Wow! What a day, but more about that in a moment. I had a mostly sleepless night last night. I was wide awake until at least 3:15 am, falling asleep sometime thereafter, and waking up at 6:06 this morning. Anyone who has followed  my blogs over the years knows how difficult sleeping is for me in a tent. Last night was a bad reminder of that. 

After packing up this morning Daniel and I walked to a small bakery near the campsite, bought some sandwiches, coffee and drinks, and then started out on our hike. Daniel always gives me a morning brief on what we are doing for the day in terms of distance, difficulty of the terrain and elevation gain and loss. Normally, he is quite accurate. Today, not so much as he indicated our hike should be similar to yesterday, but with an additional elevation gain of about 700 feet. That turned out to be accurate, but what we did not know was that there was a race event on the TMB today from a starting point near our campsite to Charmonix.  And, there were 2,000 runners on the same trail as we TMB hikers. It was CRAZY!!!!! Initially, the path was wide enough to accommodate everyone, but as we began the steep climb up the mountain, the path became a narrow trail, filled with rocks, gravel and tree roots. 

For those of us hiking it quickly became a logistical challenge to figure out how to stay in the lineup of runners, having to maintain their pace with heavy backpacks on our backs, and then quickly finding a tiny spot to jump out of the line to catch our breath, then jump back in line without hitting or disrupting other runners. We did this while climbing over 7,000 feet in elevation in pretty hot conditions. Daniel reach the trail summit quite some time before me, but I was pleased to have done as well as I did. One runner told me that I should have entered the race as she thought I was making good progress. It was a nice compliment but I am sure she was just being kind. 

After eating some lunch at the summit, we had to jump back in the queue of runners to now do the same thing down the other side of the mountain, though by this point it was definitely the slower runners who were making their way past us. 

I think Daniel enjoyed the chaos more than I did today. There was just no relaxation and taking in the sites as we have done up to this point. It is our understanding that there will be another race tomorrow, though we are unclear as to whether the runners will mingle with us or not. And, on Saturday there is a race around the entire Mount Blanc Trail, of which the record is just over 19 hours. That is so insane I cannot wrap my head around it. To know how difficult and challenging the terrain has been for us over nine days, with three to go, and to realize that some people can run this trail in less than 24 hours…..I just can’t imagine how physically and mentally fit these runners have to be! 

After 8.5 hours we made it to our campsite which is at the end of a small village called Le Peuty. Looking up from our tents we can see a large glacier and we are surrounded by mountains on all four sides. The sun has now dropped behind a mountain and the air in cooling quickly. My next door neighbor tonight is Sven, from Norway, and we have had some good conversation while setting up my tent. Time now to figure out what to eat for dinner. Tomorrow we will be facing the threat of rain and potentially thunderstorms with heavy downpours. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed. 

And, in closing, Daniel’s very high tech and expensive Garmin watch said at the end of our hike today that he needs 66 hours of rest for his body to recover. We begin again in 14 hours. 

After my blog post yesterday, Daniel and I had our third straight night of pizza at the camp site in La Fouly. It was the only hot food option available and we were not disappointed. The pizza station was a small trailer that had a wood fired pizza option with three pizza choices. Delicious!

Upon waking up this morning, both of our tents were pretty wet from heavy condensation during the night. After packing up we stopped at the check-in trailer where there were some fresh pastries and hot coffee. We sat at a picnic table and enjoyed our breakfast before starting out for the day. 

Today’s hike, unlike most mornings, started out with a long downhill stretch that took us through some beautiful, quaint Swiss villages, with small, well-kept gardens and many flowers. Late morning we passed a small, but well known, crepe shack (La Kabana) that was no more than 50 feet off the TMB trail. We stopped, of course, as who could pass up a fresh, hot crepe on a beautiful mountain hike?

Back on the trail we continued downhill, passing through more beautiful villages until we finally reached a point where we began our mountain climb for the day. We lost about 2,900 feet on our way out of camp and then gained about the same amount as we climbed the mountain out of the valley. The mountain views today were not as frequent as what we have become accustomed to, but the hike up was still nice. We passed a small cave just off the trail which we stepped into briefly, before continuing on. There were also carvings of animals on tree stumps along the mountain trail. Our hike concluded at a beautiful tourist town called Champex-Lac, which, as the name implies, has a pretty lake nestled into the mountain top, with nice villas and chateaus all around. 

