Stage 9 The end

We woke early to a damp but clear morning we began the walk up to Lac Blanc. The trail rose quickly from the valley floor giving us our last views of Mont Blanc. 

Then just as we took the turn off for Lac (lake) Blanc clouds started to roll in and all views disappeared.

We stopped at a lake that we thought was Lac Blanc but turned out to be Lac Cheasery. 

Needless to say we were disappointed with the cloud but continued on. We had missed the infamous ladders and handrails near Tre La Champ since we had ascended from Artentiere or so we thought. 

We had a set of ladders on the way to the real Lac Blanc. Eventually we made it to Lac Blanc and could not even see the lake. We sat inside and contemplated the 3200 feet we had just climbed and magically the clouds lifted and we were treated to magical views. 

From Lac Blanc we had planned on descending to La Flegre but we saw a sign that indicated that we could take another route to our destination La Brevant. I think that we thought this would be a shortcut or at least a way to avoid descending and then immediately climbing again. The best laid plans..,,

We climbed to the top of the index lift and then descended to climb over another pass via some sketchy handrails - ala Angels Landing but some were a little loose.  Leah loved these so much that she stopped to take these photos of them. 

After the fun of climbing to the pass we were rewarded with great views of a lake that very much reminded us of the Sierras. 

We then hikes over to another pass via a little boulder field and took a break looking at Mont Blanc deciding our next move. 

From here we had to descend 1500 ft. We could then climb another 1500 ft to La Brevant and take the gondola down or take the cable car from Plan Praz. 

As we had already ascended 5300 ft and we still has to get off the mountain and get a bus back to Les Houches we made the decision to climb no higher. 

As we hiked down to Plan Praz we saw this. 

I originally thought it a mountain goat but after examining it horns I now think it might be an ibex. Yippee 

We also saw paragliders launching and gliding down the mountainside. I posted a video on FB of this. 

Below is one of the views of Mont Blanc as we descended. 

Over the last several days Leah and I hiked 133 miles including 36600ft of ascent. It was challenging and beautiful. I loved it and look forward to more adventures in the future 

Chamonix Rain Day

OOWe woke to rain in the morning. However, it eased around 9am and we took the bus into Chamonix. We walked around a bit going to the tourist information center, the mountaineering museum and then listened to the Jazz festival for a bit.   

Inside the museum there was a replica of Mont Blanc.  It was interesting to see our journey in the replica. 

Afterwards we returned to tourist information center for a little more info and walked around town.

 

I found a Tour du Mont Blanc tshirt souviner. Leah found a pistachio ice cream bar and some blueberry bread. We then each had a cookie from a bakery.  I had a blueberry and white chocolate cookie and Leah had an almond cookie. 

As we walked we considered if we should have hiked today during the nice weather period. However, the mountains were shrouded in clouds so we would have had no views and the ladders would have likely been slick. 

Just as we got on the bus to return to Argentjne the rain started again and became very heavy. 

Our plan tomorrow is to hike up to Lac Blanc where there are some great views and then on to La Flegre. From there to hike to the high spot at La Brevent. At that high spot there should be some great views. We will likely take the cable car down from there and get a bus back to our hotel in Les Houches. 

I will fly out the next day at 7:30. I will probably need to take the shuttle at around 4am so it will be a short night. 

Stage 8 - Col de la Forclaz to Argentiere

Today was another great day on the trail. The hotel let us eat breakfast early (an hour before they opened) which gave us a good start to the day.  Unfortunately Leah misplaced her favorite hiking shirt but we are opening it turns up because it wasn't in the room or on the clothesline when she ran back to check. 

We retraces yesterday's route along the bisse for about 30 minutes. Along this same route they shipped out ice from the glacier in little carts along a track. I am not exactly sure what they did with it as the sign was in French but I expect it was used to keep food cold. 

We crossed the raging river formed at the base of the Trient glacier and worked our way up the side of the mountain. Along the way there was a very steep section along the granite face. I wouldn't want to use that part of the path in icy conditions. 

