DAY 38: Monday July 9th: Les Chapieux to Les Contamines:
Walk: 25.0k, 7hrs 15mins: 8°C to 22°C, blue, blue skies
Accommodation: Hotel Gai Soleil Les Contamines
8am start - blue skies and meadows
Time to strip off - it's warm
Procession of climbers on mountain
A picture perfect day
Not a cloud in the sky - blue blue
TMB circuit completed - back at the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme
Coffee at the Col de la Croix
Aussie group - about 14
Busy - lined up to cross the snow
Down the valley to Les Contamines
Lunch on seat 1/2 way down
Still a long way down to a beer
A reminder of a really perfect day
At the back of Hotel Gai Soleil
Finished - 730k, 36 walking days, 2 rest days, average 20.3k per day
A wonderful day in more ways than one. Firstly, it was blue skies all day. We climbed 2 Cols, the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme at 2433 metres and the Col du Bonhomme at 2329 metres. But the best was at 3.30pm when we finished our 720k trek through the French alps - 36 walking days, 2 rest days - 20.3k average per day. We are both excited when we finally arrive in Les Contamines - and go straight to the Carrefour's supermarket to buy a wine and a beer to take to our room to celebrate our finish.
We wake early, but the floor boards are so creaky that one up - all up. We shower, pack then breakfast. The refuge is so full that the queue is out the door and we stand in the cold 8°C for 15 minutes to get in. Breakfast is nice - meusli, yoghurt, hot tea and fresh bread. We sit with 4 Aussies who are going our way. There seems to be more people walking clockwise this year than the traditional anti clockwise.
We're out the door by 8am and immediately start the long slow climb from 1549 metres at Les Chapieux to the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme at 2433 metres - almost 900 metres up. The track is through meadows and wildflowers and we can see a trail of walkers going up or down. It's cold, but after an hour we strip off to Tee shirt and shorts. The sun has a burn to it - very high UV - lots of red faces tonight.
It's a picture perfect day, with blue skies and no clouds. After 2hrs 30 mins of relentless climbing, we reach the top of the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, where we started the TMB 10 days ago after joining it from the GR5. Time to celebrate with a photo. There's now a large group of Aussies at the col and Jeremy obliges with a photo. I have a chat to the Sydney Aussie group whom we met last night, about how unlucky it was for Lisa and David to have missed the TMB. They were supposed to be with this group but for a stubbed toe a few weeks before. Time for a coffee on the grass before we move on.
It's amazing that in 10 days, most of the snow has disappeared and it only takes 30 minutes instead of 1hr to get to the second Col du Bonhomme. We don't stop as we want to get to Les Contamines early to see the Tour de France time trial. There's only one long snow drift where people are queued to get across. Lunch is half way down on a seat with a view. We eat everything in our food bag - stale bread, melting cheese, dried ham and squashed tomatoes. No more mountain lunches after today. Then on again. It’s easy going down but the sun is burning our necks. At 3.30pm we arrive in Les Contamines and head for the supermarket so we can have a quiet beer and wine in our room while watching the Tour de France. When we return to our Hotel Gai Soleil, there’s a misunderstanding with one of the elderly sisters who owns the place - we're not sure if we are in Room 6, or we can't go to our room 'til 6. So rather than stand around and miss the Tour de France, we take our bags and drinks to the TV room. Ian's beer is cold, my rosé is a flop - it was rosé of Peach and was like the sickly sugary juice from a can of peaches.
The Tour de France isn't going too well for Cadel. Bradley Wiggins seems to have the better of him in the time trial and in the GC, Cadel is now 1min 53secs down. We go back to reception and this time I pick up on the French and sign language, that it is Room 6 and the key is in the door. So we've been waiting for nothing - that's the danger of knowing a little bit of French - ask a well constructed question in French and you don't understand the answer. We finally go to our Room 6, shower, do loads of washing in the basin, hang it in the window, then check the itinerary for the Tour de France. Tomorrow is a rest day and on Wednesday, we meet Donna and Milton to see Stage 10, the first high mountain stage up the Grand Colombier. I do a quick Face time with them to co-ordinate our meeting in Culoz.
It's 7.30pm, the dinner bell rings and Room 6 is set for right here, we're told. We order a bottle of Savoie White wine which is very nice - a bit like a sav blanc. Dinner is 5 courses - salad, soup, meat and potatoes then cheeses followed by apple tart. We need a walk around the village to settle diner. Back to our room and time to publish my blog - haven't done so for the past 3 days9