466 km · ↑ 28 084 m · 17 days · July 2023 · FR
One of the toughest treks in the Alps, GR 54, followed by a spontaneous detour into Vanoise National Park and a climb up Mont Thabor (3 178 m).
Maps & GPX download → https://mapy.com/s/jocedujehe
21.7.2023 Friday Ritord – Pralognan-la-Vanoise → 13,79 km ↑ 284 m ↓ 871 m We get up at 5:30am and pack fast. We’re on a busy trail and don’t want to hang around here long. We set off at 6am without breakfast. We reach a hut 2.5 km on and make breakfast and coffee. Next…
22.7.2023 Saturday Pralognan-la-Vanoise – Refuge de la Femma → 27, 62 km ↑ 2212 m ↓ 1287 m Alarm’s at 6am, but we really don’t feel like getting up. There’s low cloud cover, so we don’t know what it’ll be like in the higher mountains. Breakfast is hearty, sausages with baguette and a tomato-onion salad…
23.7.2023 Sunday Refuge de la Femma – Refuge des Evettes → 31,64 km ↑ 2069 m ↓ 1899 m We wake up to a cold morning. It’s below zero and there’s frost on the tent. The sun’s still behind the mountains. Breakfast is mushroom soup and coffee. Dessert is pain au lait with Nutella. We…
24.7.2023 Monday Refuge des Evettes – L’Illaz camping → 20,69 km ↑ 169 m ↓ 1042 m Frost yesterday, a hailstorm today. That’s how the mornings go now. Jozef was out before 2am taking photos and tells me how warm it is outside. Then one storm came, then another, maybe even a third. I lost…
25.7.2023 Tuesday L’Illaz camping – Val-Cenis → 31,23 km ↑ 1633 m ↓ 1960 m At 1:45am, I wake up to constant lightning across the sky. It’s not raining yet, so I go take down the laundry. Within 10 minutes, it starts raining. Judging by the thunder, the storm’s still 6 km away. Lightning flashes…
26.7.2023 Wednesday Val-Cenis – Valfrejús → 40,16 km ↑ 2573 m ↓ 2382 m We get up at 6:30am. Finally a calm night, just a bit of rain and no wind at all. We slept well. For breakfast is instant soup with extra pasta. We pack first, then eat. We set off at 7:45am. First…
27.7.2023 Thursday Valfrejús – Les Grands Lacs → 22,47 km ↑ 2016 m ↓ 1046 m The morning is not good. I drank too much Prosecco and got too little sleep. Honestly, I didn’t even want that Prosecco yesterday. When Jozef first asked if I wanted some, I said probably not. But he asked again,…
28.7.2023 Friday Les Grands Lacs – Col du Galibier → 29 km ↑ 1601 m ↓ 1818 m We get up at 8am. We slept over 10 hours. No rush this morning. Today’s the last full day of walking ahead of us. Breakfast is leek soup, which is about 42% mashed potato, with added pasta….
29.7.2023 Saturday Col du Galibier – Le Bourg d’Oisans → 13,39 km ↑ 219m ↓ 875 m We get up around 7am, no rush today. No more mountains waiting for us. We just want to link this section back up with GR 54, so it’s all nicely closed off. Breakfast is mushroom soup and coffee….
So here’s how we walked. Distance Distance Distance Total 466 km 28 084 m 27645 m Daily average 27,42 km 1652 m 1626 m We were on our feet for 17 days and slept in the tent for 18 nights. On average, each day we climbed and descended the equivalent of Poludňový Grúň from Vrátna…