Walking in Europe

Subtitle: The last two days of our TMB!

August 3.. This was one of the more challenging days, but we were grateful for the weather and the amazing views of Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley. But it was one of the hardest days for the elevation gain (around 3000 ft) and a stressful section that involved ladders, steps in the rock and precarious ledges with hand holds. Fine if you don’t have heavy packs on!

I have to say here that it takes immense courage to press on through a section like the ladders when you are naturally anxious about heights and balance. Alison was just so courageous in this section of the trail and we worked together to make our way past the tricky bits and to our goal of Lac Blanc and then on to Refuge La Flegere. We reached the refuge in the afternoon, a lovely spot to collect ourselves and have a night in a hostel bunk. The views from the refuge were amazing and we shared some yummy meals at our table with other hikers from the US and the Netherlands.

August 4… Reminded last night that the hostel style bunk rooms are great until you get a snorer in your alcove!

Today (Happy Birthday Em!).. we walked out from Refuge La Flegere SW along the main trail toward Col de Brevent and the gondola platform at Planpraz at the base of the Massif Des Aiguilles Rouges. Constant views of Chamonix below and the full Mont Blanc to our left made for a lovely morning. The trail was really straight forward compared to yesterday. High cloud and warm temps. After lunch we dropped down into Planpraz and decided to take the gondola directly into Chamonix this afternoon. This shaved off the last 20 ish kms of steep downhill into Les Houches, so a bit of a cheat, but easier on the knees.

So we are wrapped on the Tour de Mont Blanc; with the variant add-ons, one short bus ride, a knee saving ride on a chairlift: all told 163 kms, 12 days, lost count of the total ascent, but feeling very grateful for the experience. ❤️