We are now weeks away from the Tour Du Mont Blanc, and it’s beginning to sink in that we are actually going to do this thing. There is no turning back now!
Finally, we going to be in the Alps! It is a dream of mine of as long as I have been a hiker. It’s also the next of our Bucket List Hikes, and it is by far the most challenging thing either of us have ever attempted.
But amidst the excitement we also got a bit of unfortunate news. The first serious hitch was thrown into our plans when we received an ominous email from the Refuge Lac Blanc, our hostel for the final night of the hike. Apparently there is some legal trouble is the refuge is going to be closed for the foreseeable future.
This is bad news because many of the refuges are now entirely booked up. The Lac Blanc, situated high above Chamonix on one of the most scenic areas of the trail, was perhaps the most picturesque on the hike. I was really stoked about staying there. ☹
Here’s what we’ll be missing…
We now must hastily book a night in the nearby Refuge La Flegare. We hope there’s space left…if not, things could get interesting. Lac Blanc was one of the hardest places to book on the whole circuit and La Flegare does not look any easier. But we have confidence it will work out.
We have also finalized the bookings for the train passage from Paris to Chamonix. I am also looking forward to riding on the TGV…still the world’s fastest train.
Meanwhile…we’re preparing as best we can on this end. We should have details soon about our final conditioning expedition of the year, which should yield some fantastic pictures.
We’re also purchasing mid-sized backpacks for hut to hut trekking. We had in fact hoped to have them ready for this outing but…there simply wasn’t time. Is there ever enough time to do all the things we need? Modern life seems to give everything but.
I am also still hunting around for a good trail map software to replace my past attempts at impromptu ‘cartography.’
Also on deck…waterfalls. Everybody loves waterfalls, right? We’ve visited a ton and therefore I am going to do an entire week’s worth of features on them…waterfall week, some of the best spots in the southern Appalachians (and maybe other places) where gravity and H2O meet. Look for it soon on…BecauseItzThere!!!
