At the last minute I decided to bring my laptop. Since it was going to be ferried from town to town where we stop I thought I might find some time to update this blog. The problem with writing a blog is the longer you wait the more you forget.
We are now in Courmayeur, Italy, where we'll rest one day. I figure this will be the place I will have time to update the blog.
Our first steps into the TMB hike is taking the No. 1 bus from Chamonix to Les Houches. We scouted the route the day before so we know where we should drop off - at the La Foully bus stop. Right across the bus stop is the start of the TMB trail. The day before we met Alex, who was picking mushrooms in the mountains. Alex worked in Beijing as a ski instructor so he speaks fairly good Mandarin. He also speaks excellent English, which we found is because his wife is Canadian. Alex gave us some tips on the first part of the hike.
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| Start of TMB. Up the stairs next to a building |
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| Alex and Doris |
The first 2 hours was just steady climbing. Our intermediate target is the Col de Voza, 6km away. I've been wondering what
Col means. It is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks. It's essentially a mountain pass where we cut through to get to the other side of the mountains. What it means for us is every time we see the word col, it means we'll be climbing, then descending on the other side. At the Col de Voza is a small hotel and restaurant next to the trail. There is also a rest area with benches and a toilet. It is a welcome after some tough climbing. This happens to be also a ski area in the winter.
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| Wooded area as we climb above Les Houches |
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| This is also a ski area |
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| Snow capped mountains amongst beautiful valleys |
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| Looking down into a valley with beautiful farmhouses |
Our next checkpoints are Bionnnasay, then le Champel. It was a beautiful walk through woods with views of the valley down below. We passed the Auberge de Bionnassay, an old chapel, cross the Torrent de Bionnassay on a wooden bridge and made our way uphill, then downhill to le Champel.
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| Beautiful walk in the woods |
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| Another beautiful view from the top of a mountain |
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| School in Bionnasay |
Somehow at le Champel we took a wrong turn. We had asked someone where the road goes to Tresse, then Les Contamines. He said yes, although a little uncertain. We took his word for granted. Our mistake was not checking our notes and map. We walked down a very windy road to the bottom of the mountain. The sign says Bionnay. I realized we had taken the wrong turn. We saw a woman driving a car and asked her how to get to Les Contamines. She didn't speak much English so she went inside to get her daughter who spoke better English. She told us to go across the "barrier", get to a bridge and turn left. It's about an hour away.
We walked towards the road, saw another driver and she said something similar. We got to the road but found no bridge. We asked a cyclist and he said there is a bridge about 50m away. So we started walking on the road. As we approached a side road. a car came towards us. The first young lady was waving at us, telling us that we have to turn right into the road about 10m ahead, cross the bridge and turn left. She had realized that she did not give us very good directions and had driven out to find us and try to lead us to the bridge. So very gracious!
We cross the bridge, turn left and then got on a trail. The signs said it's a little over an hour away. We walked past farms and trails. After much climbing up and down we are almost there.
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| Met this farmer with his harvest of potatoes |
After many hours of hiking we finally emerged from the woods into a parking lot at Les Contamines. What a relief to see buildings. We were tired. Winding and climbing up to town we found our hotel - Hotel Gai Soleil. It was almost 6pm. We've been hiking for 9 hours. Time for a quick shower, then dinner at 7pm. The hotel offers a prix fixe dinner, 4 courses. A relaxed ending to a long first day.
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| Dinner at the hotel |
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