We Finished the Haute Route & A Glacier Cursed Jenevieve

August 26 → August 27

At Champex- Lac the Haute Route we’ve been on for the last 100 miles rejoined with the Tour du Mont Blanc for two final sections into Chamonix. This makes us guys who are now officially hiking two routes at once, killing two birds with one stone, and doing miles that will count towards completing two goals. We should be able to count the mileage twice as well right?

There was something very comforting and familiar about being on the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) again. The route, and the towns it passes through feel built for hikers, campers and people who are travelling like us. Ever since we stepped foot on the TMB it has reminded me of the start of the Pacific Crest Trail; when most hikers start around the same time and are thus clumped together, and there is so much excitement in the air. People are figuring out gear and systems and trail community for the first time and everyone is excited to chat.

The campground we stayed at in Champex-Lac was a block away from the boulangerie so you can bet we got up and got baguettes and quiche for breakfast. We were lucky enough to have a microwave at our disposal, and hot quiche and OJ is such a special breakfast treat.

Today started with a climb through a misty mossy forest but that gradually ramped up and up until we were hands and feet scrambling up a big boulder field to a high alpine pass.

At the pass today, we will be the closest we will ever get to the area Jenevieve got sick and we had to get helicoptered out. We will have views of the bottom of Glacier du Trient, the same glacier we looked down on that day from Cabane D’Orny, but today coming out of an opposing valley. It’s been weird to be so close to where we were last before J got sick, but also not be fully connecting the dots or being back there. I’m proud of us for coming this far, and hiking over 100 miles from that really scary moment.

In the first mile of our day, we bounced back and forth with a group of three from northern England. They passed us at a water crossing and Jenevieve joking said “tag you’re it”. For the rest of the day we “tagged” each-other back and forth, as we climbed the pass. They passed us on the way up the pass and tagged us, and then we caught them on a rest break when they were having lunch on the pass. They tagged us for when we were drying our tent in a meadow half way down the hill, and we caught them one last time at the bottom of the pass while they were sitting at a picnic table. We thought we might have gotten the last word in.

On the climb, we also got to talking to a guy named Mohamed from Oman, who was absurdly funny and was doing the Haute Route in the same direction we were going. We chatted about hiking in the U.S. and hiking in the Middle East. He asked us “what is that one mexican restaurant in America called — not Taco Bell… Chipotle!! I once spent almost my entire fortune at Chipotle”. He couldn’t stop talking about how good it was and now everyone has an uncurable craving for Chipotle.

There is a HUGE ultra marathon trail race that happens this week called the UTMB- there are 8 different courses in and around the TMB. Mohammad had raced the UTMB the year before and told us a story about how he tried granola and milk for the very first time before the race and found out in a very unfortunate way he was dairy intolerant. He gave us the very sound advice: “Never try something new before you do something hard”. On this trip he’s cheering some friends on who are running the UTMB this year. We all shared stories for a bit while Jenevieve and I chased Mohammed up the pass. Eventually we lagged behind, said bye to our new friend who took off up the hill. The pass was by far the busiest we’ve seen the TMB so far. Steep terrain on both sides doesn’t make for any good rest breaks so everyone and their mom seemed to have set up for lunch right on top, and right on the trail. We kept cruising and stopped partially down the next slope to dry our tent and eat some food.

We had a beautiful view of Glacier du Trient and some very unique and beautiful clouds but it was a really steep and grueling downhill that seemed to never end. Jenevieve came down with a bad case of Falsies and took two headers down the trail today and many more stumbles (falsies is a reference to the silly French signs we had seen earlier in the trip depicting hikers getting absolutely tossed headfirst off of seemingly flat hillsides in areas of caution and what we are calling Jenevieve’s inability to stay on her feet today). We are speculating that maybe Glacier du Trient has a curse on her and that is what explains our bad luck in its presence. We can only hope the falsies will be cured when we leave the region.

