Our bodies were tired but we didn't exactly fall asleep right away when we went to bed at about 9-10pm. Perhaps it was the jet lag but it may also be due to the body not used to being so fatigued.
I should mention that the baggage transport option worked like a charm. When we got to our hotel in Les Contamines, our two duffel bags were already there. Having this option allows us to bring more things on the hike.
After a nice breakfast we started hiking at about 9am. We walked through the town of Les Contamines on a road and join the TMB trail about half a mile down. We met someone on the way who told us exactly where the trail starts. It's nice not to be lost. The actual TMB trail from Les Contamines starts where we came up to the parking lot the day before, next to the river. We opted not to take this because it'd mean a little more hiking down to the river and back up again. Our first target this morning is the Notre Dame de la Gorge church about 2 hours away. We started to see more hikers on the trail heading the same direction. It was mostly a flat wide trail. We stopped to take some pictures.
We next start to climb steeply on a rocky trail. It is said that this part of the trail was laid by the Romans. After about an hour or so we came to Refuge du Want Borrant. We stopped for a cup of coffee and used the toilet. We continued climbing and passed the Chalet la Balme.
Next comes the tough part - as we have to climb up to the Col du Bonhome. This is a 650m vertical ascent. It was slow and taxing. When you thought you've reached the top, there is another hill to climb. Then it started to rain, even some slight snow. The clouds rolled in. Visibility was poor. It was chilling. We put on more layers and covered our backpacks. Finally, we reached the summit and started to descend. As we get lower the rain stopped and visibility gets better. It was still not easy going through the different trails but generally, you go in the direction of the Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme. Many of the hikers stopped there to spend the night.
We continued on to les Chapieux. Although going downhill it was not an easy hike. The last part took us through several hairpin paths down the side of the mountain to the hamlet of les Chapieux. It looked close from the top but it still took us almost an hour to get down to the bottom. We were elated to find the sign pointing to our auberge - Les Chambres du Soleil. (An auberge is a small inn.) It was almost 7pm. We quickly unloaded our stuff and joined the rest of the guests for a deserving dinner. We had hiked almost 10 hours!
I should mention that the baggage transport option worked like a charm. When we got to our hotel in Les Contamines, our two duffel bags were already there. Having this option allows us to bring more things on the hike.
After a nice breakfast we started hiking at about 9am. We walked through the town of Les Contamines on a road and join the TMB trail about half a mile down. We met someone on the way who told us exactly where the trail starts. It's nice not to be lost. The actual TMB trail from Les Contamines starts where we came up to the parking lot the day before, next to the river. We opted not to take this because it'd mean a little more hiking down to the river and back up again. Our first target this morning is the Notre Dame de la Gorge church about 2 hours away. We started to see more hikers on the trail heading the same direction. It was mostly a flat wide trail. We stopped to take some pictures.
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| Notre Dame de la Gorge |
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| A drinking fountain with mountain spring water |
We next start to climb steeply on a rocky trail. It is said that this part of the trail was laid by the Romans. After about an hour or so we came to Refuge du Want Borrant. We stopped for a cup of coffee and used the toilet. We continued climbing and passed the Chalet la Balme.
 |
| Refuge du Nant Borrant |
Next comes the tough part - as we have to climb up to the Col du Bonhome. This is a 650m vertical ascent. It was slow and taxing. When you thought you've reached the top, there is another hill to climb. Then it started to rain, even some slight snow. The clouds rolled in. Visibility was poor. It was chilling. We put on more layers and covered our backpacks. Finally, we reached the summit and started to descend. As we get lower the rain stopped and visibility gets better. It was still not easy going through the different trails but generally, you go in the direction of the Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme. Many of the hikers stopped there to spend the night.
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| A toilet and drinking fountain on the trail |
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| This is where we'll be climbing to |
We continued on to les Chapieux. Although going downhill it was not an easy hike. The last part took us through several hairpin paths down the side of the mountain to the hamlet of les Chapieux. It looked close from the top but it still took us almost an hour to get down to the bottom. We were elated to find the sign pointing to our auberge - Les Chambres du Soleil. (An auberge is a small inn.) It was almost 7pm. We quickly unloaded our stuff and joined the rest of the guests for a deserving dinner. We had hiked almost 10 hours!
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| Sign on top of the Col |
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| One of the descending trails |
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| Snow on top of the Col |
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| More snow |
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| Snow, clouds made it difficult to hike |
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| A shelter |
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| Auberge at les Chapieux |
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