Ensō : A Walk around Mont Blanc --- Day 5 of 9

Ensō: Day 5

I'm alive. The morning sun illuminates my entire tent, and upon zipping the door, the vast rolling green hills and valley take on a new light. I take the morning slow in order to properly grok what lays in front of me. After the steep 26 kilometers walked yesterday, today should prove to be much more relaxed, as I only had planned 12 kilometers. What happened, however, was anything but that. 

To the Southwest a trail rose up toward the ridge line, and then proceeded to transform into the ridge line, I thought that this looked like a nice morning adventure and headed that way. Little did I know that this would become one of the most beautiful trails I had ever set foot on, with sheer drops awaiting on both edges of the narrow line that traced the mountains, arranged like the scutes on the back of a stegosaurus. I saw the trail wind (which happened to be a GRP Tour du Beaufortain Variante) along in a "J" shape, culminating at a great green plateau with a jutting mountain named Roches Merles rising into the skyline. I was mesmerized by the eastern face. 

Roches Merles on the right

Looking back - I camped on the ridge above the hut 

Almost like a moth to a flame, once I reached the bottom I diverted again from the green plateau toward Roches Merles. As John Muir famously said, the mountains are calling, and I must go. Without taking my pack off, I put my rock climbing skills to the test and began to ascend. The route was full of slate and scree, each step was measured with precision and delicate transfer of weight. Once I was sufficiently high enough for a slip to be very unfortunate, I determined that it would be best to proceed without my pack but decided to take along some food and water in a small bag with the intention of enjoying a lunch once I climbed the peak. I would rate this approach around a 5.8/5.9, but it is somewhat hard to tell due to my pack weight and my hiking boots. Of course, with a rope, this would be a much different story altogether. The final push could be thought of as a V2/3 boulder problem, mostly because of the high risk factor, a fall may be deadly. After the first few moves, I found out that I was unable to ascend with the bag in my hand, or place it anywhere above me to collect later, I hung it from a nearby rock thinking I could reach it when laying on the ledge above, but it was just out of reach from the next level. However, the summit was in reach, and a few more moves placed me there. As I am unsure if this route had been taken before, for now I’ll call it Bon Courage.

I stayed mostly on the right one fourth, and then came into the middle

The path I came from below and the approach thus far

The remaining climb to summit

I took it all in, the valley below, the trail I had walked on so far, and the one that I left. My detour had taken me to new heights but left me farther from my intended destination than where I awoke. A few more deep breaths filled with admiration for this landscape initiated the descent back to my pack, and then down the remainder of Roches Merles to the valley floor. After consulting a map, I found out that I was indeed going in a direction not corresponding with the circuit and that I would have to either backtrack or descend even farther down to La Saussaz and then back up to the Col du Bonhomme and onward to Les Contamines. Thinking that a new adventure would be better than retracing my steps, I chose the latter option.

Follow the trail, it appears to connect with one on the other side, after a steep descent into the valley below I would hike up this other side of the mountain to reach Col du Bonhamme

I descended even farther deep down into a valley, seemingly walking in paths carved by small streams after a good rain. Soon I came to a small farm house which emanated a symphony of cowbells. Cows and bulls laid all along the trail, on each side of it and even on it, a bit timidly I walked through them and reached the next stage -  a steep hike up to Col du Bonhomme.

The trail was flocked by wildflowers and the promise of a new sight from the top. Once I reached the top, I was not disappointed. From here, I enjoyed a new view into yet another new valley. A short break to dry my socks in the sun, let my toes feel the grass, and grok the day thus far prepared me for yet another long descent.

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The trail was unrelentingly downhill, passing by streams and large rock-piles (even one, Tumulus Plan des Dames is said to represent the spot where an English woman perished in a storm), through forests and over landslide strewn boulders. About halfway down, the sky started to turn dark, and large roars of thunder began to blend with the cascades. Hours later, I took a minute to stop at a refuge to refuel by purchasing a nice piece of chocolate which I savored over the rest of the hike (that is, for the day, of course). A short time after that, I refilled my water from a standpipe, and continued onward, passing a rushing river flowing down from Lacs Jovet. 

Later on the path, a man, Thomas, was reading something painted on a rock in French, "Passant honnore an ce lieu la rain des cieux 1795 - 1827". I asked him for a translation, and we got to talking. I would find out that he is actually from Germany, and here on holiday to hike and practice his French. We continue on the way together, and amidst our chatting I inquire if he is aware of any places that would be good for camping.

Soon, we come across the pilgrimage chapel of Notre-dame de la Gorge, which has a sprawling green lawn with nice picnic tables and tree cover. He recommends that I stay here. I hesitated at first, since this was in a sense the park and lawn directly next to the church. Thomas tells me that the Father of the church lives just on the other side, hearing this, I wanted to speak with him to assure it would be no problem to sleep here for the night. Together we walked over to his house, which was beautifully constructed and ornamented with ornate woodwork and carvings. As we approached he took his eyes only briefly off of the wooden staffs he was whittling to address us, and after a brief chat, he objectively tells me the situation without approval or disapproval. In essence, if I was a respectful camper it would be no problem. I decide that this would be a good place to reside for the night. 

As I am walking toward the area I intend to pitch my tent, a young woman, Lucile, approaches Thomas and I and inquires about camping. First, we reply that we could speak in English or German, but French might be tough, so much to my surprise she chooses German! Later I found out that she had lived in Mannheim for 2 years. It is a bit coincidental as here I was thinking that I may not use my German for this hike, and this day certainly is proving otherwise. The three of us decide to have dinner together on a nearby picnic table. While Lucile and I set up our camps under some trees, Thomas goes back to his car for some cooking supplies and food to offer for the meal. 

We spend the night getting to know each other over some seasoned noodles, bread, sausage, cheese, cookies, and chocolate. I think Thomas relished the idea of Lucile and I's journey, as we were both doing the TMB, while he was stationed in this area making day hikes. It seemed as though he was someone who had done these things in the past, and even made it to the summit of Mont Blanc ten years ago! He understood we wanted to keep our packs light, and did not have much with us, and therefore was extremely generous with what he had. We all spoke into the night until we felt the call of sleep. Soon, we were all ready to climb into our cocoons and with that a great day and a great night with great company was soon finished off with a great sleep. 

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This is the fifth post of a series of 10 from the Tour du Mont Blanc trek I did in August 2015.
Check back within the week for the next post! 
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Thanks for reading,
Eric