Finally down at a campsite called La Pleuty, we watched the most interesting campground shower situation either one of us had ever seen. A man with a tiny table and a big umbrella charges €2 to use his shower block, where you get 6 minutes to wash and dry and change! Once the man leaves the showers are closed. He sits there for hours and collects what must be a ton of change from smelly hikers for this way too quick shower service. J took a shower and I went for a dip in the creek! We bought some goat cheese and our own baguettes (on this very rare occasion neither of us wanted to share a baguette - feeling a bit possessive this eve) and had a dinner feast.

In the morning, we awoke to a slow but steady climb through a misty green forest. We got chatting with a couple from California also on the TMB. It was a good distraction while we went up the pass and they were very friendly and excited to share stories. Compared to yesterday wildly slow moving terrain, we flew up this pass, and made it back to the French border.

At the top of Col de Balme we were met with impeccable views of a moody Mont Blanc. A welcome refuge provided hot coffee and a  cookie while we pondered the plan for the afternoon and sat outside at a picnic table. The TMB and Haute Route deviate here and we could take either down the hill. We chose the lower elevation option because dark clouds were rolling in on the horizon and looked to be dumping rain in the valley below.

The pass was crowded with many hikers and when a happy birthday song video broke out everyone chimed in to wish a stranger a happy day. When the sing-along wrapped up I realized it was the three friends we’d been playing tag with from yesterday who were taking the video. There was a second of silence among everyone before I shouted across the picnic tables “tag you’re it” - and they cried out in defeat. We all started cracking up but I’m sure everyone else was confused. After we tagged them we tried to get a good head start to hopefully land the last laugh.

Unfortunately a hillside of huckleberries, and a pie I’ve been dreaming on making stopped us in our tracks too soon and they caught up to us and tagged us one last time. It’s been really fun to be on the TMB and get to see the same people multiple days in a row. A small and fleeting but nice sense of community.

We had another big storm on the radar for this afternoon and tomorrow and we had decided a few days ago that we wanted to go see Annecy! Jenevieve had been to Annecy in 2018 and loved it so this is what spurred the motivation. Once upon a time had gotten accepted to a French field geology semester based in Annecy that I never got to attend due to Covid - but have wanted to go ever since. In addition because the UTMB is being held this week in Chamonix, the entire town seems to be booked to the brim, and we figured we’d have better luck finding a place to live for a few nights out of the craziness.

By the time we had hiked down the valley to Monroc-Le Planet, and caught a train into the center of Chamonix, it was DUMPING rain. We had a few hours before we needed to catch our bus to Annecy; we were much faster today than expected. We stumbled into town and found it full of running vests and incredibly fit and fast looking humans from all around the world. We managed to snag tacos and a beer at a funky little Mexican restaurant slash brewery. When we’ve been in bigger towns and cities I’ve been trying to get my hands on anything that isn’t a sandwhich or french onion soup. My body is definitely craving other familiar flavors and food options. Such a good find!

Then we had ✨shopping time✨ and I managed to snag some Patagonia XL children’s shorts just like Jenevieve’s on sale since mine have essentially disintegrated. I also replaced an opinel knife I lost in a storm with a new knife with a beautiful olive handle. Stoked on that! Thank you Chamonix!

On the bus today our suspicions that ALL European buses are late and terrible was confirmed!! We managed to be an hour late on an hour and a half long bus ride. Happy to finally get to Annecy and have a warm place to hunker down as rain pelts down outside. We have been discouraged about the weather but really thrilled to have time in a place we’re excited about that is well timed with a storm!

It also felt so good to finish the Haute Route today and complete a bucket list part of our hike in good time even while recovering from stomach sick! The views on the Haute Route were mile-for-mile the most jaw dropping beautiful hiking we’ve had on this entire trip. The high glacier valleys and wildflower meadows were all stunning. We also liked the style of the hike and found a combination of campgrounds in the valleys and wild-camping in the mountains to work out quite nice even though it required a bit more logistics (and cash). That all being said, we are SO excited to be back hiking in France from here on out.

So far: 52 days + 470.78 miles + 156,695 feet of gain + 28 baguettes

Thanks for being along for the ride :)

M