Instead of lazing around the entire day we substituted what is supposed to be Day 11 for Day 10. This way we can complete the entire TMB circuit a day early.
After we checked out of the Hotel les Grand Motets in Argentiere we took the bus to the center of Chamonix. Our plan, as outlined for us by Alpine Exploratory, is to take the cable car to Planpraz and start Day 11 hike from there. We bought our tickets for the cable car. Then I started reading the notes again as to what we are supposed to do when we get up to Planpraz. Suddenly I realized that there is a 1km uphill climb with 180m ascent to Le Brévent. Looking up at the mountain above us I didn't think it was an easy task. Then it dawned on me that we could take another cable car from Planpraz to Le Brévent. I quickly ran back to the ticketing office and told them that I made a mistake. Fortunately, they allowed me to exchange the Planpraz ticket to one going all the way up to Le Brévent. What a relief it was to be just hiking down instead of hiking up again, then down.
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| Cable car station in Chamonix going up to Planpraz, followed by Le Brévent |
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| At the Planpraz station with Mont Blanc in the background |
It sounds fairly straightforward. Hiking down from Le Brévent to Les Houche is about 8km, all downhill. However, our experience was very different from our expectation. Some parts of the trail were steep, some narrow, some have a steep drop to the side and where there were no clearly marked trails, steel or wooden steps were put in place for the hikers to get a foothold. There were also cables on the side acting as handrails where one can easily fall down the steep side. There were many hikers going in both directions. Most of them are just day hikers coming up or going back down to Chamonix. As expected they are more energized than us and were at a much quicker pace. We often have to give way to other hikers coming downhill. We also met a few crazy mountain bikers riding down! I can't imagine what it's like to fall down.
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| View of Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley |
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| A rugged terrain with no shade |
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| Mont Blanc was in view throughout the hike down |
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| Handrails on the side where it's narrow and steep on the side |
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| Another view of the Chamonix Valley |
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| Some parts of the trail have man-made steps |
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| A beautiful day for paraglider |
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| Doris going down a steep and uneven part of the trail. |
Not only was it difficult physically but mentally as well. We had to concentrate on our footsteps. Having been hiking for the last 10 days our legs were very tired. The first part of the trail below Le Brévent was hot because there was no shade. As we go lower we start to encounter trees, a welcome shade. The trail continues zig-zagging downhill. It seems forever. Just when we think we are almost at the bottom we see that we still have a long ways ahead of us. Eventually, we came to some buildings and according to our notes, it's called the Parc Merlet (a zoo). We walked on paved road for a distance and met many cars and visitors coming in the opposite direction.
Then we are on to another trail and again, it seems forever before we saw houses. We know now that we are just above Les Houches. Finally, there is a road; ahead is a dam. As we come to the bridge the train station is ahead. We checked out the train station. It's empty. We thought it will be faster for us to take a train to Chamonix.
Checking our Google map, we had to cross the highway on a bridge, going uphill for about 500m. Then we saw the steeple of the church where the city center of Les Houches is. Going around the church, at last, we saw our bus stop. We took the No. 1 bus to the Mummery stop and walked about 5 minutes to Auberge du Manoir. Audrey at the reception desk greeted us warmly. What a relief to be finally finished! We are exhausted.
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| Completing the TMB circuit. Finishing at the church and bus stop in from to fit |
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