While passing through the village to our camp site we stopped and bought some baguettes, cheese, tomatoes and salami for our dinner tonight. We will be eating like kings!  Both Daniel and I remain in good spirits and our bodies continue to hold up as we begin day nine of our hike tomorrow. 

Soon after returning from the campsite restaurant last night it began to rain, with some distant thunder and lightning throughout the night. I woke up this morning to a little water on the tent floor and the outside of my  tent soaking wet and filthy from where the rain had splashed up off of the ground carrying all kinds of dirt and debris from the nearby trees. The only option was to pack up everything wet and begin the day. On the positive side, we awoke to sunny skies and nice, comfortable weather. Also, we were able to get a hot cappuccino and  a fresh chocolate croissant before we boarded a local bus that took us a short, but helpful distance to the trail head. 

Many other campers were on the same bus and for the first time we were in a crowd of people as we began to make our way up the mountain. It took about 30 minutes for the hikers to thin out but it was not a problem. 

Our climb today took us to an elevation of 8,334 feet. It was a moderate climb until the last hour of the hike where we faced grades of 15-20%. Our views on the way up though were, again, stunning. Just before the final push to the top there was a refuge where there was a really nice cafe. Daniel enjoyed a hot ham and cheese sandwich that he said was really good. I opted not to buy any food as I knew the remaining portion of the hike up was not going to be easy and I did not want to start out with a full stomach, which in the end was a good decision for me. Noteworthy today was that on the climb up we crossed over from Italy to Switzerland. 

At the top of our mountain hike, it was quite chilly and both Daniel and I put on our fleece tops and our puffy jackets. We ate out of our food bags and, after about 30 minutes, began the trek down the other side of the mountain, which was the home to many grazing sheep. 

I commented to Daniel today on just how many areas along the TMB there are where one wrong step and you would literally fall straight down the face of cliffs or mountain sides to your death. These mountains are so incredibly steep that no photos really do justice to what you see when you stand on the trail and stare straight down into the valleys below. Just stunning in every way imaginable. However, there have only been a few places where I have felt any real sense of danger while hiking the TMB. 

On the hike down we passed another refuge that had many hikers. I picked up some snacks and a drink while Daniel took a pass on this one. We also talked to a few other hikers that we have got to know over the past few days. From there we had what seemed like a long downhill hike to our campsite in the Swiss village of La Fouly. It is a beautiful campsite nestled under some stunning mountains. 

It took some extra time to set up my wet tent as I tried to dry the various pieces before assembling everything, but in the end all was fine. Afterwards I took a hot shower at the campsite and I was really surprised at how clean and nice the facilities are here. A nice way to end the day. 

Tomorrow we go again. 

Sleeping in a bed last night was amazing. Both Daniel and I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to hike this morning after we enjoyed a small breakfast at our hotel. The prior evening we found a nice pizzeria in Courmayeur. I had a prosciutto and mushroom pizza with a wonderful green salad filled with delicious Italian tomatoes and we capped off the meal with a chocolate gelato. A perfect ending to the day!

We had a fairly long uphill hike to get to the trailhead again this morning and then a fairly steep hike to the top of a 6,000 feet mountain where there was a mountain hut with stunning views, cold cola and hot cappuccinos! Daniel and I had one of each while talking to a young couple from Scotland and England. Much like the Appalachian Trail, we have now met several hikers who are on the same trail schedule that we are on and we bump into each other along the trail and at campsites. We have met people from Guatemala, Russia, China, Scotland, England, Singapore, Poland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the States. Probably others that I have forgotten. It all makes the experience that much more enjoyable. The weather today was close to perfect. Mostly blue skies and sunshine with heavy clouds around the peaks of the highest mountains. 

For the first time on our journey, we met a lady today who had fallen and dislocated her shoulder or, perhaps, had broken her arm. It was within the first hour of the hike so, fortunately, it was not too far for her, and her two friends, to hike back down to Courmayeur to get medical assistance.  A tough way to start the day, for sure. 

