ON7DQ Friedrichshafen 2023 - Day 9

Three summits in the Vosges region

I left my AirBnb in Riegel am Kaiserstuhl at 08:30, and headed for my first summit, an easy drive up.

FL/VO-019, Le Champ du Feu - 1098m, 10 points

Parking : 48.394729, 7.269334
Walking time : none

I set up my station a short distance from the car, which I parked on the side of the roundabout.

It was rather cool on the summit, only 13°C, so I had to keep my jacket on for the first time in 9 days.

Not  much to tell about this summit, it's an easy 10 pointer.

Result : 27 QSO's and 6 S2S, no DX but I was happy to work Tor-Atle LA9XGA far North on LA/FM-299 

The following two summits can be reached from the same parking spot, so that saves some driving time. I chose to activate the more difficult one first, and do it before having my lunch.

FL/VO-023, Le Donon - 1007m, 10 points

Parking : 48.515878, 7.170158, and it is not so easy to find.

There is only one forest road allowed to the parking spot, that road starts here 48.520756, 7.168198

, along the D145, a side road of the D993. See map below.

(source : Google Maps)

Walking time: 35 minutes ascent, along a difficult and rocky path, back down in 25 minutes.

The track is not really "exhausting", but it's very uneven and rocky, so you have to take care where you step, good shoes are necessary. Also take plenty of water on a hot day.

This is one of the turns you shouldn't miss, it also gives an idea of the state of the track.

And some of the rocks you have to climb over ...

These are the final steps to the summits ...

... and as always, the reward you get, is the view from the top

The few benches were all taken by visitors, so I found a spot at the shadow side of the temple, where I would not disturb the others too much.

Result: 20 QSO's and 5 S2S, no DX.

FL/VO-090, Le Petit Donon - 950m, 10 points

Parking : 48.515878, 7.170158, see info above under FL/VO-023, Le Donon, on how to get to the parking spot.
Walking time: 25 minutes one way, an easy walk. I followed the track by Phil, G4OBK, so I didn't upload another copy of the same.

Along the walk, you will notice a number of "Stèles" (memorial stone), these are stones marking the spot where both French and German soldiers from WW1 were found.

At the summit, there is a big rock you can climb ... I did!

And this is the real summit, but it is too small to set up a station with a wire antenna (a magnetic loop or small vertical on a tripod would be possible).

This is a view of nearby Le Donon, too bad one can not see the Temple on the sumit. 

Despite the cloudy air, it was getting quite hot, so I set up in the shadow of the big rock, and had a nice activation.

Result: 20 QSO's, including 3 S2S, no DX.

I was back at my car at 16:00 local time, and still had to drive 150 km to my last AirBnb, a nice 4 room apartment in Corny-sur-Moselle.

Including some shopping and a dinner, I finally arrived at the aprtment at 19:00.

End of another succesful day ... tomorrow is the last episode, the drive home, with only one summit.

Continue reading ... go to DAY 10 

or

Go back to overview HERE