Stunning!

If the days keep going like this I'm going to run out of superlatives pretty soon. We stayed last night at the Cabane de Mont Fort. We had a great little two-person room. Considering the effort expended yesterday and the day ahead of us today, breakfast and our bagged lunch left lots to be desired. Breakfast was just 2 pieces of bread with jam. Lunch was a ham & cheese sandwich, an apple and half a chocolate bar. Thankfully I had some other snacks in my pack.

Our weather has continued to be great. Bright sunshine and warm temps again this morning and just a few clouds in the afternoon. Our destination tonight is another mountain hut, so again no Internet. We crossed three mountain passes today, so the day was full of ups and downs. We did 945m of up and 745m of down. After all of yesterday's climbing my uphill muscles were not sore but they were tired. We chose to do the longer and more scenic route today. While there was a fair bit of exposure, the ground was dry so the footing was good and there was never really any risk. The views were spectacular!! We didn't spend any time in the trees today so the views were constant. As we crossed the three passes the views continued to change - hillside villages that we passed through in earlier days, huge glacier-filled massifs, rocky mountainsides, cols and moraines, glacier meltwater roaring streams, lakes & tarns, etc., etc. We saw some real wildlife today - either ibex or chamois (we need an Internet consult before we can be sure). We saw no signs of civilization, which was a real highlight; more like hiking in the Rockies.

It was a bit of a challenging day, partly because of the lingering effects of yesterday's efforts and partly because we spent a lot of today crossing boulder fields and other uneven surfaces. We're still feeling great - a few minor aches and pains but pretty darned good considering the effort we've expended. Tonight is at the Cabane de Prafleuri. Good news is hot showers and more promising-looking food than last night's hut. The downside is that it has more traditional hut sleeping arrangements - nose-to-nose with total strangers. Off to Arolla tomorrow and back to some semblance of civilization.

Wow!

At least that's what it looked like between sweat droplets falling into my eyes! We climbed 1620m while descending just 30m. Thankfully much of the grunt work was done in the shade and there was a bit of a breeze in the full sun. The total distance was only 9km (although the Brits' GPS read closer to 13km), so there was not much respite from the uphill. The views were marvelous throughout the day so it wasn't too much of a hardship. Our route today was a combination of narrow lanes, tracks and footpaths. I think large parts of our route would be ski runs in the winter. There was a bit of civilization along the way, mostly associated with the ski industry - gondola stations, (closed) restaurants, etc. We passed close to the ski resort town of Verbier which looks to be a summer destination as well, based on the number of mountain bikers and paragliders in our vicinity. Tonight is our first "mountain hut" accommodation. While it is remote from any town, there are cablecars close by which transport skiers in the winter. It has room for 66 people, but I think we are far from full tonight. It's quite comfy. Hot showers, a huge balcony with lots of picnic tables, and a restaurant that serves dinner and breakfast. No wifi, though, so this will be posted a few days late.

On The Road

We had a fabulous room last night. Our view was down a lovely valley with the lights of a few small villages highlighted against the mountains behind. There was not a cloud in the sky and tons of stars were visible. We left the patio doors open and had a face full of stars every time we opened our eyes. Seems Tami spent more time star gazing than sleeping so is a bit sleep-deprived today. Today was a relatively gentle day. We spent most of the morning coming downhill into the Val (Valley) d'Entremont. Although the views into several valleys were spectacular, we were in the trees and on roads (very small roads; some paved but most not) much of the day. The views were of several small villages, farmland extending up the hillsides and roads winding improbably up to houses perched far up the slopes. Our wildlife du jour was a snake snacking on a mouse. I resisted the temptation to take a picture, although Tami and Billie each have one. Lunch at Sembrancher confirmed that we are now further off the tourist trail, as our server spoke no English and we just guessed at items on the menu. Worked out OK. Back on the trail again and a right turn into another valley. A few hours of gentle uphill into the towns of Le Chable and Villette. We've run into some of the same folks for a few days now - three gentlemen from the UK, a couple from Calgary, 3 couples from Rossland BC and a family of 11 from Seattle (Dad is 81 and Mom is 80!). Our accommodation tonight is in the gondola building and is reminiscent of military barracks. Once again, a bit of a communication challenge but we worked through it. Can't wait until we get to the German part of Switzerland. I have nothing but a free phone app to work with. BTW, I'm sure they only put the vital words on the non-free version. We have a big climb tomorrow. I wonder if I can take the gondola up and just claim that I fell out of bed and boarded in my sleep. Great dinner tonight. Beautiful sunshine and temps in the low 30s. 230m up and 815m down. Hope the great weather stays with us, although a few clouds are forecast for tomorrow. Billie leaves us tomorrow AM :(. just Tami and I for the rest of the trip.