Our hike ended today at the “Camping Grandes Jorasses” which is a fun and quirky campsite. it is part RV area, tents, and some rustic cabins along with some recreational areas. Upon check-in both Daniel and I received a plastic card. We were told the card would give us each three one-minute bursts of water for our showers. Daniel did not care to use his card and gave me his. I will have to say that, while it wasn’t the most enjoyable shower I have experienced, the three one-minute sessions were sufficient to get the job done. I cannot begin to imagine bringing my wife to such a place. It would be a laughable disaster!! But, the many people here seem relaxed and very much enjoying the campground experience! Very glad, and grateful, to have another day of the TMB experience in the books! Ciao!

Daniel and I woke up a bit earlier this morning than usual as we wanted to arrive at our first hotel room of the trip at a decent time this evening. The campground restaurant was open as we were preparing to leave and I quickly ordered a perfect Italian cappuccino and a fresh chocolate croissant.  The nice food amenities and the blue sky were a very nice way to start the day! 

We had a one hour uphill hike out of the campsite to the trail head and, as usual, the climb up was steep for the first two hours. My legs did feel better today after some rest following the hard day yesterday. It was really a gorgeous day to be in the mountains   We passed several other hikers and took time to talk to some. We had to take a brief break as a small cadre of donkeys/burros made their way on the same trail we were on. They didn’t even give us a second look. I suspect it may have been because they smelled better than we did as Wednesday morning was the last time we had showers (though the rainstorm on Friday cleaned us pretty good). After the donkeys made their way through, we passed probably 200 sheep grazing on the mountainside just a few feet from the trail. 

After we began our descent we had some nice sections that weren’t too steep and we could really enjoy the view and the nice weather. Just as we started our final descent we passed a refuge with outdoor  eating, near the top of a ski area, and we stopped for something to eat and drink. Daniel got a pasta plate with a side of Minestrone soup while I had a great salad and a bowl of the same soup. Afterwards we began the final descent to the small hotel we are staying at in Courmayeur, which was a steep decline and took about two hours to complete. We arrived around 3:30 pm. 

I have now showered and feel semi-human again, and I think we will try to go to a nearby restaurant before turning in early tonight, as we start out again tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we did not build any rest days into our schedule as we just couldn’t seem to make it work. It would have been a great (and smart) thing to do and I regret it now. Some of the sites that we camp at require reservations in advance and there are many places along the way where camping is not possible either because of how steep the mountains are, or because the local laws do not permit it. So, sticking to the itinerary is fairly important. 

One last thing. I really regret that I have not included more photos in my blog messages but it takes so incredibly long to upload them. The 5 pics I sent last night took 40 minutes. At the end of a long, hard day of hiking it just isn’t possible to spend more time than that trying to upload them. Here at the hotel we are staying at tonight there is hardly any wifi reception and I had hoped to catch up by posting more photos, but it may have to wait until the hike is over. 

it is customary on the TMB to say hello to each person you pass in the local language. And today we switched from Bonjour to Ciao as we crossed from France into Italy.

We woke up to everything wet and very cold this morning. It rained during the night and the temperature dropped into the low 30s. The worst part was packing up everything wet from the day before and having to put back on my cold, wet clothes from yesterday. However, we managed to do so and began our hike for the with a one hour excursion off of our planned hike in order to climb to a peak that would give us a 360 degree view. It was a hard climb for me first thing in the morning but the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the view from the top was stunning.

From there we began our planned hike for the day which took us down and up several steep mountains. For me it was really an exhausting day as we hiked 9.5 hours, reached peaks over 9,000 feet tall, walked more than 34,000 steps and finally made our way to a camp site in a small Italian village Italy filled with people on summer holidays. We did get our first views today of Mont Blanc as well.

Daniel and I just had our first hot meal, pizza and salad, since Tuesday. Delicious. We met another guy hiking the TMB, Markus, from Guatemala, and had a nice discussion with him. We will leave tomorrow morning and make our way to Courmayeur.

Last night it rained hard with quite a few thunderstorms. We were fortunate to be able to pitch our tents under a picnic shelter and stay out of the rain and not have to pack up wet gear this morning. We had to pitch our tents on a gravel bed which was a little risky as the rocks could cut through our tent floors and even into our sleeping pads. But we thought it was a risk worth taking so that we could keep everything dry, and it appears to have paid off.