Eventually we reached the Refuge Les Grands under the Les Grands glacier. 

From there we hiked over to Col de Balme which would lead us into the Chamonix valley. 

There we met up with many of the people that we have met along the way. One group was Audrey and Rachel who we met in Courmayer. There packs were smaller than Leah's pack and they were camping. This amazed me. Turns out they made there tent from tyvex.  At Col de Balme they mentioned that camping was no longer their preferred option. They would prefer to stay in refuges or hotels. They also were going to take the next day off due to rain. We hope to catch up with them an maybe hike the last day together. 

The views from Col de Balme were just phenomenal. We could see the Glacier du Tour and many towering mountains draped in glaciers. 

We thought our climbing was done but we were mistaken. We dropped down and had views of the Lac d'Emosson and then climbed to the small peak of Aiguille des Posettes. Here we were directly across from Glacier du Tour and had phenomenal views of Mont Blanc. 

Below is an attempted selfie in front of Mont Blanc and Mont Blanc 

We then trekked down,down to Tre le Champs where we were unable to get a reservation. We continued down to Arhentiere were we would wait out the storm. 

We had hoped to go back to Tre le Champ to restart but the logistics would be complicated so we were happy to find a trail from Argentiere up to Lac Blanc and the TMB which we will take out. 

Our accommodation, Gite Belvedere, is nice and not expensive. We both got the best night sleep since arriving. 

Below is a panoramic with Leah in the lower left corner

Stage 7- Champex to Col de la Forclaz

We awoke to a village that was fogged in. We delayed our departure by an hour or so but it didn't clear. After discussion we decided to go up the higher variant.  

We walked up and along a bisse which is an irrigation channel.   This is a picture of a bisse that we walked by later in the day. 

Up and up we walked. I chatted with a nice family from the Netherlands. As we talked the surrounding mountains cleared for a moment. 

We soon came to the part of the trip were we were navigating through boulders. The way was painted on the rocks but was sometimes hard to find. 

We looked up and saw a small saddle and wondered if that was what we were climbing up to and yes it was. It is the notch on the left in the image below. 

The climbing was a little tricky with a heavy pack. 

However we eventually made it to the top to be rewarded with some fantastic views     

This is Leah as she made it to the pass. 

We took hundreds of photos of the Trient Glacier on the way down the other side. It was amazing. 

Then we walked down through a beautiful valley to our hotel. We are in the dorms again tonight and they are crowded but at least they seem to be making a great dinner for us. 

Distance: 11 miles

Elevation: 3800ft

Stage 6 La Fouly to Champex

Today was a short day. We looked at doing more but high variant on the next stage had few places to stay and rain was forecast for the afternoon so decided to keep it short. 

The days hike passed under a pretty waterfall. 

Then through some small villages or hamlets with narrow winding streets. 

In one of these small villages we took a wrong turn but realized it and backtracked to get on track. In our defense there was only one sign. It indicates turn right for La Fouly. As we came from there we turned left. We identified our error and backtracked meeting another group who had just made the same mistake. We had a nice conversation with them. They live in Scotland but the woman was from the US and then man was originally from Switzerland. 

We worked our way through the villages and stopped at a restaraunt / pub to use the restroom.  We decided to buy sodas there. While drinking our soda at 9am we became aware of a couple of people having their morning beers. That led us to the question of were they just drunks or is it more acceptable to drink beer early in the day in some countries. Leah and I did not agree. 

From there we began our climb up to Lac Champex. For a change we saw lots of wildlife. 

Just kidding !  The trail was lined with wood sculptures. 

We reached Champex and took a few photos of the lake before locating our hotel. 

We then meandered up to our hotel which was closed. Being an overly aggressive American with a heavy pack, I wandered the halls asking if we could check in early or if we could at least leave our packs. I found someone who was not overly pleased to see me. She told us to leave our packs in the bottom at the front of the hotel. That wasn't to secure but I counted on the fact that not one would be very interested in some old hiking clothes anda pair or $1 flip flops. 

