Bring me a figgy pudding!

Elevation gain:  3,634 feet; elevation loss – 1,558 feet.

Miles logged:  9ish

Right back where we started from

“Think of it as a meditation.”  Bill’s encouraging words from last night convinced me to pull on my hiking boots, join my “pack”, and head out the door of the Hotel Couronne, past the restaurant where we’d had the incredible dinner, then up.   One two, one two.  Breathe, breathe.  Slowly, rhythmically, mindfully.     The night’s short but violent thunderstorm had left behind clouds and lots of humidity.   As we climbed higher and higher, we got hotter and hotter.  One two, one two.  Breathe, breathe.  Drip, drip, drip.  My glasses steamed up. I missed seeing the chamois zipping through the bushes above us.

Foggy, drippy morning....see Argentiere way down below.

Suddenly, or so it seemed, we’d made it up over 2,000 feet and it was time to stop for water, chocolate, and wringing out our clothes.    

Our break spot.....it's for rent! (That's Curt)

This break was at a small house that overlooked the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), the longest, widest, and highest of Mont Blanc’s glaciers.  In fact, it’s the second longest of all the Alpine glaciers and is fed by 14 ice fields.  It’s receded a lot, due more to a collapse of its “tongue” back in 1922 than to global warming.  

As we approach the hut, the clouds melt

Everyone wants their picture taken in front of the Mer de Glace

Even us...

The Mer de Glace

After this, it was on to the top and Lac Blanc.   But there was a final surprise:  we had to climb a straight-up iron ladder that was affixed into the rock….and then scramble across some  super-steep stairs across the rocks.  But then we were there!  Our final hut, our final climb!!

Just before they sprung the news about the iron ladder to us.

Base jumper floats through the clouds

At the Lac Blanc hut

Lac Blanc (actually 'vert')

Lunch at the hut was wonderful.   I got the ‘crôute’…a fantastic dish of old bread, melted cheese, cornichons, and one sunnyside-up egg.    Yeah, sounds awful, but yummmmmmmm.

Yummy croute!

Mr. Bill thinks the croute is too fatty and demands a green salad, no dressing.

The hike down the mountain is tougher than expected…….many, many rocks and boulders to be negotiated.

On the way down, we see an ibex, a member of the goat family.

   Finally–and somewhat sadly for me–we see the cable car that will take us down the mountain, where we’ll walk the two miles into Chamonix.

Cable cars to flat land

Au revoir, Alps

We took the La Flégère cable car down into the valley.  Jon and I ended the eight days of hiking strong, charging full speed along the flat path beside the glacial Arve River toward the Hotel Mont Blanc in Chamonix.  

Knowing what I know now about hiking the Alps, I can’t believe I did it!    The most challenging and the most rewarding trip ever.

But wait!  There’s still the farewell party and dinner with the whole cast of wonderful characters:

Ron, Linda, Claire

Shirley, presenting gifts to the guides

Bill performs his original song about the tour

Nancy, who captured on "film" almost every moment of the trip

Tom & Marilyn, from Vermont. Fellow sufferers on the day of the 43 switchbacks

Linda & Ron, zen master

Curt and Beth, sunshine in human form

Our Angel, Claire, and her second cousin Marion, our nouvelle guide

Andy, always with the dry humor......plus the one who rescued me from the lateral shale on Day 2

Olivier, guide extraordinaire

Drinks on the Hotel Mont Blanc lawn

Mary Louise (mom)

Katie (daughter)

Mont Blanc, as seen from the farewell party

Farewell dinner

Now, it’s on to Geneva for two days of touring the old town, eating great food, and drinking local wines.   Then back to San Jose.

If you plan on hiking the Alps, here are my tips:

1)  Book your trip through Country Walkers (www.countrywalkers.com or http://www.countrywalkers.com/portal/site/CountryWalkers/)    Country Walkers is a first-class operation.  Most of the people in our group had been on at least one CW trip before;  some people had done four.  All were highly enthusiastic about CW.

2)  Be sure you have really really trained.  One hour uphills on paved paths (Mission Peak, you know who you are) don’t really prepare you for the Alps.

3)  Be as thin as possible……..less weight to haul up the mountains

4)  Bring bandaids and moleskin, great hiking boots, layers (some of which should be waterproof), and nice-ish clothes for dinner.

5)  By all means, HIKING POLES!!!

Thanks for reading my blogs……I hope you have enjoyed them.

