Intro:
After 2 years we finally decided to pick up our forgotten trail: GR 5.
In a flash of insanity we packed some camping stuff and clothes in a backpack and traveled to Spa where the trail was waiting for us.
We started by hiking a fairly short stretch of the trail from Spa to Stavelot, but the combination of the heavy backpack with the impressive altitude profile of the hike still turned it into an exhausting battle. Nevertheless, the reward compensated the effort: a magnificent hike throughout unique natural landscapes, wonderful panoramic views and almost exclusively on dirt roads.
Back and forth:
Spa can be reached by train. First we traveled from Antwerpen to Bruxelles-Midi station, and from there we went on to Verviers (IC train Oostende - Eupen). From Verviers there is a local train going to Spa Géronstère. We got off at Spa itself, the last but one station on that line. Just a few 100 m. further at the railway crossing the GR 5 trail signs were waiting. The trip took us over 3 hours, even without delays and without missing any connecting trains. A rare success for our railway company!
No trip back. In Stavelot we stayed at the Camping de Challes, at about 1,5 km. from the center of town.
The hike:
After having enjoyed our coffee at the station we took off towards the center of Spa. The town was quite crowded which had everything to do with the holiday period that just started, and with a tourist market keeping the visitors happy. Except for some buildings (the casino and the thermal baths), there's little left of the mondain jetset center where everybody that considered himself important had to be seen.
Once we started leaving the center, the crowd quickly vanished and a few streets further we were completely on our own.
(Click the picture for the full series on Picasa)
Even before having left the houses behind us our trail started going up. During the first 3 km. of the hike we rise about 200 m., and that's an effort we surely felt! We now fully understand the importance for experienced hikers to reduce backpack weight at a maximum. Before we decided to go on this hike we also went through this excercise, but even then the difference between a daypack of 2 - 3 kg. (which is what we're used to) and a backpack of 10 kg. is tremendous. It influences the way you move and keep your balance, you tend to place your feet more thoughtfully on oneven surfaces, the efforts have to be spread carefully, it all goes slower ... But advancing more slowly also gets us where we have to be and the efforts couldn't keep us from enjoying the nice path along the Picherotte brook. Crossing rickety little wooden bridges we kept going up.
The brook path is replaced by broader roads leading us through dense forests. Following long straight avenues bordered by high tree walls we keep walking higher. Suddenly a deer is crossing our path some 100 m. in front of us. It had dissapeared again before we could make a move for our camera, but the image of the distinguished animal with its antlers and clearbrown fur is well burnt into our memories.
We're on our way to a plateau where the Fagne de Malchamps is situated, a peat area where the most part of the mineral water that is sold under the name Spa is coming from. You don't have to be an expert to sense that something's not right about commercialising a public good like water, but under the system we're living in, a majority still prefers to look the other way and doesn't care. Even the authorities keep investing a lot of public money to protect these extremely vulnerable lands, so private companies and their shareholders can keep maximizing their personal profits. In 1979 the Walloon government bought the last private estate in this region to safeguard the underground water extraction of the Spa Monopole company. We're talking about the Bérinzenne estate which is situated just outside the nature reserve area. Nowadays it's a nature museum.
The fact that the Fagne de Malchamps and the surrounding forests are vulnerable areas is confirmed by 2 little airplanes that constantly fly over the area. They're serious about avoiding new disasters like the recent fires we had in the Hautes Fagnes and the Kalmthoutse Heide. The GR 5 trail itself has provided an alternative route around the Fagne in case it is closed for the public (danger of fire in drought periods, diseases, ...) We're lucky, there are no exceptional circumstances, so we're free to visit this unique nature reserve.
From the top of the watchtower we're able to enjoy the impressive panoramas. We're standing at an altitude of 572 m., the highest point reached by the GR 5 trail on it's Belgian journey. This is also the place where the walloon GR organisation has inaugurated in 2009 a commemorative plaque on the occasion of its 50th birthday.
We're leaving the Fagne de Malchamps and somewhat further our path crosses the Vecquée. There's nothing special about this dirtroad, except for the fact that this is one of the oldest existing long-distance pathways in the Ardennes. It dates from pre-roman times and for many years it was part of the border between the Principauté de Liège and the Principauté Stavelot - Malmedy. Later on this road became part of the border between the United Provinces and the Prussian empire. This inconspicuous little path certainly has a rich history, but today it's all but forgotten ... Maybe the name Vecquée rings a bell amongst cyclist fans: it's one of the toughest climbs in the cycling classic Liège - Bastogne - Liège (situated near Stoumont).
The GR 5 trail now quickly descends towards the village of Andrimont and from there to Ruy. The views on the Roannay valley are impressive. We've come down a good 200 m, but almost immediately after that we have to walk up again to 500 m. Some sweating and heavy breathing later we're again on a plateau. The trail becomes flatter and we're now crossing the Grandes Fagnes and the Fagne de Bellaire. These peat lands are less known, the tracks are not so well maintained and often almost invisible, but the area leaves an impression of a deserted wilderness and that's a feeling that becomes rare.
This peat lands hike is getting to its end. Down the other side of the plateau Stavelot is waiting for us. One more descent and we can start looking for that camping ground. There's a fair in Stavelot, but despite the holiday period all is quiet. Just past the well-known abbey and still before the bridge over the Amblève river our trail crosses the GR 14 path. According to our topoguide we have to follow the latter trail for about 1,5 km. along the Eau Rouge and we'll find a camping terrain. The information is correct. The camping is almost empty. The owner says that's quite normal, because for him the real holiday season starts next weekend when the Dutch holidays start. Apparently the Belgians don't like camping that much. They prefer hotels and lodging houses. We don't mind, all the more place for us. Setting up our tent is a smooth little job. We take a cold shower to cool down, and finally we can quietly walk (without a heavy backpack) back to Stavelot. Time for some sighseeing and relaxing. A well-deserved ending to a strenuous but interesting hike.
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