We went to get a snack afterwards we went to stop by the market but ... Oops it was closed until 3. Siesta caught us again. We walked around a bit and soon the tourist information was open at 1:30 after their siesta. We asked the lady to make some onward reservations for us. She was not at all happy to do so but helped us get a reservation for one of the two nights that we didn't have them yet. The place we wanted to stay on Aug 1 was sold out. I was a little heartbroken because it was the only place that I really really wanted to stay. However after checking the weather it is probably just as well. The weather on Aug 1 is predicted to be very, very poor. Almost an inch of rain is predicted. We are thinking that we may not hike that day. Instead we can head down into the valley and the next day take a cable car up and hike up to Lac Blanc. Then hike one to the next cable car and take it down. That would mean we would do part of both Stage 10 and Stage 11. 

We checked into our hotel and the rain started and hasn't stopped today. We expect it to be clear for tomorrow when we attempt another high variant on the TMB. 

Stage 5 Refugio Bonatti to La Fouly

It was another incredible day on the trail. We have been very lucky with the weather we met a couple from San Francisco last night who were doing the Tour for the second time. Last year it was 30 degrees cooler,cloudy and rainy at the same time of year. 

We started our day with some descent and a 1000 meter climb to Refugio Elena. 

That refuge is placed right below a glacier and has these benches that overlook the glacier and the valley.  We sat and enjoyed the scenery sipping our favorite drinks (diet coke and sparkling mineral water).   The photo below is of the refuge with the glacier towering overhead. 

From there we did a 1800 ft climb up to Col Grand Ferret. It was one of those climbs where you take a photo and then two switchbacks later the view improves and you take another all the way to the top. It was really nice and took my mind off my huffing and puffing.   At the top we took another break to enjoy the view and get some photos. 

We reluctantly left the pass and wandered down.   We came across a flock of sheep, a shepard and his dog. It was interesting watching them move over hill and dale. 

Afterwards we descended to a cheese factory called La Puele. I had hoped for some type of tour opportunity but there only seemed an opportunity for very expensive food. This probably should have been a hint as to what to expect in Switzerland.   There were some interesting decorations there. See below. 

I made a navigational mistake leaving here and we took the bad weather variant. It was a bit of road walking so we were happy to rejoin the trail after the tiny town of Ferret. 

We then walked along the river through the forest. It was quite pretty. I am still holding out hope to see an ibex and there were signs with pictures of them. So maybe in the next day??

We got to town and checked in at our hotel. Prices here are one third to two times what we have seen. Apparently the Seiss Franc has seen some increase in value against the Euro and that is what has caused the increase. I am not sure if that is linked to the Greek Crisis. Anyway in an effort not to go broke on this trip I opted for the dorm. I am hoping that goes okay. The group in the next dorm room seem pretty loud and rowdy. 

We then went to lunch. Apparently the cook had gone to take a siesta so there was nothing but salad and desert available. Well I had dessert and Leah had salad. When I asked about what time they would reopen, I got an even more unusual answer. They are open from 6-6:30 and then after 8. Now there is a reason for this. They are a place with rims and dorms. It is common practice for people to book their room plus half board which means dinner and breakfast. This is what is being served in the middle time. Leah and I didn't books our accommodation this way because they don't cater to vegetarians and especially picky eaters like myself. 

We returned to the hotel and showered and hand washes out clothes. We did a little Internet stuff and returned promptly at 6 for dinner. Then tragedy struck. We were told that they would not feed us. A party of 25 had booked in. The group wasn't there and we explained that we were there this afternoon and had been told to come back at six when they opened for dinner. Sorry we were told. We said that we only wanted two omelettes. Sadly we were turned away. 

If you are looking for customer service stay away from the place below. 

Luckily the supermarket was open and we has cheese and bread for dinner at a picnic table. 

It is hard to believe that we only have four more nights on the trail.