In January, six of us decided to hike the famous Tour de Mont Blanc trail in the Alpes. After research and discussions with Alpine Exploratory, our travel agent, we decided to only hike the northern section. Seven days, around seventy miles, from Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix in France. July 31 was our second day of hiking TMB: Elena to La Fouly. 8.5 miles, 3,180 feet elevation.
Goodbye Rifugio Elena
After not much than an hour sleep, due to creaking beds and snoring people in our dorm room, I get up at 6. Grabbing a cup of tea, we go outside to soak in the views until breakfast is ready at 7. I am happy putting on my hiking boots and day pack and leave Rifugio Elena behind.
Rocky road to Grand Col Ferret
The path behind Elena starts with a steep uphill. 1.5 miles and 1,570 feet elevation is not an easy start of the day. Without any warm-up and heavy legs from yesterday’s 14 miles it is tough going. The path twists and turns its way to the top. It’s another clear day and the views over the valley and Glacier de Pre de Bar are stunning again. The path becomes rocky, and it feels more like bouldering than walking. A group of guys on bikes passes us, some biking, some walking. I climb the rocky part with one of them. We encourage each other that “we are almost there”. However, what we thought was the top, is not the top and we have one more steep part, before the path levels out. Finally, after another half mile along the slope, we reach Grand Col Ferret.
Grand Col Ferret to La Peule
On one side we can see all the way down the Aosta Valley, the other side has beautiful views over the Swiss Val Ferret valley. We say goodbye to our biker friends and start our descent. It is so cool; we just crossed the border between Italy and Switzerland and are walking into Switzerland. The trail weaves through a beautiful wide valley. After a while, we decide to take a break for a snack. Sitting down on the side of the trail, I take in the views and think how special it is to hike along these beautiful, majestic mountains. We continue on and we stumble upon a filed full of cows. We stop to watch and to listen to the fun sound of their bells.
Soon after we reach the farm and Refuge La Peule. We stop for refreshments, before continuing our way downhill.
La Peule to Chalet – Restaurant Col de Fenetre
The reason we did not stop long at La Peule, is because we plan to have lunch at Chalet Col de Fenetre, another 2.6 miles. One thing we realize, we did not need all the snacks we brought. There are places to eat with great food all along the trail. Our timing is great as after hiking for a little over an hour, we reach the Chalet just before 1PM, perfect for lunch. We find a table outside in the garden. As today is a short day and we only have just over a mile to go, almost flat, we decide it is time for a glass of wine. The food is typical Swiss, loads of Swiss cheese. I order a Croque Madame, one of my favorite dishes. However, even for me, it’s too much cheese and too heavy. After a leisurely lunch, we continue our route to La Fouly.
La Fouly
La Fouly is a small town and our hotel, Auberge des Glacier, is one of the first buildings we see. No more dorm room tonight, we have two rooms, one with two beds and one with four. After collecting our luggage, we decide to do some laundry in our room first. We are not the only one, as when we go down to hang our clothes, the lines are already pretty full. After a nice warm shower, we go down to the bar for pre-dinner drinks. Dinner is included with our reservation and it they have a nice buffet. One of the Israeli guys is also at dinner. We learn that his nephew was brought to the hospital in Courmayeur as the blisters were infected. He is not able to continue the hike. Shame, as Vanessa would say.
All photo credit: Liane Aihara, Mariel van Tatenhove, Mauren O'Gorman, Seema O'Dwyer, Tammy Bacca, Vanessa O'Keeffe
