TMB 4: Mostly SPECTACULAR...with a Downhill Suck to keep us humble

Brilliant sun this am with ice on the rocky path as we left Rifugio Elisabetta. Took a turn off the main trail and UP to the most spectacular views yet. Crystal clear skies and smiles on everyone's faces after yesterday's storm...well, except for three of our Palestinian friends who missed the turn and didn't know until their three buddies yelled at them from 1,000 feet up the trail - we could see them still way down on the road. Ooopps. They are the coolest guys - and there are also several Israelis who hike with them as well - all good friends. Wouldn't it be something if our world leaders could take a long hike (literally) with our so-called enemies? So interesting to hear their constant chatter as they walk - even though they sometimes miss important turns. I told Vern I want to be like them - noticing everything and photographing it - Vern tells me to hurry up!?  Met some very large cows and a bull on the trail. Three started following me down the mountain. I think they know an Iowa farm girl when they see one.  A highlight was having the finest Italian pasta and a latte at the top of a ski lift resort, the Rifugio Maison Vielle, with a tremendous view across the valley and finding our favorite Aussie friends there. The owner told me they serve 300 lunches a day during ski season!  THEN, the worst part of the day was descending down, down DOWN about a mile under a ski lift. I think I said "suck, suck, suck" each step the whole way down - or maybe it was something that rhymes with that. 1,500 feet up today and 4,500 feet down. Good thing the village awaiting us was awesome. Stayed at the Pensione Venezia in Courmayeur, a small city which ALL of the great mountain climbers call their haven to set out from and return to after great climbs. Had a private room, white sheets, TOWELS, and a sunny balcony where we washed a dried a few clothes. Grocery store next door with dried fruits and nuts, Ritter Espresso chocolate bars and Vern's FAVORITE - strawberry drinkable yogurt. Had a fabulous Italian pizza and big salad for dinner. Lovely breakfast with our Palestinian friends who were now all reunited :)

Day 3 TMB: Cold, Cloudy, Steep, Rocky, Rain, Wind, Slippery, Soaked...

Well, those weather gurus were absolutely right. We took a steeper short-cut very beautiful route which went up and over the Col des Fours and a bit risky in bad weather, but since we started before the rain was to begin, figured we would be OK. All I needed to hear was it cut out 1.5 hours of a difficult, 19 kilometer day! We saw many "belled" cows, crossed into Italy and had a couple of hard boiled eggs and cocoa (served in bowls!) at a lovely little hut to prepare us for the rainy afternoon. At the very scenic point, Col de la Seigne, we encountered blowing snow and fogged in views. I will show what we saw and what we were "supposed" to see.  It was pretty slick towards the end with absolutely soaked feet because we were hiking in the middle of a stream down the trail. Ducked into a small cozy museum and a kind lady gave me a piece of a chocolate - thought of Harry Potter and how chocolate cures nearly everything!?! Finally made it to the Refuge Elisabetta which is practically hidden on a steep hillside, famous and very remote. We arrived dripping wet, took off gear in the steaming entryway with other drowned rats like ourselves and I went to check in. They did NOT have us in the book. I panicked...trying to imagine what it would be like to go BACK outside in the now crosswise sleet. Finally a lady came over and asked our names. I said Barb and Vern and she still could not find us. Then, she said "Barbara?" When I said yes, she said, "Oh here you are!"  Phew... Went to shower and came to the dining area where Vern was smiling and drinking a mug of something. They immediately brought one over for me and it was, simply, melted chocolate in a mug. OMG. Dinner was fabulous, served in two shifts, and we met some friends who I think we are destined to meet again and again - a lovely young couple, Nicola and Paul, from Australia and Ireland who are on a six month world backpack tour, then getting married in Mexico before settling in Australia. Ended up sharing a bunk bed room with them and learned their whole story. They are carrying everything needed to camp and their packs are HUGE. They only stay inside if the weather is bad. Funny, even having to share ONE shower and toilet in the women's bathroom with that many, everyone was SO happy just to be inside and warm. And by the way, MOST hikers were about our age - or even much older - with a few 20-somethings thrown in!

Day 2 TMB: Views just get better by the minute!

