a little cross country stint, till we encountered the first red and white GR markers at a small bridge in the fields. we followed the GR from there. It took us right back to the railway line, which we followed till Wespelaar-Tildonk. There we followed the Dijkstraat for a while and turned right past the communal sports center. After the sports fields we pretty much walked across the open fields in the direction of Wakkerzeel. We walked past an old mill at the outskirts of this village. A place that had been nicely rebuild to make comfy modern apartments. Well it looked very much like a place shared by several people with a shared court yard and garden. Very nice place.
From there the landscape rose slightly, this was the Kwellenberg. This short easy climb took us back to the banks of the Dijle river. From here our road turned East again and we saw the hills that surround Leuven on the horizon. Cilia promised us we would have to climb them later on...
Somewhere along the course, when we stopped to eat something, I discovered that in hurrying and being only half awake when i was gathering my walking gear, I had completely forgotten about food and drink. Luckily for me the fellowship kept me alive and fed me and gave me something to drink.
We continued, meeting the railway line now and then, and crossed the E314 motorway. All off a sudden the hills seemed very near. We continued through a residential area, and past a lumber mill and there it was... the start of the climb. On a forest road we climbed up the hill. No gradual rise like the Kwellenberg, but quite a steep climb. All in our own stride we all reached what looked like the top. Kristien proved to be an excellent climber. Without any visible effort, she climbed the hill leaving all of us behind and welcoming us back at the top. Well, like i said, what we thought was the top. From there the path descended a short while and turned left along the flank of the hill. A couple of minutes later we were climbing again. This time it would take us all the way to the top of the hill. Once again we all tackled the climb in our own tempo and once again Kristien shot away from us. Just great the way she seems to climb effortlessly. I'm gonna have to train on a similar climbing technique i think. Will come in very helpful next year when i go to Scotland.
At the top of the Hill we walked along the path and began our gradual descend to the Norbertine abbey that was to be the end point of this day's walk. We arrived at the panorama point overviewing Leuven... very nice view. Only wish I had brought my camera. By the way we got off the hill and arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Domain of Kessel-Lo, it was slowly getting darker. And our timing came under pressure. It was already past 1900 and I had to start thinking about work. Cilia had to get home to Karel and the kids and Gabi and Kristien... well guess they still had the drive back to Limburg ahead. All these combined made us decide to take the bus to the railway station of Leuven. Too bad. I really would have liked to arrive at the abbey at nightfall, like a real Pilgrim. But alas... time left us no other option. Maybe we can start out from the monastery for the third part. That way I can feel like the Pilgrim departing from the monks on to new horizons :-)
Anyhow. The party split at the Leuven Station. My pedometer had counted 21104 steps, for 20 kilometres in three hours and 27 minutes. Not bad...
It had been another nice afternoon in splendid company. I must admit that I am really looking forward to part 3. It was also good to hear that Kristien seemed to have enjoyed the afternoon, since at the parting of the fellowship she said "see you for part 3". So our little party of three has now become a party of four...

A last short note on my new walking shoes. The withstood the walk really well as did my feet. No sore of black toes this time. A slight pressure on my front sole, but i think that can be resolved by other/better walking socks. All in all the my Lowas were fantastic, even without much testing or trial walks. Hurrah!!

Mechelen => Sint-Truiden Walk 2 - Haacht to Leuven

Part two of our walk from Mechelen to Sint-Truiden is scheduled for the 11th of April. Hoping for fine walking conditions and a little less wind than we had on the first episode. This will also be the first test of my new walking shoes.... fingers crossed and hope that there will be no black toes this time.
Participants will be, Cilia and Gabi, but also Kristien and Liesbeth (two colleagues of Cilia) and myself of course..
More news will follow at the end of the week!

New walking shoes

I got myself new walking shoes today... after trying on several pairs and testing them on the test course in the shop, I settled for Lowa's.
They are the harder (Type B) shoes, which makes them suitable for trekking with a backpack as well.
The first real test will follow on Sunday the 11th...

Restart to run...

The first attempt at Start to run failed, because of lack of discipline.
You have to commit yourself to stick to the schedule... i didn't and from skipping one day came another and then another and in the end you don't bother anymore.

The drill sergeant had a serious talk with me. I'm getting a second chance. Monday the 12th of April will see me go for the second attempt.... the right one this time.
"Dwars door Hasselt" here i come....

FOR SCOTLAND!!

Start to run..... GO

As promised, I picked up my "start to run" program again today.
Today was a nice spring day; not too cold and finally some sunshine. So when I got home from my early shift, i put on my running gear, my new running shoes, strapped on my iPod and off i went. I took it easy and started with the first lesson in the 0-5Km program. Good news is that I completed it effortlessly which works motivating of course. My new running shoes are a dream. They are very comfortable and it is a great relief to have gel in both shoes again. ( the right shoe of my old reebok pair got punctured while wearing them and because of that I ran with one foot on a cushion and one on solid ground)
So ya, the effort comes from the runner in the end, but good quality running shoes are a blessing.

