Great Jura Crossing on foot

The Great Jura Crossing on foot is a long-distance hiking trail (GR) that winds through the Jura Mountains, from Mandeure, near Montbéliard (in the north), to Culoz in the Ain region (in the south). The GTJ fully crosses the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park and offers a detour into neighboring Switzerland. Inaugurated in 2004, the GTJ on foot follows the GR GTJ long-distance trails and sometimes the GR 5 and GR 9.

The full GTJ hike takes 15 to 20 days. Since my vacation time isn’t unlimited, I opted for a 10-day trek from Pont-de-Roide to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, covering nearly 320 kilometers (so about 60 kilometers short) with 10,000 meters of elevation gain—and just as much descent. The route is classic, except for the must-do variant via the Colomby de Gex (Balcon du Léman).

Accommodations include mountain huts, step lodges, and guest rooms with tables loaded with Morbier cheese gratin, Morteau sausages, rösti, and michons... Oh, and I almost forgot: I’m hiking solo...

http://lerandonneurfou.blogspot.fr/2014/05/la-grande-traversee-du-jura-gtj.html

Hi there, adventurous hiker! Thanks for sharing your blog—I’ll check it out right away.

thanks, I’ll check it out

Hi there, I’m looking for info on this hike, please. Would you say it’s technically difficult? I’d like to do it with someone who’s a strong walker physically but struggles with technical sections—not so much because of the elevation gain, but because of things like small jumps, rocky passages with sheer drops on the sides, etc. Last year, we did the Iparla ridges in the Pyrenees, and it was pretty tough—I don’t want to make the same mistake again...