France is one of our favourite destination for hiking. Beautiful sceneries, few people, almost everywhere it’s possible to bivouac, and in addition good food and cheap coffee.
It didn’t go at all the way we’d pictured it — and that’s exactly the charm of it. The original plan was the Tour de Monte Rosa loop, which is usually possible to walk through in July, including a stretch that crosses a glacier. This year’s heavy precipitation, whether rain or snow (it was still…
Rocher des Marrous – Bobbio Pellice 20.7.2024 Saturday → 29,3 km ↑ 1444 m – total 351,3 km Alarm’s at 6:30am, and it’s 0°C outside. We push it back a while. I don’t feel great. My stomach hurts, and I feel like the last day of the SNP trail (back then I threw up and…
Ceillac – Rocher des Marrous 19.7.2024 Friday → 22,2 km ↑ 1697 m – total 322 km We sleep in, until about 8:30am. It served me well. We’re in no rush, having tea with Pierre and chatting about gear with two fifty-something guys doing the GR 5 (a 650 km route from Geneva to Nice)….
Col Girardin – Ceillac 18.7.2024 Thursday → 34,4 km ↑ 2096 m – total 299,8 km Alarm’s at 6:15am. We don’t want to get up. We hear sheep coming closer. At 6:30am I open the tent door — the sheep are about 300 m away. There’s a dog on the edge of the flock that…
Refuge de Furfande – Col Girardin 17.7.2024 Wednesday → 32,7 km ↑ 2171 m – total 265,4 km Alarm’s at 6:15am again, but I really don’t want to get up today. I feel very tired. It’s 1°C outside with frost on the grass. I stay warm in the sleeping bag as long as I can….
Refuge des Fonts de Cervières – Refuge de Furfande 16.7.2024 Tuesday → 28,6 km ↑ 1682 m – total 232,7 km Alarm’s at 6:15am. I sleep really well tonight. Even though I went to bed at 11pm, getting up feels easy. Breakfast is baguette with eggs and pâté. We haven’t had such a hearty breakfast…
Bivacco Giorno Casalegno – Refuge des Fonts de Cervières 15.7.2024 Monday → 27,2 km ↑ 1449 m – total 204,1 km Alarm is set for 6:30am again. The sun starts to rise slowly over the horizon. It’s English Monday, the day we speak English together, something we started at New Year. Breakfast is bread with…
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…
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….
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….