Aug 21 - oh boy, the runs

Got the runs and exhausted, so not much walking. Short day, and we got a room to rest. Our Airbnb room is a teeny tiny ski lodge room. But it's got a big window, a bathroom, and a bus to a town, so that's all we need right now. We're in the small dki resort village Valfréjus.

We're not quite happy or healthy. But we hope for better tomorrow.

Aug 20 - redemption

Great weather. Scenic mountain pass at 9100'. Five star campsite in photo, 45.23112, 6.65066

We have 37 walking days. Today was day 15 Tomorrow, excepting for one glitch described below, we would reach the half-way mark. So we are making good progress.

The French families are tough hikers. Lots of kids on the trail who are only 5 years old, hiking into refuges to spend the night. So many little kids. And not easy trails - many of the families we saw today were gaining well over 2000' of altitude. We are thoroughly impressed by how tough the kids are.

2 days ago I developed a flash effect in my left eye. Consulted with the good doctors this morning who advised I see an ophthalmologist. Very likely benign, but the symptom is also consistent with something that would need tending. Today was Saturday, so our goal is to arrange to see somebody on Monday. Logistics are complicated, but we have set aside sunday and Monday to sort this out.

We're happy and healthy and thoroughly thrilled that today was perfect, unlike yesterday's Scottish weather.

Aug 19 - wet

Wet and windy. The high pass may have been the best scenery of the trip, but we couldn't see any of it. We didn't come to France to hike in Scottish weather.

We stopped in a campground in Pralognon, washed and dried our clothes, went to dinner and the grocery store. And now, finally, sleep.

We're happy and healthy, but tired and eager to see the sun.

Aug 18 - rain and a refuge

Moderate steady rain for several hours last night but we were snug in the tent, so all was well. Forecast was for sun this morning, clouds by mid-day, and rain starting at about 2:00. So we made a dinner reservation at a refuge and stopped early in order to avoid hiking in the rain. Turns out the rain didn't start until 6:00, but it was nice to have an afternoon off even though it wasn't raining. 9pm now, after dinner, and there's a steady rain. No wind or lightning, but pretty solid rain.

Today was best hiking of the trip. Great alpine scenery and only 27 people on the trail!

We're happy and healthy and looking forward to another pass tomorrow.

Aug 17 update. New boots

Hoping for the best!

Aug 17 - donkeys and worn shoes

Excellent walking this morning. Then we crested the pass and arrived at Tignes ski area, one of the biggest and best in Europe. Dropped to an extensive complex of condos and shops, bought dinner and some picnic supplies.
10 minutes out of "town" we found a campsite and started to settle in. Jim discovered that his boots are worn through in part of the sole, so he quickly returned to town, with about 25 minutes until the stores close. He's there now while I wait at the campsite.

If he can't find shoes tonight we'll try tomorrow morning. We reserved a campsite and dinner for tomorrow night at a refuge about 10 miles and 3000 feet of gain from here. So even if we shop for shoes tomorrow we should have enough time to get there!

Great weather today. Rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

Our biggest entertainment today was walking with five 8-14 year old girls who had just collected their five donkeys from the field. Jim titled the photo "five girls and six donkeys"

We're happy and healthy and hoping for shoe solutions!

Aug 16 - showers and laundry!

Descend 4,200 feet from our 5-star campsite, cross the valley near Landry, and back up the other side. Good lunch in Montchavin, one of many ski resort towns on the sides of this valley. Staying at https://www.campinglanchettes.com/services-faq

Hot showers and laundry and a flat level easy tent site. 

So much stuff everywhere - ski lifts, roads, buildings, towns. Food has been easy to find. 

We're happy and healthy and CLEAN!

Aug 15 - all around great day

My cell phone plan expires Aug 19. If all the stars align I can extend it, but I can't control all the stars. So if the posts stop for a while consider it a technical difficulty.
We have trails nearly all to ourselves from 6:30am until about 8:30 when the refuges disgorge everybody who spent the night and ate breakfast. From about 9 to 5 we saw perhaps 20 to 40 hikers per hour. Compared to easily over 200 per hour over the prior three days. Much more relaxing!
Good weather, good scenery, good evening meal at a refuge, great campsite, hair washed, making good progress. 10 days done out of 37 walking days, and we're about a day ahead of schedule.
Lunch was cheese and sausage, which is calories but is getting old already!
We're happy and healthy and hoping for a pastry tomorrow morning.

Aug 14 - rain, and SO MANY hikers

Intermittent light rain all afternoon, never enough to get wet. Then ~30 minutes of real rain after the tent was up., so not a problem. Forecast for tomorrow is sun.
Ravens and Choughs are really cool.
Today was our third and final day where our route is concurrent with the Tour du Mont Blanc route. That's a 100 mile circuit that is incredibly popular. It's kind of A THING. People book berths in the refuges, or they carry a tent. The come in groups, and many use services to transport their bags. We think we saw 1000 hikers today, including day hikers. Perhaps 200 of them were "doing the Mont Blanc tour". We're camped above a refuge with 90 bunks and maybe 20 tents 🏕 set up below the refuge. It's a scene. Our campsite is private and beautiful.

45.72487, 6.71711

Tomorrow morning we part ways with this crowd and we're looking forward to it. The constant chatter on the trail, and the passing and being passed by other hikers traveling in both directions is novel, but it's too much.

We're happy and healthy and looking forward to sunny quiet trails tomorrow.

Aug 13 - another 5 star camp

Now we're on the west side of Mont Blanc , camped on top of col du tricot. Great views and a nice day of walking. We took the telepherique 2700' up from Les Houches, instead of hiking through the woods on a hot afternoon. That was fun!

We're happy and healthy and expecting our first rain tomorrow.