Day 10 - July 23, 2015 - Trient, Switzerland to Argentiere, France OMG what a day. As we left the auberge it looked like it could rain any minute. Thank goodness we didn't get a single drop all day as it would have been a nightmare hiking the trail. We started the day by walking down a road that took us past the pink church and then through an open meadow. Before long we reach the woods where we are greeted with an uphill climb on switchbacks some which were very steep and others a lot like what we encounter hiking Mt Charleston. What made it very difficult this morning was it was so humid, hot and steamy walking through the woods. Finally the climb eased a little and we headed across an open hillside to ... read more

Day 8 - La Fouly, Switzerland to Champex Lac, Switzerland The day began with us hiking to the end of town and then crossing the road to join the footpath that took us across the river and into the woods - to Grandma's house we go - ha!. As we entered the woods we came across some very unique hanging paintings which we have no idea why they were there. Before long we came to a clearing in the woods that made we think "what an ideal place for a bear to suddenly appear". As we continued on we passed by a very beautiful waterfall. The trail then followed alongside the river winding in and out of the woods with a gradual uphill climb. Before long the trail made a turn and we left the river ... read more

Day 6 - July 19, 2015 - Courmayeur, Italy to Refuge Bonatti, Italy They are calling for rain today so hopefully we will be able to make it to Refuge Bonatti before the rain starts. We started the day by making our way from our hotel to the elevated square in front of the church and then proceeded to walk up a narrow street which becomes the Strada del Villair. As we walked on the street it eventually took us out of Courmayeur going past some homes with very nice gardens. We then proceed walking up a gentle slope between some more homes to reach the upper part of Villair where the metalled street becomes unsurfaced. Continuing on the unmade road we reached a footpath that took us through a forest which soon brought us back ... read more

Day 4 - Today even though distance is about the same as yesterday it definitely was a lot easier hiking. Upon leaving Refuge Mottets we had a two (2) hour uphill climb - sometimes very steep and other times not so steep. We followed a well-graded path that did have some areas that were muddy due to water crossing it. The path leads us through high pastures that dip into a stream-cut ravine and then eases up the final broad slope to the Col de la Seigne which is the border between France and Italy. After leaving the border and crossing into Italy we descend down the hillside to a renovated former customs house, La Casermetta which is now used as a museum and mountain information center. We at the museum/information center we watched a video ... read more

Day 2 of the Mont Blan trek is completed and was a very hot but fun day. The day began with us walking about 10 minutes from our hotel to the cable car that took us to our beginning point at Bellevue. In photo #3 you will see a white building which is a hotel that has never opened due to construction problems and the city woulld not issue the owners a business license. Photo 4 & 5 is a train station where you can catch the train to take you up to where you can start the very difficult hike to the top of Mont Blanc. After crossing over the railway tracks we hiked to a swinging bridge which was a lot of fun to walk across - photos 10-11. We did our good deed ... read more