It was such a relief to see blue skies in the morning as I was serenaded to sleep by intermittent thunderstorms.  After a good continental breakfast at my hotel, many of us guests took the little shuttle bus to Notre Dame de la Gorge to start our hike.  

Immediately it was right into the forest and up a rough road steep enough to make my calfs cry.  After a mile of climbing I saw a sign: just 3h20m more to the top…yay?!?

At 2.8 miles the road swung past the Refuge de Balme and we soon left the road for a rocky steep trail; this is “where the fun begins” to paraphrase the guide.   Another mile of climbing and finally a nice level bit where I took a short break/gasps for air.

The trail turned into a rocky stream bed so it was a bit of a chore trying to keep my toes dry and then my attention was directed to route finding as I climbed through a flood zone/landslide area.  Another helpful sign declared still 50 minutes more to the top.

So after 3h14m and over 5 miles of climbing I made it to the top of Col du Bonhomme(!) which was crowded with hikers taking photos of the stunning views down both sides of the pass.  My sense of relief was shattered when I noticed the direction sign was pointing upwards – I had another Col yet to climb 😦

This last bit of ascent was very rocky through many boulder fields but not unduly steep so I was happy and had killer down-valley views to keep me company 

Okay, one last hour of up and I summited the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme for 6.4 miles ascent, and it would be all downhill from here.

Just a few moments later I stopped for lunch on a rock with a spectacular view just below Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme.  Very content sitting under the bright sun watching clutches of mist drift up from the valley to my right, only to dissipate here at the summit. Far below a road snakes along the valley floor but is it where I’m heading?  I have approximately 3000’ of descent to find out….

For as many people as there were on the way up and at the cols, there was hardly a soul in sight on my way down and I relished the peaceful solitude.  It’s so centering, being alone with such majestic views all to myself.  All is right in my world.

The mist coalesced into clouds and started to fill in the sky so that by the time I made it down the mountain there was only patchy bits of sun peeking through.  I seemed to have timed my hike perfectly.

I arrived at my refuge = 10miles & 6h30m.  Somehow I’m the first to arrive again!  I’m sharing a sweet little room and was able to shower and do my hand laundry before the next guests arrived.   

My roommates didn’t arrive till ~5:30pm.  They, and 5 others, are a hiking club from Malaysia.  Fortunately dinner isn’t until 7pm as we’ve just one shower on this floor for all to share.  Unfortunately dinner isn’t until 7pm; I’m starving and have been every night in a refuge when I have to wait to eat.  I’m going to have to stock up on more snacks…. Oh, my knee held up well!