Hiking in Luxembourg: Our short Long-Distance Walk on the Lee Trail.

Is it possible to test out if long-distance hiking is for you just like you test chocolate cookie dough to make sure it hasn't gone bad? No big commitments, no long vacation but still marveling at the wide open land from a slate ridge, inhaling the scent of wood on small forest paths and having cows grinning at you suspiciously from the pasture fence?  

Then the Lee Trail in Luxembourg is for you! 32 miles, three days, and no camping necessary (but possible). After our long-distance hike on the John Muir Way in Scotland in May and the long mountain summer in the USA and Canada, we're itching to get out one more time before winter hits. Nothing big, but a few days on a trail again. A mini long-distance hike. And where better to do that than in one of those beautiful, mini European countries that are on nobodys travel radar! Hiking in Luxembourg – we already loved it a few years ago when we explored the beautiful Mullerthal. So we quickly booked three guesthouses, threw our backpacks in the car and set off! Well... somewhere in between all that, I nonchalantly forgot to mention the rating of the hiking trail: difficult. Cough...

Shortly afterwards, we are walking on top of slate ridges, high above river bends, through morning fog, rolling fields and past giant mushrooms, over bridges and through seemingly abandoned villages. “Will we ever stop going either uphill or downhill?” my husband asks amusedly as he stomps up the hills like Gyro Gearloose again. No, I don't think so. Nothing on this trail is flat or straight. But I never said it's short and sweet - only short. So come with us on our little long-distance hike on the Lee Trail in Luxembourg!

The trail's full name is actually Escapardenne Lee Trail. Escapades?! Shucks, no, Escapardenne is just a play on words combining the term “escape” and the name of the Ardennes Mountains. That's because you escape everyday life, the city, and your job on this hiking trail in the beautiful Luxembourg Ardennes. How idyllic. If only it were flat and straight. At least for ten feet. But then it might be boring. 

The hiking trail starts in Ettelbrück. It's crazy how German everything sounds here, and yet so many people only speak French. Le fascinating! At first, I screw up on the P+R parking lot at the train station of Ettelbrück, direct my car into a one-way street, and get honked at by a taxi. Fab! After that escapade (ha ha) we quickly drop the vehicle – for no fee! – for three days, put on our backpacks, and head into the woods. The woods begin actually only a few hundred feet from the train station. That's one of the great things about the Lee Trail: lots of nature, almost no cities, asphalt and builings. But of course, the ascent into the woods is vertical. As we head on, I'm alternating between the joy of long-distance hiking and shortness of breath. On the first day, we'll hike 11 miles, on the second 12 miles, and on the last 9 miles.

“How many cumulative feet of elevation gain will we hike in the next few days?” my husband asks as we walk through a wall of early morning fog, through which the autumn sun is slowly burning its way. 
“Six...,” I say, “...six thousand. I think.” Nonsense, I don't think, I know. But if you pretend you're not quite sure, it doesn't sound so wild. An old long-distance hiking trick. You simply say things like: ”I think it's supposed to rain a little today." And then ten hours of continuous rain. But okay, that was in England, different story.

We hardly see anyone else on the entire first section. And twice as many over the next few days. It is wonderfully un-crowded and quiet on this escape trail. 

The air is icy in the morning, but mild later on. Autumn light shines on the meadows, penetrating the still green canopy of the many forests we cross and bathing the river valleys in soft pastel colors. We don't exactly make rapid progress, but that's not because of the six thousand feet of elevation gain, but because of the fascinating two million mushrooms along the way. 

We are not (yet) mushroom experts, but we still get excited about them. “That one is huge!” I exclaim. “Come on, stand next to it, I'll take a photo!”
My husband, who, like me, is not exactly tall, senses a “short joke,” but this crazy mushroom is really just monumental and must be captured for posterity.

The Lee Trail in Luxembourg is no glorious Alpine crossing, it has no breathtaking glacial lakes, hot deserts, or snow-capped peaks—but it does have details and views that invite you to marvel, explore, and enjoy. It is a quiet hiking trail on narrow paths, through a few villages, some of which seem almost abandoned without even a hotel, bakery, or gas station, and through lots of forest and slate.

Slate is basically the name and theme of this trail, because “Lee” means nothing other than “slate stone.” And there's plenty. If you find yourself wondering where exactly it is, you're probably standing right on top of it. The highlight of the trail are the sometimes really narrow slate ridges that you hike along. So this is the place for you if you want to conquer your fear of heights in combination with sharpening your sense for balance – and even this challenge is not really wild or extreme. It's definitely doable even if you're a little worried at first.

As mentioned, there are hardly any towns or villages along the way, so finding accommodation isn't that easy. Often there are only one or two guesthouses available. However, only one place is fully booked on our trip in October – the penultimate one. From there, we take the free public bus and travel a few miles to the neighboring town for the night – and back to the trail in the morning. Yes, Luxembourg is the only country in the world that has completely free public transport, both for residents and visitors. Things are also punctual and clean – say whaaat?!

When we emerge from the woods after three days and take the regional train from our destination in Kautenbach back to our starting point in Ettelbrück, the journey takes just twenty minutes. “Wow, we've walked over thirty miles in three days and now we're traveling the entire distance back in twenty minutes!” says my husband thoughtfully. That's the surreal thing about long-distance hiking. You walk and walk and at the end of the day look back on long distances, long hours, many conversations, thoughts, and wonderful experiences – on a route that you could have covered in a few minutes with modern means of transport. But oh, what you would miss! 

On the Lee Trail, we would have missed out on the magic of a challenge that was exciting, quiet, full of little treasures, big views, and never just straight. An escape for a few days—for anyone who feels the itch in their feet and heart.

If you like, you can follow our stories, hikes, and outdoor adventures daily on Instagram: @squirrel.sarah.

Find more hiking adventures here:

• Hiking in Luxembourg: Gorges, Waterfalls and Awe in the Mullerthal
• Long-distance Hike on the John Muir Way - 133 miles across Scotland
• 3000 Steps, Jungle Heat and Stars above the Himalayas: Our Nepal Trekking Tour
• Long-distance Hike on the Laugavegur - 34 miles with tent and backpack through Iceland's backcountry