Day 8 Champex Lac to La Forclaz

 It was sad to leave the Hotel Splendide.  The hotel had the best view (which is saying something) and it had an ‘old world’ charm.  Anyway, onwards and upwards.

The trek took us through pine forests, with lots of matted tree rots to trip the unsuspecting trekker; up stony hills with rushing mountain streams; through meadows with cows adorned with bells.  The day was quite hot, I believe it got into the low 30s.  The ice cold water from the mountain streams was refreshing and was used to wet our bandanas to keep us a bit cooler.


Karen doing one of the stream crossings.











Some of the Pine Forest.  Adventurous trekker Dave leading the way.







By mid-afternoon we arrived at the Hotel du Col de la Forclaz (or I would call it the Hotel to Forclose).  It was a bit underwhelming!  The room was adequate, the shower was hot and there was a bed… Wifi was pretty much useless.  To get any real effectiveness you had to go and sit by reception.  The ‘bathroom’ was a 1+m by 1+m pod.  It was the tiniest and most uncomfortable bathroom we have experienced… but it was functional at a minimum! The charming wood floors had multiple levels and creaked throughout the night.  Dinner was pumpkin soup, chicken and chips, and ice cream.


The Hotel! More a barracks than hotel.


                  The view from our window. Not as impressive as most!








Travel stats: 16km walked; approx 800 m vertical ascent and 700m descent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dresden

Image
 A couple of hours on the autobahn, heading north-east.  The autobahn network remains fascinating: the protocols of who keeps right, the overtaking and the outright speed of some cars.  We peaked at a little over 140km/h and were still overtaken and left behind.  It was amazing how quickly a car could appear in the rear vision.  My estimate was that there were many cars doing 160km/h and handful even faster! Bottom line, we saw some more of Germany.  In fact we entered the former East Germany.  There was a sign on the autobahn marking where the border had been.  There were a couple of guard towers type structures but we’re not sure that they were part of border protection. We arrived in Dresden in the afternoon and checked into our hotel.  There was an immediate sense of a different character to the city.  There was much more ‘recent’ style buildings. OK, short history lesson.  On 13 February 1945, Dresden (a non-target: no war indu...
Read more

Driving

Image
 A new approach to our German visit: unleash Peter on the German road system. After another hearty breakfast we finalised packing and checked out of the Hotel.  We quickly found the Avis dealership and our booking was ready.  A grey Ford Fiesta!  I was hoping for a Volkswagen. Sadly, not to be. Das Auto! The first challenge… driving out of Munich during Monday morning peak hour traffic.  It required considerable concentration: driving on the right-side (not left-side), navigating medieval streets, watching out for cyclists (they’re everywhere), listening to the GPS.  Eventually, we were free of the clutches of Munich streets.  Then, we were on the Autobahn!  Woohoo! It’s not quite ‘no speed limits’.  There are quite a few rules/protocols for the autobahn: trucks to the right lane; no overtaking on the right; etc etc.  But there are opportunities to put the ‘pedal to the metal’ or ‘go mental, it’s a rental’.  Todays top speed ended a...
Read more
Image
 At last, off and walking!   The quick description: short vehicle ride to the cable car at Les Houches; then 15km through some beautiful and spectacular countryside; a coffee in a farm house with the barn next door-in the farmhouse; lunch was a three course meal (kind of coleslaw entree, steak for main and a fruit mousse for dessert); then to our quaint chalet hotel.  Some light rain and mild temperatures throughout the morning. All up a pretty good day!  Boots and pack are all good. A bit more info and pictures. After waking up and having a hot shower, it was down to the buffet breakfast.  The Mercure put on a very good breakfast. Bacon, eggs, those little sausages, fruit, yoghurt, crepes, breads, jams… juice, coffee and tea. Then we met with our No Roads coordinator, Irene, to get the final briefing and drop off luggage etc.  Our man Luca (Mr Big Hair- frizzy, Afro, Rumanian) turn up as one of the drivers.  Unfortunately, after a quick chat with him,...
Read more