Miles logged:  9.98

Elevation gain:  2,860 feet; elevation loss – 915 feet

Our doggy transfer from Finhaut to Trient

I was pretty excited about today as it was billed as “moderate”  by the book and by Olivier. “This one has lots of zig zags, so it’s easy.”  Plus I now feel as if I’d been born with walking sticks.      We walked half a mile to the Finhaut train station where the Saint Bernard Express awaited, eager to carry us to the tiny tiny village of Trient to start the hike.  This time, we remembered Shirley and Andy.   

Once in Trient, however, things got bumpy:  my walking sticks refused to lock into place and I panicked.    Olivier fixed them, but I had to run to catch up.  Then, there was a miscommunication:  Claire meant to say that she was going to go faster and whoever wanted to could speed along with her.   However, several of us thought she said, “Go on ahead if you want to go faster than this.”  So we followed her–zip zip zip–up the zig zig zags.    Day 2′s hell seemed to have returned for me as we went back and forth, back and forth, up up up.   Finally, I realized that there were other people panting like me, so I stayed back with them.   When AT LAST we reached the top, Katie reported that there had been 43 zigs and zags.    Or ‘switchbacks’ as they like to call them.   She knew this because she’d somehow had the presence of mind to pick up a small stone at each turn.  And still obviously had enough oxygen in her brain to count the stones when we reached the top.  (But she’s only 29.)

Look closely to see the line of chamois cavorting across the rocks

Once up, we were rewarded by finally seeing a herd of chamois, galloping across what looked like sheer rock face.  To refresh your memories, leathery cloths made from chamois skins is what your dad used to buff up his car.   And it’s the origin of the idea for “Sham WOW!”  They are no longer hunted for their skins, but according to Claire, they are quite tasty.

Just beyond the “chamois cliffs” were some that are greener.   Then we’re told that someone fell off those cliffs just yesterday and died……that was why we’d seen all the helicopter action as we traversed above the Rhône Valley.  A guy hiking alone.    A little spooky.

We pass a very inviting hut.  ”We boycott this place,” says Olivier.   “They are very grumpy people.”   Too bad…..I’d really like to stop.   Soon enough, we do.   At a place where you can have one foot in Switzerland and the other in France.

Jon is really embracing his new look.

Mountain Man!

Left foot in France; right foot in Switzerland

We march on another 1 1/2 hours after our break, and then it’s picnic time.  We watch–drinking wine, eating Monkshead cheese, apricots, and cantaloupe, as a hot, tired Newfoundland dog runs away from his owners to sit in a murky pool to cool off.  

I'm no St. Bernard!!! Gotta soak my aching paws.

The Newfie reluctantly rejoins his owners.....

..who agree to let him take a break.

For the rest of the trip down the mountain toward Argentiere, it’s just one eye-popping moment of beauty after another:

In the valley, we stop at a cafe—the typical signal that it’s the end of the day–although this doesn’t seem to be Argentiere.   Indeed it isn’t and we’re told “just another 40 minutes” (that’s metric for 1 hour/10 minutes).    In the town that isn’t Argentiere, however, there’s this incredible house:

Side view

Front view

These alpen folk really have a way with red geraniums!!

The almost approach to Argentiere

We walk on and on……approaching a flat place that must surely be Argentiere.  And there’s a wonderful looking building that’s probably our hotel for the night.     No.    But, gee, it sure is gorgeous.

We’ve been promised that tonight will be our very best dinner, so it’s not just fatigue that’s driving us toward Argentiere.    

Tomorrow is our last hike, tagged as “moderate to challenging”, with 4,000 feet of elevation gain.  After my struggle with the 43 zig zags and 2,400 feet this morning, I’m not sure that I can do it.     My expressed doubts are met with protests, with encouragement to do it.  ”You can’t not hike the last day!”    ”The pacing was bad today…..we’ll do better pacing tomorrow.  I’ll walk with you.”  ”It’s a zen thing….think of it as a meditation.”  Such a supportive, wonderful group.    But as we cross the river into (finally) Argentiere, I’m still not at all sure that I want to hike tomorrow.

