On The Tenth Day Of Christmas... the 2011 Historical Bastogne Walk

Around this time last year, Russ and I took part in the 2010 Bastogne Historical Walk. If you recall, we said that we were glad that we'd done it, but would never do it again. Famous last words. Due to my very short memory, I talked the hubby into doing it again this year. I told him that this time we would do the shortest walk (8 K), and would spend the afternoon relaxing with beer and cappuccinos and exploring the town. Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it? So... we got up at 4 am to get ready, met with the rest of our group at 5:30 am, and took off for Bastogne at 6 am. The sun was rising over the hills when we started our walk in the historic city of Bastogne.

As we walked, we could see the Mardasson Memorial off to our right. Last year, this was one of our stops on the walk, but they had us on a completely different route this year. Not too far past this, we reached the point where the trails divided. Our blue trail, the 8 K one, seperated from the other longer paths. As we prepared to turn, Brandon mentioned that he really wanted to see the live re-enactments and scenes from the Battle of the Bulge. Apparently they weren't doing this on the shorter route, so this meant taking one of the longer ones. Do you see where this is going? We all took a vote and decided that we would take the yellow path (18K). Off we went.

How could you not love this country? It's absolutely beautiful. We hiked merrily along, occasionally checking the markers when we realized something wasn't quite right. We had somehow missed the turn off for our 18 K trail and were now on the 23K trail. Suddenly the day wasn't quite so sunny. After studying the map for a little bit, we figured out that we could cut through a couple of towns and reconnect with our desired route. It added a couple of kilometers to the hike, but it was much better than the extra 5 km that we were heading for at the time of our discovery. I was having some very vivid flashbacks from last year at this point. Minus the snow, of course.

Back on the correct path, we traveled on. Occassionally, jeeps and trucks full of soldiers passed us.

There were smaller memorials scattered here and there around the countryside. If you think that the Belgians have forgotten the sacrifice our soldiers made for them, you'd be mistaken.

The original foxholes from the Battle of the Bulge still remain, scattered in the forest along the side of the roads. This reminded us of the real reason we were taking this historical walk. We were there to remember the young men who gave their lives so that others could be free.

Every so often, we came across an encampment of soldiers. It was like traveling back in time.

We entered small towns, watched the soldiers prepare for war, and then traveled on.

We even happened upon a German camp. We traveled quickly by before they realized we were the enemy and captured us.

This lovely lady was being escorted by soldiers. Do you think she was a spy?

Back into the country once more.

The trail stretched on for miles.

We came across another American camp. The soldiers were preparing for another battle. They had spotted German soldiers in the distance, and they were heading our way.

The soldiers went to secure the line.

All of the participants did an amazing job of recreating the look and feel of the battle. It was easy to imagine that we were back in 1944.

After walking quite a long distance, our trail turned and went between two fields full of large beasts. From a distance, they looked like cattle. But when we got closer...

we discovered Bison. Who would expect to see Bison in the Bastogne countryside? Not me.

Bob was not terribly impressed with our group of walkers, so we quickly traveled on.

After around 5 or 6 hours of walking, we made it to the end. In all, we hiked around 20 kilometers ( 12 1/2 miles). This is the fantastic group of people that we had the pleasure of spending the day with. If you ever get the opportunity to take part in the Historical Bastogne Walk, please do so. It's an experience of a lifetime. And some of us are lucky enough to get to experience it twice. Of course, when I mentioned to Russ that is would be fun to fly back next year so we can do it again, he didn't hesitate at all with his reply. I'll let you guess what it was.

Bastogne Historic Walk - The Battle of the Bulge

This year marks the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most famous battles in history. It is also the 33rd Historic Bastogne Walk to commemorate this event. A group of us from KB decided to head down there and take part in the event. We met at the base and took off for Bastogne at 6 am. We had signed up for the 23 K walk (14.3 miles). Atleast that's what it said on the website. We were a little surprised to find that, on arrival in Bastogne, we had actually signed up for the 28K (17.4 miles). Russ and I have been averaging about 4 hours of sleep per night for the last week, flew back to Belgium Thursday afternoon, arrived Friday morning ,(cat napped a little on the plane), and got about 6 hours last night. We figured what these soldiers endured was far worse, so we felt up to the challenge. We now have a deeper appreciation for the hardships of war.

