by Melanie McManus | Jul 3, 2022 | By Location, Europe, Hiking, Switzerland, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
Today’s hike from La Fouly to Champex-Lac was supposed to be easy. It was only about 10 miles (16.1 km), so less than half of yesterday’s trek. Plus it’s ranked the easiest stage in the TMB. It did live up to its billing, but it still was a...
by Melanie McManus | Jul 2, 2022 | By Location, Europe, Hiking, Italy, Switzerland, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
Oh my goodness, today’s hike from Courmayeur to La Fouly was … insane! To back up a bit, when we’d planned our hike, we’d hoped to hike about 10-15 miles (16.1-24.1 km) a day. We knew the terrain was super hilly, so we’d need more time than normal. Plus,...
by Melanie McManus | Jul 1, 2022 | By Location, Europe, Hiking, Italy, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
Last night’s dinner at Cabane du Combal was good. It started with a simple pasta dish, followed by mashed potatoes and sausages. Interesting! Dessert was some kind of blueberry cake with whipped cream. Or maybe myrtilles, which is the type of berry they have here...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 30, 2022 | By Location, Europe, France, Hiking, Italy, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
Today’s hike from Refuge des Mottets to Cabane du Combal was short, at about 7 miles (11.3 km). So we didn’t want to start out too early. But we had to be out of our rooms by 8 a.m., so we hung out in the dining hall and/or outside while we tried to dry the clothes...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 29, 2022 | By Location, Europe, France, Hiking, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
We knew today was going to be a tough one, because we were hiking some 18 miles (29 km) from Les Contamines to Refuge des Mottets. And not just any 18 miles, but some super steep miles, both uphill and downhill. After a great breakfast at Le Cristiania (croissants and...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 28, 2022 | By Location, Europe, France, Hiking, Tour du Mont Blanc 2022, Trail Journals
We began our hike from our hotel, Chalet Hotel du Bois, which is in Les Houches, France, the traditional starting point for the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB). The weather forecast was for rain much of the day – ugh. The first part of the route wound through town. There’s...