Our First "Big" Day

Or, as the guidebook says - "one of the most demanding of the whole walk". We started at Trient and finished at Champex. 14 km, almost 1400m of up and 1200m of descent. Unlike biking, the descent can be just as challenging as the ascent. Lots of variety of scenery along the way - hiking up beside the impressive Trient Glacier and then steeply down into the lovely Val d'Arpette. A couple of things that are recurring themes for us. The hiking may be rugged in places but we are never too far away from civilization. So far we have started and finished in a village every day and sometimes encounter villages along the way as well. It's so nice to have a hot shower and a comfy bed every night. And food is pretty available so that we don't have to carry much with us. I also find it shocking that I took and passed 4 years of high school French and have only mastered hello, goodbye, thank you, and "I do not speak French".

We started out early this morning, having a hint about what lay ahead. Uphill from the beginning, the grade gradually increased from gentle through challenging to scrambling straight uphill. I think this may have been Billie's first go at scrambling and exposure because she cried (her words). It was a beautiful cloudless, windless and warm day and we had a great lunch break at the pass. Then began the steep downhill. At one point I slipped on a small rock, couldn't recover my footing in time and went over the side of the trail; oops! I rolled a few times, managed a self-arrest before getting too far down. No harm done and we continued down. We finished the day with a lovely forest, fern and stream walk before finishing in the town of Champex, also known as Champex-Lac due to its lakeside location. We have a nice little hotel on the edge of town. The view from our room is provided below.

On to Switzerland

We had a "moderate" day ahead of us today so we had a moderately early start to the day. Off to the grocery store for snacks and then off to search for breakfast. Since restaurants don't even open for dinner until 7PM we found that they were still serving drinks, but no breakfast at 8:30 in the AM. We had to settle for a few pastries from the bakery. Our first few hours were uphill through the forest. Once we got to the village of Le Tour we were above the trees and the views back down the Chamonix Valley improved. We resisted the temptation to hop on the gondola (so don't believe Billie when she says that Tami & I took the easy way up) and continued to trudge up to Col de Balme. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Lots of switchbacks with a fairly easy grade and beautiful views (and a unicyclist) to distract us. After climbing 1010m we reached the top (which is also the French/Swiss border) and stopped for lunch and a nap. We had great views back to Mont Blanc, Chamonix and the entire valley. The next few hours were downhill to Trient. Still nice views, but nothing quite as impressive as the Mont Blanc massif. Lots of wildlife on this portion - cows with deafening decibel cowbells (the poor animals must be deaf from the constant noise), a flock of sheep being herded across a mountain top, a caterpillar, mountain bikers carrying their bikes, and hundreds of grasshoppers. We were in to the picturesque village of Trient shortly after 3. The last picture below is the view from our lodging. Another great day - 12 kms, 1010m up, 980m down, sunny skies, temps probably on the low 20s.

Let The Hiking Begin

After a night of catching up on much needed z's, we spent the day in Chamonix yesterday. The town was full of energy as several of the races of the UTMB were finishing throughout the day. Just watching the accomplishments and emotions of the runners and their families brought tears to my eyes - amazing!! Tami's daughter, Jess, arrived from London about noon. Chamonix, known as the mountaineering centre of Europe, is in a beautiful setting with great views of Mont Blanc and other mountains in close proximity. Lots of gondolas and some railways running up the sides. Many, many para gliders in the skies all around the town. We rode about 1000m up a railway to Montenvers and visited an amazing ice cave cut into a glacier. The rest of the day we played tourist, shopped, ate (well) and watched the racers.

Today we donned our packs. Since my knee is still tender, Tami offered to be my Sherpa and take some of the heavier stuff out of my pack. Thanks Tami! Nine km and just 250m of elevation gain took us to Argentiere which is essentially a suburb in the Chamonix valley. Our hike was mostly in the forest, never too far removed from the main road through the valley. We caught occasional views of the mountains throughout the short hike. Great weather, easy hike and a wonderful hotel/chalet at the end of the day. Jess caught a bus back to Geneva this afternoon so we're down to 3.

On Our Way

Sure wish I could sleep sitting up! It's the middle of the night and we're somewhere over the Atlantic. Our flights have gone well so far. We scored emergency exit row window seats on the two longest legs. We're due to land in Geneva in about 4 hours.

Looks like I'm going to be in the midst of a Cartwright family reunion for a few days. Tami's sister, Billie, is going to join us for the first week and her (Tami's) daughter, Jess, will join us for one day in Chamonix and for our first day of hiking. I think I'm going to have to break out the adoption papers!

Everything has gone according to plan. We arrived to a beautiful day in Geneva and easily picked up a van ride to Chamonix. Lunch at a creperie and sitting outside enjoying the view (photo below)

And then we found some truly crazy people! Seems the UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc) starts from Chamonix at 16:30 today. Over 2000 runners run 160 km day and night until they finish back here in as little as 20 hours. OMG! By comparison, we'll be taking 2 weeks to hike 180 km.