Sabbatical - 8/18 - Into Switzerland
Ok, enough interludes. We woke up on Tuesday, August 17 at the Bonatti Refuge. Because we'd stayed overnight, all of us had more gear than usual in our packs (change of clothes, towel, pharmaceuticals, that sort of think) and because we were up on the top of a mountain we had no lunch buffet. Therefore, after breakfast our first order of business was hiking down to the bottom of Val Ferret and exchanging our excess gear for the sandwiches we'd ordered the day before. I tried to add to my gear pile by buying a t-shirt from the refuge because it had a cool logo, but alas all they had left were XS women's fitted shirts. If you ever go there, get me a men's XL please.
We headed down the valley to the Chalet Val Ferret. This hike was almost completely downhill. The weather was cool, dry and clear so we made excellent time. As a bonus, this stretch of trail had no mule shit on it, which was unusual enough that I mentioned it in my notes. After only two hours we met Manu and the van at the Chalet, swapped gear for lunch and had some hot beverages. This gave us a chance to admire all the views from the day before from the bottom of the valley instead of the top of the southern wall of it. Thus fortified, we headed back up the end of the valley toward the pass into Switzerland.
The trail up to the pass was mostly very steep. This didn't stop people from mountain biking over it. We passed a large group of cyclists outfitted with gigantic mountain bike tires coming toward us. This seemed insane to me. Quite aside from the steepness of the trail, it was far from flat. There were large rocks everywhere, and some portions were maintained into large steps. There were also some relatively narrow wooden bridges over the numerous small streams that descended to the valley floor. Walking it was hard. Going either direction in a bike seemed less like fun and more like masochism.
In any event, we reached the Swiss border in fine shape, stopped for some pictures at the marker, and then started descending into a deep valley that contained the village of La Fouly, our destination for the night. This side of the hike was much less pleasant because as soon as we crossed the pass we were descending into fog. Visibility wasn't as bad as it had been three days previously, but it did get colder and damper. After another hour or so we made it down to a chalet where we were allowed to eat whatever food we had with us as long as we bought drinks. My chicken curry sandwich was wonderful.
From there we continued down into the valley. I'm not exactly sure how far it was, but we arrived at the hotel somewhat early. After cleaning up, we all met in the bar. Although the hotel bar had a sign that said "The best medicine is raclette (cheese) and good wine" I opted for a 1/2 liter glass of Boxer Beer. Then I had another 1/2 liter with dinner, and slept like a rock that night.
Photos forty-one through the end of this set are from the Italian portion of August 18. The first two photos in this set were taken in Switzerland on August 18, and the three after that are referenced here even though they were taken the next morning.
We headed down the valley to the Chalet Val Ferret. This hike was almost completely downhill. The weather was cool, dry and clear so we made excellent time. As a bonus, this stretch of trail had no mule shit on it, which was unusual enough that I mentioned it in my notes. After only two hours we met Manu and the van at the Chalet, swapped gear for lunch and had some hot beverages. This gave us a chance to admire all the views from the day before from the bottom of the valley instead of the top of the southern wall of it. Thus fortified, we headed back up the end of the valley toward the pass into Switzerland.
The trail up to the pass was mostly very steep. This didn't stop people from mountain biking over it. We passed a large group of cyclists outfitted with gigantic mountain bike tires coming toward us. This seemed insane to me. Quite aside from the steepness of the trail, it was far from flat. There were large rocks everywhere, and some portions were maintained into large steps. There were also some relatively narrow wooden bridges over the numerous small streams that descended to the valley floor. Walking it was hard. Going either direction in a bike seemed less like fun and more like masochism.
In any event, we reached the Swiss border in fine shape, stopped for some pictures at the marker, and then started descending into a deep valley that contained the village of La Fouly, our destination for the night. This side of the hike was much less pleasant because as soon as we crossed the pass we were descending into fog. Visibility wasn't as bad as it had been three days previously, but it did get colder and damper. After another hour or so we made it down to a chalet where we were allowed to eat whatever food we had with us as long as we bought drinks. My chicken curry sandwich was wonderful.
From there we continued down into the valley. I'm not exactly sure how far it was, but we arrived at the hotel somewhat early. After cleaning up, we all met in the bar. Although the hotel bar had a sign that said "The best medicine is raclette (cheese) and good wine" I opted for a 1/2 liter glass of Boxer Beer. Then I had another 1/2 liter with dinner, and slept like a rock that night.
Photos forty-one through the end of this set are from the Italian portion of August 18. The first two photos in this set were taken in Switzerland on August 18, and the three after that are referenced here even though they were taken the next morning.