Our lodging for tonight

Miles logged today:   8.3

Elevation Gain:  2,100 feet;  Elevation loss:  1,715 feet

Today the group split into the ‘hearty hikers’ and people more like myself.   Some deliberated over which group to go with.   Me?  Never a question.   The ‘hearty hikers’, led by Olivier, were going to scale the Fenêtre d’Arpette, 4,000 feet elevation…..that’s the same elevation we did back on Day 2, aka “Hell Day”……but in a shorter distance.  Much “technical” hiking was promised as well.   That means climbing over lots of boulders.  Jon, of course, chose the Fenêtre as quickly as I rejected it.  The ‘hearties’ left at 7:45, while we lolligagged around until 8:15, filling up our backpacks with picnic food.

Today was all about talking and bonding with others in the group, as well as about beauty and calm.  We walked the short distance to the trailhead, passing miniature horses along the way, and then coming face to face with a vista of such simple, powerful beauty — a cross and the mountains—that it almost made me want to fall to my knees and bless whatever power had authorized that view.      

Tom regards one of the miniature horses

Like a prayer

There were the usual exertions to reach the treeline, with a couple of breaks, but it was just all so heartbreakingly beautiful.  Just look at this, would you?

A rock with a memorial plaque for one "Bolli"

Snack break

Once we were up top, we walked along beside a large herd of gentle Swiss cows, (unlike those panic-y Italian ones) safely behind fencing.  The huge cowbells around each of their necks clanked out the soundtrack for our walk along the pasture.  

Calm cows behind a fence

The Angel Claire

The picnic lunch had an insane view down into the Rhône Valley and our hardboiled eggs had insane colors………they matched the apricots. Apparently, the Swiss color their eggs as they boil them so they’ll not be mistaken for raw.

Did Julie Andrews have it this good?

Still life with hardboiled eggs, apricots, and tomatoes on backpack

Ron's post-lunch contemplation

We had a coffee/wine break at an old farmhouse hut in ‘Bovine’ called ‘Buvette’.  Honestly, the Anthropologie catalog site scouts need to be told about this place!

C'est tres charmant, no?

Once we got down to Forclaz, we stopped for a wine and ice-cream break at a jovial yellow-umbrellaed cafe to wait for the hearty Fenêtre people to rejoin us.

Restaurant Forclaz

About half an hour later, here they came, tired but triumphant.

Finally, we got on the bus that would take us to the Beau-Séjour.    I started to write “we ALL got on the bus…”  But as it turns out, that would have been wrong.   The bus driver, apparently tired of waiting, took off, leaving Shirley and Andy behind….something we discovered about a minute after we drove away.    

Don't leave us this way!

Shirley and Andy were retrieved, and the rest of the sharp hairpin curve drive to Finhaut went scarily, but without further incident.

Finhaut is beautiful, but with a slightly-spooky air.    All evening, I kept looking to see where the production company was hiding, because this is surely not a real town, but one created purely to film an Agatha Christie mystery for the BBC.

Agatha Christie setting?

However, the food was incredible (yet again!) and the only place we got seconds.     My weight-loss hopes are pretty much dashed at this point.    What the heck!!  The food is gosh-darned delicious.

View from our balcony at Hotel Beau-Sejour

Miles logged today: 9.89  

Elevation gain today: about 2,500 feet

Early morning in Courmayeur

After a day off, it’s back to the morning routine of waking at six, determining how many layers of clothing to wear, then packing for the day before having even so much as a drop of coffee. Bringing everything down to the lobby and depositing the bags that will be transported into one pile and your backpack (and now hiking poles!) into another. Then, it’s breakfast……a buffet of homemade yoghurt, granola, great breads, French butter, multiple jams and honeys, and fresh fruits…..apricots happen to be in season now–yay!

Today, we’ve been advised to leave some room in our backpacks because we’ll be picnicking and will have to carry our foods. Unfortunately (fortunately?) thanks to my performance pre-hiking poles, I’ve been tagged as not the strongest in the group. So I’m given a bag of potato chips to carry. We’re being transferred to our starting point by bus this morning. It’s slightly brisk when we hop onto the bus, which then goes up, up, up, depositing us in a very beautiful place by a stream where it was as cold as Christmas Day. Everybody pulls everything they are carrying out of their backpacks and layers up, breaths fogging the sunny, clear air.

We start walking…almost straight up, it seems. The group is quiet, concentrating on breathing and staying warm. Higher and higher we go and at last, we get the respite of a plateau. We’re sharing this space with cows, some meandering along with us, one pushing her giant, velvet nose against Nancy’s backpack, but most regarding us with muted interest. Claire uses my hiking pole to hold down the electrified wire that’s meant to keep the cows in their pasture, and we step over. The flat trail turns dicey, as we come to a steep ravine that’s all shale and snow. Two of the cows are struggling to cross it, their legs slipping this way and that. Olivier, Nancy, Jon, and I manage to get across the ravine first.

