Today we experienced a bit of everything. As I sit on the terrace of our very rustic auberge, looking up at Mont Blanc (as it peeks in and out of the clouds), I reflect on our day and all the beautiful things we've seen.
We started out from Forclaz, it was raining, and the skies weren't looking too promising. We walked down a wooded path to the village of Trient to catch our trail to Col de Balme (our high mountain midway point). We went through a few small residential areas and then our path began to climb. The path, which was written in our guide book, as a gentle up hill walk, was nothing of the sort! This path turned out to be a very steep, rocky route of switchbacks that lasted about 2 1/2 hours. We walked through pine forests, high mountain meadows, and fog that blew in and out. We would get peaks of mountains that were around us, but many times we could only see a few yards in front of us, we would stop for moments when the fog would clear so that we could snap pictures. By the time we would put the camera away, the view was gone and the fog was back.
When we reached the Col, it was chilly, foggy and breezy, We stopped for a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), and then moved on. The fog filled into the valley where we were headed so we couldn't see but 25 yards ahead. As we walked down the path, we crossed from Switzerland to France. Our next village was la Tour, then Montroc, and finally Tre le Champ. We walked through high mountain meadows and followed down amongst ski runs as we made it down to La Tour, about 1 hour later.
We walked through La Tour (a small ski village), Montroc, and then walked up a path that went up through a forest area and 15 minutes later we came upon Auberge Le Boerne. The auberge is over 300 years old. Our British friend referred to it as a hobbit house! The rooms are tiny little cubbies, made of wood, with bunk beds in every nook and cranny. We are the lucky ones because we have our own cubby. We have a 5 bunk bed room next to us, and the other side is next to the shower (closet).
There is one shower upstairs in the sleeping area, and one water closet. The shower is the size of a very small broom closet and you had to hold the water faucet in order for the water to flow! After a very quick shower ( thankfully hot), we ventured down to the kitchen/restaurant to enjoy beer, wine, and a fabulous daily special of ham, locally made cheese, salad, a delicious quiche, and bread. We chatted with our British friends (Kat and Rich), a Japanese man named Tet, that's running most of the course, two Australian guys, and an Israeli guy who has been with us a few times this week.
Tonight is our last night on the path, so we will enjoy the company of those we've known for a few days, as well as our new friends. We will eat well, rest up, and enjoy our final day of hiking tomorrow.
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