We actually felt pretty good this am. Glad we could get out of bed! Absolutely gorgeous views along a mountain stream for the first hour, then up strange flat boulders (met a pickup coming down in one place - freaky!), passed a huge waterfall drop called the Notre Dame de la Gorge, saw a stuffed deer in a strange place, then a grand canyon valley opens up and we go gradually UP a rocky trail for 4,200 feet to Col de Tricor. Gorgeous sunny day and the views just got better by the minute. Arrived at spectacular Refuge du Bonhomme in the middle of NOWHERE about 2 pm, checked in, got a chocolate brownie and cup of cocoa and sat on the hillside for a couple hours just soaking up the sun. Rain is predicted tomorrow and many are freaking out about the weather on their phones - as if there are other options! Ten miles to the next stop and there is really no choice but to walk there - don't think the local helicopter would give a taxi ride. Can you just imagine making dinner for 120 VERY hungry people? Bowls and plates passed around the table, then comes soup, veggie, main dish, and dessert. This place runs on generators and solar heaters and candlelight after dinner for cards, games, and conversation. Pretty cool!  We sit with a French couple, Pascal and Marie, and between pantomiming and sign language and bits and pieces of each other's language, we have a really good conversation. Pascal is biking across the US next year and may come spend a couple days with us! We share a room of bunks with two Aussies, a Brit woman and her mom. Will try to dream of sunshine, but psyching ourselves up for some weather...

Day 1 TMB: Up, up, up and Down, down, down...

Arrived at the Auberge des Cret in Les Houches, France just in time for a dinner of split pea soup, pasta, bread, cheese, salmon, and a chocolate pear dessert. Wow! Met some great folks at this hostel - couple of women from Australia just finishing and two fun kids, Ana and Tiago (friends from Veterinary school in Portugal) who are now living in France and England. Learned many tales of their trip (first day was the worst, where to get your t-shirt, how many socks to bring, use ear plugs in the dorms, etc.) The 10 hour time difference kept us wide awake from about 11 pm till 3 am but at least we had a nice private room with a terrific view. After a good breakfast, our roomies headed back to their respective countries and Vern and I took off!  The trail is incredibly well marked with distance given in hours. The first bit nearly killed us - pretty much straight up a mountain under a ski lift - Ana was right. Gained 4,500 feet and lost 4,000 feet over the 10 miles today which was brutal, but it's behind us and we survived. Lovely quaint homes and churches along the way and we ended the first day with a beautiful hike along a river to the Chalet CAF at Les Contamines. At the dinner table tonight were folks from the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, Israel and England and we were served Chicken Curry with Tumeric (for those of us needing anti-inflammation assistance!) and lemon mousse in awesome little mason jars. Such great stories at the table!  We learned from the Israeli flight attendant with El-Al airlines that pilots often play Sudoko while the planes are on auto.  I will wonder about that all the time now as I peer into the cockpit when boarding...

Tour du Mont Blanc via Dublin and Greece with Two Old Beans!

Here we go again! You are invited to come along with Vern and I (the two old beans) as I pen a few words and post a few pics of our just completed Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB). Always rated among the top 10 hikes in the world, the TMB circles the range around Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. It is about 100 miles long, winds through France, Switzerland, and Italy, and gains and loses 33,000 feet (yes, thousand) over the ten days we took to complete it. As always, I (not necessarily Vern) was under-prepared so Ibuprofen helped the first few days!? Even better than Ibuprofen, though, were the 360 degree unbelievable views we were offered every day...well, except the sideways sleet day where we navigated 3" of new snow on steep trails...and also the pouring rain day where we slipped and slid our way to the Refuge Elisabetta. But more of that later.  If you know Vern and I, you know we travel in the cheap seats. Sooooo, there are often layovers at multiple airports, thus long trips. This one involved a 22 hour layover in Dublin, Ireland on our way to where the tour begins in Geneva, Switzerland. And we had a BLAST :) Stayed at the Barnacles Temple Bar House smack in the middle of the city, saw the famous Trinity College, Book of Kells, the ancient harp, Dublin Castle, an interesting public meeting notice, and a 10th Century church. We ate traditional Irish Stew and drank a Guiness, while we watched a soccer game between Ireland and Serbia. Later, after the best gelato ever, I posed with several ladies in front of a sweet shop where a couple of Irish guys photo-bombed us. The three bars adjacent to our hostel were bursting at the seams and the music was crazy, very Irish, and awesome - well, I thought so anyway. Though things did not quiet down until after 2 am, we got up, had a nice coffee by the O'Connell Bridge and caught a bus back to the airport to fly out by noon. SUCH a fun 22 hours. On to Geneva and the TMB!