Daniel and I left the tent site around 10:00 this morning after the rain let up a bit. However, this was short lived as we were mostly soaked by the end of the first hour. At times we were literally walking up rocky trails with 4 inches or more of water coming down the mountain over our feet. And, as we gained altitude, we picked up a breeze and dropping temperatures. By the end of our hike neither of could feel our fingers or toes. Also as we were in the clouds and fog for the last hour, we had limited visibility and, at one point near the end of our hike, we made a wrong turn that took us the opposite direction from where we should have been going. Daniel realized this quickly when he glanced at his GPS watch and could see we missed a turn. Both he and I were very puzzled how there could be so few signs/markers on a trail as popular and traveled as the TMB is. On a day like today, or with even worse conditions, that could be a really dangerous situation. 

After arriving at our destination we both quickly pitched our tents, got out of our wet clothes, changed into something dry and climbed into our sleeping bags to get warm. I am typing this blog from inside my sleeping bag as the wind is very strong and I am still trying to get warm. Daniel has a small camping stove and boiled some hot water and made us both a coffee. That was a great treat. We are still at a pretty high elevation tonight (over 6,000 feet) so no access to any food sources except our food bags. 

Despite the conditions today I felt stronger and had a better pace as I suppose my jet lag is fading and I have mostly acclimated to the six hour time difference. 

I will not be able to post any photos from today as the cell signal I have is too weak and also because the weather conditions today did not favor taking but a couple of pics. The forecast for tomorrow is for sunshine which will surely be appreciated after today. 

(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

For a few years now I have been interested in hiking the Tour Du Mont Blanc (TBM) and I finally put the idea in motion back in February. Preferring to hike the TMB with others, I reached out to a few former work colleagues who live Germany but none were able to commit to the hike. After a bit more consideration it dawned on me that my perfect partner may be a German guy that I have known on social media for more than 10 years. His name is Daniel Massberg and, immediately upon reaching out to him, he said “YES”. So, after a few FaceTime calls and many text messages, we agreed upon some dates and we are both now in the small village of Les Houches, France, which is only a 10 minute drive from Charmonix.

I departed Boston on Sunday evening and flew to Geneva, arriving Monday morning. After a nice cappuccino I managed to find a train (with some effort) and ended up just a five minute walk from my very modest hotel. Room for one – literally. But after a long trip a room for one had everything I needed.

Around 7:00 pm, I finally met Daniel, in person, at a beautiful spot (Jean-Jacques Rousseau statue) overlooking Lake Geneva. It was really nice to meet someone whom I had known for so long and catch up on so many topics. Maybe now is a good time to tell you a little bit about Daniel. Twenty years younger than me, this guy has more energy than anyone I know . He has biked around New Zealand, biked the TransAmerica route , spent nearly 3 months in Japan hiking and running , and has logged 24 marathons (with another one coming up in less than four weeks). And, just to make this adventure a bit more interesting, he began hiking to Geneva four weeks ago, from a town in France (Mulhouse) and logged over 350 km (220 miles), completing this “warm up hike” yesterday. So, there is no question about Daniel’s ability to succeed on the TMB, the question mark is me!

After waking up early this morning I took a nice walk through the section of Geneva that I stayed at, including a nice walk around part of the lake. Upon returning to my small palace, I enjoyed a surprisingly good breakfast on a small veranda overlooking the street below. Daniel and I then met at 9:45 am and walked to the bus station where we caught our bus from Geneva to Charmonix, and then another bus to Les Houches.

After checking in to our hotel we took a short 30 minute walk to the official starting point of the TMB, took a few photos along the way, bought a few food items at a small grocery store and headed back to the hotel.

Daniel has done a great job planning out our route (pic below). Our itinerary should allow us to complete our hike in 11-12 days. At the top of this page, in the menu area, there are some general details about the TMB, as well as a link to Daniel’s garmin device (Follow My Progress) that, when clicked upon, will show our real time location. By drilling down into the link you can actually get a decent view of the terrain.

Like many of my hikes, I do not expect to have internet service each day, and will therefore post “catch up” blogs whenever I have a chance. Thanks for joining along for the next few days!

Dinner last night at Woods Hole Hostel was so much fun. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. There were seven guests, three of whom were men in their early 50s, that had completed the AT in 2023. All from different states, they were meeting for the first time since completing their thru-hike. It was if they were all teenagers again and the stories they told at dinner about each other, and the bizarre things that happened to each other along the way, had us all in stitches. 

