From Trient to Tre Le Champ
I wake up as the staff arrives to open the storage room, preparing breakfast. Outside it's still wet . The forecast is for an unstable weather today. As became the tradition, we start the morning by peering over the map. There are decisions to be made - either back up to the col, taking the Les Grands variant, straight up, or up through Tete de Balme (not strictly TMB). I know i'm not up for the variant today, so we head towards Peuty, a tiny hamlet up the road. From there, it's the usual drill - up, first through the forest, and then in an open meadow. My brother quickly disappears up ahead, and i'm fighting the ascent again. The path is probably the most busy I've seen so far. It's the weekend, and there seems to be day hikers, in addition to TMB and Haute Route ones.
Looking back towards the Trient valley and Col de Forclaz
As the path winds up, the rain starts falling. I hike past an old abandons farm house that was restored by the owner to serve as bad whether shelter, or so it says in French on the door. Refuge Col de Balme is already visible in the distance with its distinct red shutters. Another 20 minutes and i'm there, happy to realize that i'm only 15 minutes behind on the time in the sign. And then I realize my brother has been waiting for me for almost 45 minutes.
Col de Balme
A cup of hot chocolate, and before we have a chance to take pictures, the fog rolls in. This is a ski slops area, and the cable cars are crisscrossing the view. Due to the lack of visibility, we skip heading up into the view point at Croix de Fer, and decide to take the Col des Posettes trail. Out of the hut, take left and follow the signs down. 15 minutes down ski slops bring us to my favorite descent of the trip - the path goes through low bushes in different shades of brown and deep red, packed with blueberries. The views are gorgeous, including the Mont Blanc range, Chamonix valley and the range above it, as well as all the way into Switzerland. At some point we even encounter a French army unit, wearing their full alpine hear. I later learn that the army's Alpine school is in Chamonix.
From the high point at Aiguillettes des Possettes, it's down and down. The path is built so you only see 50 meters ahead, making it feel as if there's an imminent drop. It's calm and beautiful and at some point i'm by myself. The path itself is not in the greatest shape, with many missing or rotting steps. After over an hour we enter the forest. By now it's hot and the shade is a welcome change. The forest has one of my favorite features - exposed tree roots serving as natural steps. I'm obsessed with these, and always have an (internal) squeak of joy when encountering this feature. I find it almost romantic.
Up to Aiguillettes des Possettes
Before long we hit the road and enter the Chamonix valley. My home for tonight is in Tre Le Champ, while my brother is heading to Montroc to catch the train into Chamonix. This is the end of the hike for him. When I looked at the maps getting from the end of the trail to our destination it seemed easy, but the winding paths through the houses are confusing. Thankfully there's good signage, like in most of the trail.
It's 14:00, and I reach Gîte Chamonix Le Moulin. I would have liked to push on, but the book says it's 3 hours into Lac Blanc, which means 4 for me, and I'm a bit wary of such a long day. Plus i'm in no hurry to leave the mountains. As I enter the gite there's overwhelming smell of a apples baking, and I'm happy to have decided to stay here. As it's early, I head into Argentier, which is only 15 minutes by foot. The small village has a nice church, beautiful flowers in the main square, and a supermarket. I re-stock for the remaining two days, and buy myself a piece of apple cake for tomorrow.
Heading back into the Gite, I finally have an answer to a question that's been bugging me since Bonatti. This is where I first noticed three young men, always together, always energetic, brothers for sure but perhaps a triplet? Their horrified mother tells me that no, they are not a triplet, just really close in age (19,20,21). They are Welsh, hiking with their parents. They are staying in a tent, while their parents are staying in huts.
At dinner each group/pair gets their own table, which means I have one by myself at the corner. I ask the nice Welsh family if I can join them, and they are very welcoming. Food is fantastic - fresh Greek salad, pork stew and fried polenta for the vegetarians, and the aforementioned apple strudel. The Welsh family is lovely, the boys intelligent and curious, the parents highly educated and knowledgeable. They are a fun family to observe, and dinner flows by fast.
Even the list of warnings and rules hanging in the sleeping quarter does not stop me from having a great night's sleep. It's been great hiking with my brother, but I quickly discover that he snores, so I felt like i'm carrying my own personal snoring machine in the past few nights ... tonight I share with three other people, and 0 of them snore. Thank god for small mercies.
Pro tip: Shortcuts and bad-weather options. One of the reasons the TMB is great as your first long-distance hike is that it has a lot of shortcut options for bad weather, health problems or just being tired. The tour company Macs Adventures has a great day-by-day guide for these options. Just remember to check the timetable relevant to you.
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