7/27 Gros Morond to Mouthe

Slept well an awoke to the ongoing cow bell background. Beautiful skies awaited. The water at the refuge is via rainwater cistern and  the previous night, I had boiled our supply for the day. Packed up quickly, we were eating some breakfast outside in the warm sun when the guardian arrived. Very pleasant and fun to talk with, her car was parked outside the cattle barrier. As we enjoyed a chat we heard banging- the cattle surrounded her car and their bells were smacking into it!! She ran down to shoo them away - no apparent damage done. The cows can be very inquisitive!
Our new Belgian aquaintance, Lieven, was only 3 days into his walk and feeling the altitude. So we took off regaining the ridge above the refuge. It was a great place to experience!
On the ridge we climbed steadily to the Mont d'Or. The tallest part of the ridge. Wonderful hazy scenery to the east and to the south the hazy outline of the Mount Blanc massif could be seem. Exciting! Approaching the summit a saw a figure running and no surprise - Nick awaited us on top! We caught up while enjoying the scenery, which now included parasail enthusiasts riding the thermals at cliff edge. Lieven caught up and we all stood around chatting to the extent that I became distracted and as we ambled off the ridge taking photos, I left my trekking poles at the top - so back I went to fetch them. It's steep down the hill but not excessively so first on road then on trail. A popular area quite a few day hikers were out and as the day heated up we found many groups resting in shade. We were feeling it too so when we spotted an apparent terrace with umbrellas we headed over to a rather upscale country auberge restaurant where Nick and Lieven were having a drink. As it was only 11:30 no one seemed interested in food while those around us were eating pizza and the smell was working on me. Looking across the field at the trail I saw 2 hikers and said "it's them - the Dutch couple!" . Nick hailed them over and they were of course confused at who could be calling them. We had only met them once briefly on June 4 - nearly 2 months ago - the only other through hikers we knew of and we had often wondered where they were and how they were doing. So it felt like a reunion of old friends and we spent the rest of the day walking together with Nick as well - interesting to hear a Dutch conversation. We ate lunch under some trees before moving on and with really an easy down hill day reached Mouthe early in the day. We stayed at a Gite near the source of the Doubs. Many tourists here seeking cool in the frigid water coming from the ground. The water was actually painful to stand in but Nick jumped straight in over his head and shot back out like a rocket! It would have killed me! The lodging was "fair" - a common room with multiple bunk beds - a sink room with showers and two hallway toilets. The mattresses were as old as me perhaps. Two French guys were staying here and eventually Lieven booked in as well. The French were aggressively touring the GTJ trail of the Jura - one road a mountain bike while the other ran after one hour they switch! They were doing 40-50km a day this way. One of them had biked 40,000 km around the world - he had the seriousness of a driven athlete - I admired these guys for their accomplishment. Nick stuck around for dinner and the food was hearty and plentiful with vegetables , sausage meats cooked into a nice large dishes. The cheese board afterward was good too. Sleep in the dorm however. - not so good...