Dinner was excellent. Some type of Asian dish for the entree, homemade bread, fresh salad from the garden on site, several types of homemade sauces, ice cream and amazing chocolate cookies. I mistakenly wrote last night that Jaws was the owner of the hostel and I later found out that was not correct. He is a worker there who helps out year round and lives in a small shed on the property that has no running water, nor electricity. He got his trail name from having been a paramedic in Florida for more than 20 years and the many times he had to use the jaws of life to extricate victims from car accidents. A very nice and kind gentleman. The actual owner is a lady named Nellie. She lead the group in a thanks giving circle before dinner last night, and again this morning before breakfast. I was genuinely impressed with the thoughtful comments that each person communicated, when it was their turn, as to what they were thankful for. I thought it added a touch of elegance and grace to our meals out in the middle of nowhere.

Breakfast this morning included scrambled egged, some type of stewed peppers and onions that were delicious, more homemade bread with homemade apple butter and strawberry jam, fresh fruit, a peach and oatmeal dish, fresh yogurt and coffee. At this particular hostel they request that visitors clean their meal plates after eating and take off the linens from their beds and replace them with fresh linens for the next guests. Everyone seemed to comply with no complaints.

I took my time this morning enjoying my last breakfast on the trail as I had a short hike today of about 12.5 miles. The day was sunny and beautiful, but became quite warm by the time I finished. Out on the trail it was practically like an expressway with the number of people out hiking. I passed more than 20 people in total, maybe 6 or 8 of them day hikers, the rest heading south. I did pass 3 northbound hikers who turned out to be the three men from dinner last night. They had left the hostel about forty-five minutes before me but I caught up with them after about two hours of hiking. And, being their  first day back out on the trail, they were struggling. We shared a few last laughs and then I quickly moved past them. Again, a great reminder to me of what I posted last night. Me, a stronger hiker physically, did not finish my AT thru-hike. They, the weaker hikers, did finish theirs. Mental temperament  – I am convinced this is the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t on the AT.

Their were a couple of very pretty views from the top of one mountain I crossed today. At one overlook there were two young ladies from Richmond, VA enjoying a day hike. I asked them whether they were hiking north or south. One of the young ladies pointed north and said “that way, but I don’t know what direction it is”. I chuckled to myself and immediately thought of my wife and daughters giving the same answer. They offered to take a photo of me, which I appreciated, but the lighting turned out to be too bright. The rest of the hike was mostly downhill and brought me to a highway where a driver from Angels Rest Hostel picked me up. This place is OK, but not nearly as interesting as Woods Hole Hostel.

If you have followed my blog since day one you know that I have stayed at many hostels along the way, only tenting two nights. I am a big fan of hostels for a lot of reasons. They provide a place to shower, wash your clothes, resupply, get a good nights sleep and occasionally offer good meals. Most are very affordable. Beds in a bunkhouse are generally $35 – $45 per night, and private rooms usually cost $60 – $100 per night. The biggest advantage though, in my opinion, of staying in a hostel is the personal interaction with other guests, and learning about certain things on the trail that can can turn out to be very useful information.

I don’t claim to have a lot of trail expertise, but there is one bit of advice I do have a lot of confidence in and that is how to avoid getting blisters on your feet when hiking long distances. I wear a thin pair of Injinji toe socks as a base layer, with high quality crew wool hiking socks as a second layer. My shoes are Oboz Sawtooth. This combination of socks and shoes has allowed me to hike over 640 trail miles without a single blister!

No matter how short or long these adventures are I always return with a much greater appreciation for the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Fresh water from a faucet, a clean toilet and hot shower just down the hall, a refrigerator filed with ice cold drinks and fresh food, a car to quickly get from point A to point B, clean sheets and a comfortable bed, to name just a few. Every day life takes on a much different perspective when these basic niceties are no longer at your fingertips.

Tomorrow morning I will be picked up by a shuttle driver and driven to Roanoke. On Monday morning I will catch a flight back to New Hampshire. Thanks to all of you who have joined in on this short journey, and for the positive comments some of you shared along the way. I am very appreciative of the support from my family, especially my wife, Diane. She graciously puts up with my crazy adventures and home projects like no one else could.

Wishing you all Happy Trails wherever your feet may take you in the years ahead!