Just as I’m thinking ‘thank goodness that’s over’ and ‘look at the rest of the group still on the other side….those poor things still have to make it across’, I hear the insistent barking of a sheep dog. He seems to believe the cows are not where they should be. As we saw yesterday, those dogs are swift and efficient at moving cattle. The problem is, we’re stuck just coming out of the ravine in the exact path of the cows…cows who are now panicked because they’ve got a scary, slippery downhill in front of them and a determined dog pushing them forward. The few of us who’ve gotten to the other side of the ravine are now trapped. There are cows on all sides of us and cows above us. I look up at 1500 pounds (I suppose I should say 682 kilos) of cow flesh that sees me merely as a path into the ravine. To my left, another 1500 pounds/682 kilos bumps into me. What will the one above us do? “I really didn’t see myself going this way,” I think. Oddly, I also worry about the potato chips in my backpack getting crushed.  

Heading into the "cow trap"....that's me that Olivier is holding on to at the front.

The insistent barking of the sheep dog pushes the herd ever forward. Olivier looks panicked, but keeps his cool, pushing back against the cows, somehow keeping them away from Nancy and me. The one that had wanted to come down into the ravine using my head as a stepping stone finally decided against it.

Surrounded.....and you'll have to imagine the insistent barking, the mooing, panicked cows and the sense of 'no exit'

The barking was now very close: that meant the last of the herd was there……and then they were all across the ravine. We were alive and we could now move forward.  The rest of the group crossed the ravine to join us.  We were all a little shell-shocked for awhile after that. The guides said that they had never in their 12 years had such an incident, and that it would now go into their arsenal of stories to tell other groups……but not until the last night.(There were some excellent pictures of this incident taken by the part of our group that hadn’t yet crossed the ravine……which I will post to the blog to illustrate our dilemma better.)    We continue the climb, exhilarated by the fact that we’re all alive (and the potato chips intact!).

We ascend a couple thousand feet, then look down on the herd of cattle, now tiny dots grazing peacefully, and laugh at our fears.

Up, up, up.    Finally, we get a break at Rifugio Elena where the tri-colored Italian flag dances crazily in the freezing wind.     Hastily dropping backpacks and hiking poles, we hurry inside where we’re rewarded with incredible hot chocolate to warm us up.      There’s more climbing after this, but the sugar break propels us upward.

A couple of hours downhill, where it’s warm and it’s picnic time!   The picnic is lovely……….we feel as if we’re in a French movie, given the gorgeousness of our guides.  

Pic-Nic with Mr. Bill

Picnic consumed, cows conquered, we take a brief rest

The rest of the day was fantastic….gorgeous flowers,

Flowers

...more flowers.

easy paths, a beer-and-potty stop, and finally a bus to take us to the lakeside village of Champex where we had–ho-hum–yet another fabulous meal.   And the offer to do a really really hard hike tomorrow.   Half the group raised their hands.   Guess which half I’m in?!  (ha ha!)

Champex

Chalet

Our hotel tonight

Hotel du Glacier

Miles logged:  maybe 1.5–all flat!

After the usual drill of checking into the hotel, washing up wet, smelly clothes, then soaking in the tub, the group headed out for dinner at Restaurant Fenty…….in a pouring rainstorm.  Three blocks to the restaurant.   My rainjacket protected me, but my leopard-skin flip-flops took a beating.

The restaurant produced what can only be described as an avalanche of food………when the smoke had cleared, we realized we’d been served ELEVEN courses.    At the point that we were totally stuffed, they started bringing out the main dishes—all three of them.  Ai yi yi!   Great fun and laughs.   Good thing we’ll have the chance to sleep this meal off.

I’ve got to mention Mr. Bill here.   One group member – named Bill – has brought along the ‘action figure’ of Mr. Bill from the SNL skits of the 70′s.   The deal is to get funny pictures of Mr. Bill.  Tonight, they got a great shot of Mr. Bill hanging onto a wine bottle with his trademark “Oh no!!” expression.  I’ll get pictures of Mr. Bill and some of his future antics, whatever they may be.

We were extremely lazy on Day 4, taking full advantage of nothing to do.  No one took the guides up on their offer of a hike, so they headed off (hiking, of course) to a lake for a day of swimming.

My big news is that I bought my very own hiking poles!  Now I can truly power up the mountains.

