Icy cold!

When I wrote about the snow up on Campus last week, I mentioned I was wondering if the weekend's hike would be snowy or not, and if my gear would do for the current weather conditions... Well the weekend was GORGEOUS! Beautiful blue skies we hadn't seen in weeks... which sadly here in winter are always accompanied by freezing cold weather, this time literally! The temperature hasn't been above freezing for a few days, and probably won't for the rest of the week! A light snowfall on Saturday added to the upcoming holiday feeling, but fortunately it wasn't enough to complicate things around here.

I'm running really behind on my Walloon Hiking Posts (which I'm doing as much for myself -to remember these hikes- as for anyone who might be interested in hiking or seeing the Belgian hills and woods), but I did want to sneak ahead and share a photo from yesterday! The latest in wintry (3º below freezing!!!) hiking fashions, voilà!

Quite a clash of colours, eh? I'm trying out my new garters (is that the right word for those red things?) which I got 'cause I was fed up of the mud around here. Have warm Columbia pants (part of my old Antarctic gear) on under my outer shell, and am wearing two icebreaker shirts long+short-sleeve) under a polar fleece and my jacket. Hat, gloves, scarf... those came and went depending on sunshine and whether climbing uphill or down... ;o)

There was just enough snow on the ground (and trees and bushes, more or less depending on sun or shade) to make everything look magical and all "Winter Wonderland", but not enough to make hiking a problem (I've been told it's more tiring to hike through the snow). Added bonus: the mud was all frozen!!! So for once I didn't come home with my pants all muddy up to my knees! (which kind of defeated the point of inaugurating my garters) Instead it was fun to walk on its crunchy surface, lol!

The snow was falling quite heavily when I left the University this evening... it's a pity I don't have classes tomorrow until the afternoon, I'm sure the pristine morning snow would make for lovely photos! :p

Hiking through Wallonia: a gorgeous day between La Roche and Marcourt!

I had forgotten the difference the sun makes in this country... It's like there's a Jekyll and Hyde switch between rainy days and sunny ones. And the latter are so few and far between... (it's actually more grey than rainy most of the time)... that when you find yourself in the midst of a truly glorious sunny day it's like rediscovering sunshine and warmth all over again!

On such a day (Oct 3rd... I'm running behind on these posts, argh!) I got to do my 3rd 1/2 day hike exploring the rural areas of Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium). A fabulous hike through some gorgeous forests (with sadly fewer mushrooms, they're on their way out now) and fields, under radiant sunshine (that had me wondering why I hadn't thought of bringing sunscreen!) and going up and down and UP and DOWN some very, very, STEEP hills! Once again, this may be a flat country (highest point is 694m above sea level), but when a hill is steep, it's steep!

Hiking through Wallonia: Creppe with the FFBMP

I think I mentioned last week that some of the hikes organised by the University Hiking Group don't allow for meet-ups at noon and so you're either in for the long haul (25km) or you don't go... Well turns out my second weekend in Liège was going to be one those, and quite frankly after the aches of the previous week and worried about my ankle I wasn't up to trying a 25k hike on my second trip out! Fortunately for me some other people in the group felt more like a half day hike as well, so a friend (the one who got me mixed up with this group in the first place!) and I joined them on Saturday Sept 25th for a hike organised by the Fédération Francophone Belge des Marches Populaires (FFBMP for short). I hadn't heard about this organisation before, but I think it's fabulous! Each Saturday and Sunday they choose a couple of spots where they programme circular hikes of varying distances (usually 5-10-15-25-50 km) and mark the paths with colourful bowties or arrows so that they're easy to spot and follow (and you don't need to be an expert with maps and following complicated GR trails). You go alone, with friends, in a group... at your own rythm! There's a rallying point where you start and finish in a local school where they serve food (grilled sausages) and drink, and there are a couple other "rest stops" along the way where they also have drinks available.

So Isa, a University hiker with two dogs, e-mailed several people telling them she was going on one of those hikes in Creppe (région de Spa) instead of the big Sunday hike and who wanted to join her? Well 4 of us did and we had a lovely afternoon of it! Not as challenging as the University hike for sure, but was nice to get some km under my feet (we went a bit too leisurely and ended up doing the 10km circuit instead of the 15km as planned 'cause we were running out of time). Had a bit of rain (not too bad for Belgium) and mostly had to deal with a lot of MUD! :p

So ready to join me on another hike? Here we go! ;o)

Hiking through Wallonia: Nonceveux-Lorcé

Time sure flies when you're busy as a bee! So much to write, so little time!

One of the reasons I'm glad to be back in Belgium this fall is that I've joined the University of Liège's hiking group! Starting up hiking again was one of my plans for getting back in shape last winter and spring... until a certain tumble knocked me out of circulation for a couple of months and then limited me to aquatic action. Well, taking it slow but surely (being careful of my ankle and how it reacts) I'm done with standing still, I'm on the move! And I'd like to share these tales of trees and hills (they don't really have mountains here... but the hills can have some very steep climbs!) and mushrooms with you! Hope you're interested. ;o)