First day on the trail

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Geo: 46.0303, 7.11646

(Erin here.) I awoke at 3:00 in the morning, wide awake and ready to go, and was so relieved to look outside the window to see a sky full of stars. Very glad to see the weather forecast had been wrong. By the time we were up and eating our granola with yogurt or Nutella and homemade bread, the sky was still as clear as could be with plenty of warm sunshine to fill the valley. We visited the local garden on a hillside at Champex, resplendent with roses and bluebells, and adorned with local artwork (tiny or lifesize men and women) alongside water features.

Our hike began from Champex and wound through high mountain farmland, intersecting with the most adorable little hamlets we'd ever seen. Stone facades, wooden-shuttered windows, red geraniums in every window box, and fresh water drinking fountains on nearly every block. It was like going back in time 100 years.

The second half of our hike was less idyllic, more through a bit of forest and then through a rather industrializes rock quarry area, but we had only to glance up to see the behemoths of the Alps to know we were in Switzerland. Finally arriving in our destination for the night, Le Chable (10 miles in total), we reveled in cold Eidelweiss beers and found a quaint hotel to rest our heads. Traveling with Aaron and Mary is just as we expected it to be, lots of laughter, insightful conversations, and eagerness for tomorrow.

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Photos

Champex garden
Garden at Champex

On the Haute Route
After a year and a half of planning, here we are!

Trail marker
We followed this helpful guy all day

Ahh yes!
We saw some kids swimming around in the fountain so we figured it couldn't hurt to soak our weary feet.

Entering Le Chable
10 miles from where we began the day, we finally arrived in Le Chable for cold Eidelweiss beer and a comfy room to stay the night.

Comments

[Molly]

The garden, water fountain, and selfie photos are my favorites! It looks like you're having an amazing time. I look forward to your next posts!

[Keli]

The camera scarf! Love it! ;) Looks good and sunny, I bet it will continue!

[egatfield]

Thanks so much! Am loving the scarf you gave me. I was hesitant to bring it since I didn't want to get it dirty, but when my other strap broke, I decided to anyway, and now I'm glad I did. It's soft, and surprisingly cool when hiking. Great
gift Kel!

[mike pepper]

sunshine on the first day. what a gift! idylic scene and experience indeed. your description and pictures are wonderful and appreciated. and, we thought we had mountains!

[mike pepper]

you all really look the part! how cool to end up in town at night!