Today was a very difficult day in terms of mileage (~11 mi.) and terrain (4 cols), but we both felt great and had a very good day. The only bad thing about the day was the line of people on the trail, thanks to the added traffic from the tour group. We can go fast, but today we stopped so often for pictures or just enjoying the scenery that we were almost the last ones on the trail. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so why rush?
First we walked along the Sentier des Chamois, an almost even trail along the side of a mountain with spectacular views of the Grand Combin and the mountains we’d walked by days 2, 3, and 4. Every now and then we’d look around and realized, “Holy crap, we’re walking in the Swiss Alps!” ☺ We went over the Col Termin, then the much more difficult Col de Louvie. The wind was so fierce at the top that it knocked Chris over when he knelt to take a picture! It was flurrying, too, so we hurried on and had lunch overlooking the Grand Desert glacier.
The hike to the Col du Plafuerie was our favorite part of the day. Past the Grand Desert, we were on flat rocky ledges and passed by a picturesque tarn. The sun even came out, so we stopped to gaulk and have a couple of sips of wine. The wine led to all sorts of silliness heading up the Col (or maybe it was just our ebulence at the glory of the day). We imitated Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (cycling announcers) and referred to the hikers ahead of us as the breakaway that we were trying to reel in. Then Chris attacked … all hell broke loose! Once the climb kicked in we stopped talking though. We caught up to Mike and Jenny (the couple from Texas) and then waited on them at the top for high-fives and then headed on.
By now it was snowing/graupeling, and that continued on and off the rest of the evening. We made it to the Cabane Prafluerie around 5:00. It was packed. We stopped in for some hot drinks and chatted with Todd. I got hot chocolate and Chris got coffee and they both came in huge bowls! Yum! We somewhat reluctantly left the warmth of the Cabane for Col #4: Col de Roux. It didn’t take long and soon we were overlooking the Val d’Dixence, with a long man-made lake, steep slopes all around, and large glacier-clad mountains at the head of the valley.
We stopped for several pictures and then made our way to the Refuge des Ecoulies. We were the only ones there – a very welcome sight after the Cabane. We had some delicious cold ravioli with cheese, sauce, and 3-day old bread. Add some wine and great views, it was an excellent evening!
Hot chocolate served in a bowl. Score!
Sunshine on the other side of Col de Roux
Our cabin for the night
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