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9/24/2019 0 Comments TRAIL: TOUR DU MONT BLANC – DAY 2 DAY TWO – July 4 The day started with a descent into the small town of Contamines, then a lovely stroll through a forested park area, then it was up, up, and more up, the first of many snow bridges, two cols, first marmot sighting, and then a very unique stay at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme. There’s something special about the fresh crisp alpine air that greets you when you emerge from the dorm. It was a stunning morning, the sun was shining, we could hear the distant jingle of the cow bells and it was pure delight. After a typical breakfast of a HUGE bowl of coffee, juice, and bread, we packed up and headed out. (Also, HUGE bowls of coffee are my new favourite thing). The day started out with a gentle descent along a forest trail into the lovely little town of Les Contamines. We picked up some snacks and supplies at the grocery store here. Tip: Les Contamines is a good place to pick up supplies especially if you take the variant trail the next day as there aren’t many spots between here and the next night’s accommodation.   And then the Up started. This section of trail was actually an old Roman road. The road itself has been paved over and patched with cement but every once in a while you would literally step on the evidence of the Romans’ engineering expertise. Like this bridge over a very deep gorge:   It was about this time that we needed a break and lunch. Heat exhaustion was starting to kick in and, quite frankly, I was getting a bit hangry and I needed to pee. As luck would have it we came across the Refuge de Nant Borrant, which had a sign out front advertising lunch. It’s quite a lovely spot to have a sandwich as you can see. Talk about a restaurant with a view!  Sufficiently fueled and rested, we were off again. We soon found ourselves in wide open spaces. The trail meandered through green valleys and by farmer’s fields. The sound of cow bells followed us this whole time. It was like the soundtrack to the hike. I just wonder if the cows like the chiming as much as we do.  Then began our ascent up the Col du Bonhomme. On our way there we encountered the first of many snow bridges. This time of year can make the snow bridges unsafe and unstable as the snow is melting from underneath because of the raging streams so it’s difficult to see the depth of the bridge to gauge how strong it will be. I admit I held my breath every time I crossed a snow bridge.  Despite the heat wave encompassing Europe we had been warned about the amount of snow on this Col. Hiking up slippery snow can be quite the challenge. But there’s only one option to go up so onwards! The approach to the snowy section is quite cool. Big open spaces with the Col beckoning hikers forward.  The Col du Bonhomme isn’t particularly a steep or long ascent. The trickiest part was actually just finding the trail. In a few places it wasn’t really discernible and in others, it had clearly been washed away. This can be challenging because it’s hard to decipher what is the safest route. This is looking back down from about halfway up to the Col:  Looking back down the Col from a little higher up as the path veers off to a rocky section:  This is the trail looking up to the Col:  Here we are – top of the Col du Bonhomme!  It was very brisk on the Col but there is a tiny hut. We didn’t go in, but we did use it to block the wind. It’s the only shelter there so we didn’t linger long. Then it was onwards and upwards to the Col to the Croix du Bonhomme. From this point until you reach the Refuge de la Col du Bonhomme the scenery is so over-the-top beautiful it makes it hard to focus on your feet, which you need to do because it’s rocky and snowy and can be very treacherous if your focus is elsewhere. But, finally, there on the horizon was the Refuge. We had heard it was pretty basic but that didn’t matter. We were tired and hungry and needed to sit.   They were right about the basic part. But, given that all the supplies have to be flown in by helicopter you can’t really expect it to be luxurious. It’s at 2, 443 meters above sea level after all! We were assigned bunks in the lower level. It seemed the bunks were built for petite people, and I am rather the opposite of that. I must have hit my head on the bunk at least 15 times trying to get in or out or sit upright. But, it was a bed. And I was weary. The other facilities were basic too. Like the outhouse. When you hike the TMB you quickly get used to not having a regular toilet. (Your standards drop dramatically.) From the outside it was quite nice, but the inside had a bit of a, how shall I say, cold draft. There wasn’t an empty bed that night and the food hall was full. That always provides the chance to chat with other hikers over dinner. As we were in the middle of nowhere – for real – there really wasn’t anything else to do. It might take some time to get used to not having any cell service but once you do, it’s incredibly liberating. Tip: bring cards to play with other hikers. Helps pass the time at the end of the day when there really isn’t anything else to do
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