Trient, Switzerland, on Saturday, July 9, 2016.
We awoke in our dormitory, got some breakfast and we're ready for our last TMB in Switzerland!
Before departed, I got a selfie with Matt and Theresa, knowing it would probably be the last time we saw them.
We started up the familiar valley to the trailhead. 3 years earlier, my dad and I had stayed here after the first day of the Houte Route. But instead if the nice dormitory, we had stayed in a make-shift garage, turned into a hit for hikers to sleep at. It made every lodging afterwards seem like a 5 star hotel. We had to get a photo! (See previous blog and YouTube video)
We continued up to the road and exited on the trail heading up towards the pass, Col du Balme, another location we went by in 2013.
The ascend of a steep set of switchbacks which took a lot of time and energy.
I made it to the top Col, for a quick refreshment and rest. I got to catch up with Amy and Laura, who were part of the lady DC group. My parents caught up and we took time for photos before hitting the trail.
The Col is also the border we would cross to go from Switzerland to France, back to the valley of Chamonix, where we started the Tour. This pass gave us an amazing views.
The trail led us downhill to a crossroads, before heading back up to the next sign marker. My mom wasn't feeling to well, so we took time for lunch and rest before our steep descent to Tre Le Champ.
Since the slant was so extreme, the trail had log embedded steps to assist hikers. However, for every knee-punishing step, the height loss, distance, and time, makes descents the most difficult part of the day.
I made it to auberge/gîte, our lodging in Tre Le Champ. It had been a long day, so I went inside to get our room. This hostel-like gîte had a room for us with 3 beds, but the room was a 9x9x9 cube if a room, with my bed shelved over my parents'.
After my parents arrived, we enjoyed drinks and had dinner with some Swiss travels, most of which were teachers! One offered to share wine with us and I learned that they were on break and get paid 3x as much as French teachers. I wondered if they needed a tech coach...
Dinner was too delicious to take pictures of, but it included a nice green salad, pasta, a cheese plate, and chocolate cake.
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