The goal of the whole program is to be able to run 5KM.
So to spice things up a little I have added extra challenge to that target.
On October 11th there is an annual running event called "Dwars door Hasselt" (right through Hasselt). Hasselt is our provincial capital. You can enter the even for various distances, but one of them is 5KM. What a coincidence... so that is the ultimate challenge for my running. Apart from getting in shape, I want to be able to run 5KM and I will test this during "Dwars door Hasselt" on October 11th.... fingers crossed :-)

Black and getting blacker

No improvement on toes.... quite the opposite...

A souvenir from my Godinne walk... Sore, black toes...

.... are keeping me from my running program... all training halted at the moment. Since this weekend the toes hurt a little less and the colour of my poor toes is getting a little lighter...
Hope I can restart my running program this week...

Mechelen => St-Truiden, Walk 1 - Mechelen-Haacht

Today I completed the first part of the Mechelen to Sint-Truiden walk in the excellent company of Cilia and her father Gabi. We've known each other since forever and have remained the best of friends throughout the years.
I had two black toenails (walking shoes too small) and was a little stiff in legs and joints from the day before, but apart from that I felt pretty good, so it was off to Mechelen. Gabi picked me up at about 08h15 at the railway station in Sint-Truiden and we set out for Haacht. This would be the end point of our walk so we parked the car there. Karel (Cilia's husband) picked us up in Haacht and took us to Mechelen, the starting point of our journey.
After a quick change of trousers and shoes we were off. Second walk in as many days; I must admit I was a little scared and felt unsure whether I would be able to pull this one off.
We started in Mechelen city, in the court yard of Cilia's home. From there it was only a short walk to the banks of the river Dijle. We followed the path on the riverbank till Muizen, enjoying the beautiful countryside and the nesting birds. We even saw a couple of storks.
From there we bridged a small gap between two GRs to arrive at the GR 128. We followed this path, which continued along the banks of the Dijle for a while. This was the hardest part of today's walk. Not because of the terrain, but because there was a sharp and cold eastern wind, which blew head on for the whole riverbank part. Afterwards the path turned away from the river a bit and lead us through some soggy meadows. After a muddy last 2 kilometers we arrived back at Gabi's car. First part of our big walk from hometown to hometown completed.
My pedometer today showed 20640 steps, for 17km which we completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Next part will be Haacht to Leuven.

"De Straffe wandeling" by the "Bergpallieters" in Godinne

Today Me and Captain Angela teamed up with sportsclub "de Bergpallieters" for their tough walk in Godinne. And a tough walk it was indeed...
At the end of the day the pedometer showed 23.5KM, which equaled 30402 steps and all this in a time of 4 hours and 57 minutes.
I completed the walk rather unscathed. Sore legs, totally empty and a bit of tension on the achilles tendon.... other than that no problems so far.

For me as an untrained walker I felt that I had really pushed myself today, maybe even overdone it a bit. But in the end I am proud to have completed the entire hike.
My intention was a "virtual kick in the butt" a "wake up call"...
The West Highland Way consists of 8 days of similar walks and if I look at how I feel now, I have finally convinced myself to take training for Scotland 2011 a bit more seriously.

Tomorrow "virtual buttkick" number two.... "how does it feel to be walking two days in a row?". A shorter walk tomorrow with friends from Mechelen to Haacht...
Fingers crossed..

Start to Run!

On Tuesday the 9th of March, I will pick up my Start to run again. After a break of nearly three years I have finally gathered my courage and will start my running program again. The aim is to be able to run 5KM.
This to improve my overall fitness level, which will in turn contribute to all future walks and to my Scotland project.
Tomorrow, Captain Angela will help me buy new running shoes.
Thnx Cap'!

Walking weekend 6-7 March 2010

The weekend of 6th and 7th of March will see the real start of the preparations for Scotland. The planning with books and maps and websites has been going on for a while now. Eating habits have been changed since 1st of March, but this weekend will see the real kick off... the virtual kick in the butt that will show me that i should take this seriously and start practicing more often...

Saturday the 6th I will participate in the "Straffe Wandeling" by the Bergpalieters. A walk organized by the sportsclub of my colleague Geert. My good friend and sport guru Captain Angela will join me on this walk. The walk itself is a 23km walk through the region of Godinne, South of Namur in Belgium.

Sunday the 7th takes me to Mechelen.
Another friend of mine, Cilia has come up with the brilliant plan to walk from Mechelen (her hometown) to Sint-Truiden (my hometown). The distance between these two towns is about 60KM. In this first stint we depart in the direction of Muizen (4KM) and aim for Haacht (14KM). Cilia's dad Gabi will join us on this first part of the trip.