We weren't provided a map, but we were told that the trail would be marked. The object is to follow the arrow in the color that you are assigned. The trails all start out together and branch off about half way through the walk. Our 28K trail was marked with an orange arrow (the top one). After checking in at the Sports Center in Bastogne, we were off. We left at 9 am.
We had lots of company on the beginning of our trek. Quite a lot of people had signed up for this, including a bus load from KB.

You are now leaving Bastogne.

Scenes were set up along the trail, re-enacting what would have been going on during the Battle of the Bulge. According the website, Sibret (7.5 km from the city) was an important link for the Americans on the defensive. After the Germans captured the main road to and the town of Sibret, Bastogne seemed to have been lost. On December 26, 1965, the 4th Armored Division of the 3rd US Army fought to regain it. After 16.5 hours of battle, the Americans reclaimed the area. This is the area where our walk took place.

The entire Battle of the Bulge took place from Dec. 14, 1944 to jan. 25, 1945, and was a major German offensive launched toward the end of WWII. It's official name was the Ardennes-Alsace Campaigne, but was known by most as the Battle of the Bulge. It was referred to by this name because the "bulge" was the initial incursion the Germans put into the allies' line of advance (as shown in the newspapers and on maps).

The Battle of the Bulge was the single largest and bloodiest battle of WWII. There were between 500,000 and 840,000 American troops involved.

There were 70,000 to 89,000 casualties, including 19,000 killed.

I found this really interesting. The soldiers had made a "fireplace" by cutting out a section in an old fuel can to stick in wood, and attaching a tube to the nozel area for a chimney.

A couple of horses ran along the path. I'm sure they were more than a little curious as to why they had so many visitors today.

It was cold, and drizzling ice crystals on us for most of the day, as we continued on our journey through the country side.

Another town, and more soldiers.

Even with the cold temps, walking that far generates a lot of body heat. We took off and added layers throughout the day.

This was the moment of truth. Or, as we like to think of it, the section that seperated the men from the boys. We finally came upon the last separation in the trails. Everyone was taking the path to the left, which was the 23 K trail that led back to town. We took the one to the right that was the finale of the 28 K trail. We 8 KBer's (and one other that had taken off ahead of us) were in the handful of participants that completed the entire Memorial walk. Notice the danger sign? That should have given us a hint of what was to come. We had gotten used to the company of fellow walkers. That was reassurance that we were on the right path. This was most definitely the "road less traveled". It was around 1:30 or 2 pm at this point, and we had been walking for around 4 1/2 - 5 hours, nonstop. It was a tough choice to make, but then again, we are tough people. As Dawn put it, if her Grandfather could do this and fight a battle, then so could we.

This was the view to the left of us.

And this was to the right. No other humans were in site for most of the last leg of our trip.

Things also got decidedly more muddy as we went along.

We also had to cross a stream that went over the road. See that little wooden board on the right side of the picture that is covered with ice? We had to walk over it.

After the stream crossing, we took a couple of minutes to chat and stretch our stiff and sore muscles.

A mile or two down the road, we saw some movement in the woods. Some of the soldiers were traveling down a side road and back into town behind us. They were gone quickly, and soon we were alone in the silent woods once more.

And things got a little tougher going. The snow was deeper and the mud was thicker. But we continued. At this point, there really was no going back. Our boots were full of water, and our legs and hips were aching, but we kept on.

The beauty of the country side helped distract us a little bit.

And our exhausted group traveled on.

Finally, we left the woods and entered civilization once again.

Then we reached the last mile or so, and they had lots of WWII vehicles on display. Sadly, we were all too tired and hungry to stop and check them out. We just kept on walking.

In town, we passed this lovely memorial. Then, at 4 pm, we finally made it back to where it had all began. We had walked 17.4 miles, cross county, through snow, ice and mud. We had walked for 7 straight hours. To say that it was one of the hardest things I've done would be a huge understatement. I now fully appreciate what those soldiers had to endure. And I wasn't even fighting for my life. I was just walking. I'm glad I did this, but I think I'll pass on it next year. It might take me that long for the aches and pains to go away. We did get some lovely certificates and patches for taking part, though. It was one of those experiences that I'll remember for years to come. But for now, I'm going to bed.