(There was no cell service from our camp site last night so this post is for yesterday and today)

Daniel and I began our hike yesterday morning around 10:00 am from the starting point in Les Houches. The sun was shinning brightly (and beat down hard and hot on us the entire day). Immediately after starting we were hiking a very steep section of the trail which took about 3 hours in duration. After reaching an area called Col de Voza, where there was a public area and a train stop to take visitors up the mountain, we stopped to rest, refill our water and eat some lunch out of our food reserves. After our break there were maybe 2 hours of modest uphill terrain, which eventually took us down to a point where we crossed over a melting glacier, on a foot bridge. From there, the next 3.5 hours were brutal, with a steep uphill climb that ended at the top of Col de Tricot which was at an altitude of 2,120 meters (6,123 feet). In all honesty, my legs were toast by the time I reached the summit. (I told Daniel that the only way I got myself up the last 500 meters was to count 50 steps, rest, count 50 more steps, rest and so on until I finally reached the summit). From the summit it was a 1.5 hour hike down to the area (near the Refuge de Mirage) that we camped at last night. There were 15 tents at the site, which was like a picture post card, with snow capped mountains all around, green pastures , cows  and a fast moving water stream. After finally reaching the camp site I pretty much crashed and just layed on the ground for 15 minutes. Daniel finished stronger than me, and hiked faster than me, but he, too, was pretty exhausted. After pitching our tents we ate only a little bit of our food (as neither of us had a big appetite – I will say that Daniel has made fun of my big bag of Cheese-It’s…but he has certainly enjoyed eating them!!). Just after midnight it began to rain, with some lightning, and did so on and off throughout the night. By morning it had stopped raining, but the clouds had descended and rain was forecast throughout today. Before I explain our hike today I want to say that as physically challenging as yesterday was I have never seen such beauty at every turn. The mountains, villages below, blues skies, mountains, snow and glaciers were  beyond stunning. 

Today, we awoke to cloudy skies but no rain, which was great as we did not have to pack up our tents and belongings in the rain. After a hot cup of coffee that Daniel prepared, we filled up our water bottles and began a steep, but short, climb out of the valley we were in last night.  From the top it was mostly a downhill hike to our campsite for tonight, which is just beyond the village of Les Contamines-Montjoie. We had only a fine mist fall on us throughout the hike today and the weather was nicer than expected, though heavy rain is forecast for tonight and  tomorrow. While passing through the village we stopped by a local church, where two musicians were practicing. We then went to a local grocery store, picked up some fresh fruit, and then ate our lunch sitting on a bench near the church. The village is very quaint, caters to the skiing community, and I am sure is a bustling place during the winter months. As I end this post, Daniel and I are at our campsite for tonight, but we have to wait until 7:00 pm before we are allowed to pitch our tents. We have 3.5 hours to wait. The French have lots of rules!! 😊

Pics From Yesterday

Pics From Today