But mostly, we just enjoyed the brilliant sunshine, sauntering around town, lunching at a wonderful place called Cadran Solaire, exploring a very interesting cemetery that we happened to pass by, and then dining at Cadran Solaire.    From the cemetery we learned that 1) ‘alpine guide’ seems to be the #1 profession in town and 2) they tend to live happy but short lives.    (Except for one guy who reached the ripe old age of 90.)

So….not much else happened today…..we didn’t even see other group members.     So enjoy the pictures!    We hit the road again tomorrow at 8:00.

Miles logged today:  10

As you might have guessed from my  ’encounter with the edge’ posting, today’s big question was:  do I dare try to do this again?   Claire and Olivier promised the day would be less challenging, and I began to feel more positive.   Then when they said the day would start at a cheese farm, I was sold!   On with the wool socks and hiking boots, fill up the water bottle, and strap on the backpack. Such a charming, old-style farm.  Apparently, thanks to EU regulations, this “family” type of cheese farm will soon be a thing of the past, so we were all happy to have seen it.   The cheese was Beaufort, which is a type of Gruyere.

At the old-style cheese farm

In the cheese aging cellar, Claire explains the process

As we prepared to leave the Beaufort place, Claire pointed up to the clouds streaming between the mountain peaks that we were headed for.  ”That’s Italy throwing their clouds over into France on a wind called the ‘fohn’.  Better put your warm things on.” Bundled up—-and me with Claire’s hiking pole in hand—we headed bravely toward the clouds.  

At one point, we stopped and looked across the valley as two sheep dogs swiftly herded their cattle to higher ground. Real shepherds, experts at their jobs.  Quite an amazing show.

 The higher we went, the stronger the ‘fohn’ got.  Once we went around a blind corner on a very narrow path and I felt that I was pinned to the earth only by the hiking pole.  After about a two-hour climb, we landed smack dab in the middle of those clouds that Italy was throwing at those of us in France and visibility dropped to maybe ten feet.  Onward and upward…….I found the wind and the fog strangely invigorating.    After about 3 1/2 hours we reached Col de Seine, which was the top—and the Italian border, marked with one of the stone piles known as ‘cairns’.   Jon and another guy (Ron) had charged on ahead and were waiting for us there…..we could tell they were there by their voices and their shadowy shapes.

Jon at the pile of rocks that indicates Italy (and the top of today's climb)

I did it!

A moment's clarity at Col de Seine

However, there was so much beauty on the ground, that it almost didn’t matter that we couldn’t see the mountains.   Alpine flowers were everywhere…yellow, purple, blue-purple, white, and pink.   And a wonderful one called “mother-in-law when she first wakes up in the morning”      

the 'mother-in-law' flower

 

 

 

 

Filled with polenta and good cheer, Linda & Jon prepare to continue the descent into Courmayeur from Rifugio Elisabetta

The descent into warm air and oxygen was made even more wonderful by the fact that tomorrow is  a day off!  Once we are down to our valley elevation of about 4,000 feet, there is a long, lovely, flat (and did I say ‘long’?) walk toward Courmayeur, with some incredible alpine scenes.  

On the approach to Courmayeur

A mule transports supplies for these hikers, who are headed up

Jon and a mountain

Total miles hiked today:  12

Total miles so far:  21

Day Two was billed as ‘challenging’……..and what an understatement!  It started out calmly enough, Claire leading us for a couple of up-and-down miles and until we came to a lovely church that featured pastels and angels with open arms.

The church was painted in pastel colors to convince the farmers that going to church could be pleasant rather than austere.

The group was four smaller than usual.  It turns out that the Tour de France was scheduled to pass by where we are staying tonight (L’Auberge de la Nova), but about three hours before our planned arrival time at L’Auberge de la Nova.  Since there were a couple of T d F fanatics in our group, Olivier said that if they were willing to leave at 6 am, he’d guide them.   So, for the day, we were minus the Prada-model good looks of Olivier, the mother-daughter team (Mary Louise and Katie), and Bill.

At our first major rest stop, I spied a note under a rock….it was “To the lazy Claire group…..we were here at 7:45, etc, etc.,”   Good laughs all around.  So far so good.   As we left the rest stop, Claire offered me one of her hiking poles.   “No, no.  They’d just get in my way.”

Before things took a turn for the worse...nice flat road!

