Tour du Mont Blanc - Day 5 - Helicopters!

Day 5 Stats:

17.2k

700+ meters ascent

840 meters descent 

We woke up early and the realization that we had no luggage hit us quickly. My attempt to save my disposing contacts in a glass of water failed as they were dried little eye weapons of death. It was going to be a blurry day for me. I showed my husband how to brush your teeth with a towel and after washing up a bit we felt partially refreshed. Our shirts from the day before were fairly foul and I wasn't sure I could stand the smell all day. Fortunately, there was a sports store and we popped in and purchased some clean clothes. Once we felt normal again, we were off.... Our route was taking us from Champex - Lac to Trient via Bovine. 

We took off on a very leisurely stroll out of town and through the woods. We were enjoying the cool of walking in the trees as the sun shine bright on all the mountains. We passed a bee colony with hundreds of buzzing bees clouding the sky and strolled along for 4.7K to Plan de l'Au. 

At this point the trail narrowed into a mountain path and ascend steeply up the mountain. We were still in the trees and the drop off to the right was very dramatic into the gulch below. I was so happy the sun was shining and you could see the glaciers and incredible views. Given the tree cover, this would be a miserable walk in the rain and clouds. We traversed several streams. Some of them were moving quickly and were hard to navigate without getting wet. This was the true test of the water resistances of my boots. They passed the test with flying colors. My feet were cold from the water but not wet at all. I came really close to the water going over the top, no boots could keep dry if that happened! Mammut is a great brand! 

Once we neared the top, the trail traversed around the side of the mountain. The views of the Swiss Rhone valley were breathtaking. The trail leveled off and we were looking forward to lunch at the Bovine refuge. 

As we approached the refuge, a girl came running down the trail and stopped us. They had a helicopter that was delivering trees and we couldn't pass. We sat and watched the helicopter for 30 minutes or so before we could pass. As we approached the refuge, they let us know that they were closed and we couldn't have lunch there. We walked a bit further and ate the snacks from our bags and continued to watch the helicopter. 

The rest of the hike was fairly easy, another 6k into Col de la Forclaz, with some downhill and flat. The entire route was beautiful with trees, incredible views and fields of flowers. 

The last portion of the day was one of the most challenging. We had 1.5k of switch backs almost straight down the mountain  into Trient where we were staying the night. You could see it but it never seemed to get closer and my knees were in pain so the walk was slow. 

We arrived in the adorable little valley village of Trient were we were to stay the night and had one of the very best dinners of our trip, roast beef with vegetables and salad! Yummy fuel! 

Last day tomorrow.