So on we trudged higher and higher, oxygen getting more rare, and I could feel the ability to move draining out of my legs.  And the ability to breathe leaving my lungs.  Up.  Up.  Up.  This went on for what seemed like hours.    I was living a nightmare…..I kept struggling, everyone kept moving onward and upward, I had nothing left, but I had to keep on.  I wanted a helicopter to come and haul me off the mountain.

Claire saw that I wasn’t exactly zipping along and offered me a hiking pole once again.   I figured I had nothing to lose, so I took it.  She  then told me to walk right behind her and match her pace, which was very slow and measured.  One two.  One two. One two.     The hiking pole and the rhythmic pace made all the difference.

Finally, after 5 ½ hours of climbing, rain, and a 4,000 foot elevation gain (!!!) we reached our lunch destination:   a funky old hikers’ hut with a clothesline hanging from the ceiling, placed over a woodstove so that rain or snow-drenched items could dry.    We sat down and were served.  I ordered a minestrone and a salad.  Then, my teeth began to chatter…..uncontrollably.  The hot soup didn’t help.  In fact, I found that I couldn’t even eat.  Food made me sick.  Claire gave me a down jacket and I put my gloves back on.    Jon was so alarmed at my inability to eat that he said he’d carry my backpack the rest of the way.    (Sorry….I took absolutely no pictures during this time!!)

After about ½ hour descent, warmth and oxygen returned and I returned to life…….skipping happily downhill, not at all minding the twinges in my knee.  There was air, I wasn’t pulling myself uphill.    Down, down, down we went.   Olivier met us about 1 ½ hours from the bottom where we’d stopped for a snack.

Taking a break in a warm, oxygen-rich spot. Note Jon gallantly carrying my backpack!

Olivier and his group of early risers had indeed seen the Tour de France pass by…..Lance himself!  They (the early risers, not Lance and the T d F) were awaiting us on the terrace at L’Auberge—which we’d been prewarned would be our most primitive lodging of the tour (no private baths!)…..nicely showered, beers in hand, and most excited about their encounter with bicycling greatness.

Me……I was just happy to have survived my encounter with the  far edge of my endurance.

July 21, 2009…Les Contaminines, France…..A fast ride up the oldest tram in the area deposited us here, where the hike began.

But first, a bit about our fellow hikers since I was so freaked about meeting them.  Our guides, Claire and Olivier, fantastic.  And ladies!—-Olivier, a former Prada model!  How cool is that? (See Olivier below). Most of the people are within 15 years of my age.   A disappointing fact:  I am the fattest of the women.    Big incentive to avoid all the delicious food they keep pushing on us.  Our very cool group includes a Unitarian minister and her daughter–formerly a nationally-ranked figure skater; some VCs, psycho-therapists, a fun girl from southern Ontario and a couple from Vermont.  Altogether (with guides), we are 18.

For those of you suspecting that I’m not really hiking (you know who you are!):

Proof that I am indeed hiking!

I survived the day…but it was a easy one.  Tomorrow is the toughest day of the nine.   We do 4,000 feet elevation and—even worse–3,000 feet elevation loss.     Which leads me to my quads.    Today involved a lot of downhill on tricky rocks, which exerts a lot of pressure on your quads and knees.     Mine were jelly by the time we reached our destination in Les Contamanines…….which doesn’t mean “the contaminated ones” as I thought but “the condominiums”.  Or at least that’s what our Prada model French guide told us.

However, as I was torturing my quads, I was viewing some pretty spectacular scenery.  And I swear I saw Heidi skipping along from one charming house to another, just up the meadow.  After three hours of hiking–which I would’ve sworn was five–we stopped for a fabulous organic lunch at an out-of-the-way place.   After lunch, the guides pointed out our night’s destination across the valley, as well as the incredible torture they have in store for us tomorrow through the ‘pass of the good man’ and ‘the cross of the good man’.  We heard lots of cowbells and drank water from troughs.   We crossed a swinging bridge over a raging glacial stream.  And tonight, we had another incredible meal with some local wine…it’s the ‘Savoie’ district.  Sorry, California….it never gets exported!!  Or so Mr. Prada told us.

That's Claire our incredible guide in the middle

I’m pleased………I survived and Jon has fallen asleep before I did!!  OK….I had a brief nap this afternoon.   I have strange red markings from my hiking boots, but all in all…..nervous anticipation is gone.

Let’s see if I survive tomorrow.  Almost certainly no wireless at tomorrow night’s stop, so you’ll have to wait to see what happens.