× Home Page
Living in Australia Living in South Africa
Bicycle Touring Home Australia New Zealand Europe & Scandinavia North America
Bicycle Touring Equipment
Camping & Hiking Home Via Alpina, Europe Cape to Cape Hike, WA Heysen Trail, SA Bibbulmun Track, WA Australia South Africa & Lesotho
Geocaching Photo Gallery Art By Judith Copyright Notice Contact Us
Desktop Site - Home
☰ Mike & Judith's Website

Via Alpina Thru-Hike

Home Page > Camping > Via Alpina Thru-Hike

From the Via Alpina website: "There is no greater adventure in the Alps than the Via Alpina. As the longest long-distance hiking trail, it leads from the Adriatic over countless peaks to the Mediterranean. It crosses the borders of eight European countries, different cultures, different natural areas and language regions.

"It has 116 stages and takes you on a 2,500 kilometre journey from the Mediterranean to over 3,000 metres above sea level, during which you discover the natural and cultural heritage of the Alps on foot.

"A path on which everyone embarks on their own individual journey. A trail that connects people who share the same passion. A path that belongs to everyone – 2563 km of European integration".

Between July and October 2024, we plan to walk west to east, completing the section between Monaco and Liechtenstein, a distance of approximately 1,470 km as shown in the map below.

As the route is pretty well defined, we will show progress by placing a marker on the map at the locations where we camp.




Due to the length of the hike, the trip report has been split into two separate pages as follows:

Part 1: Southern France, Italy, up to the Italian/Swiss border Part 2: Switzerland, France (around Chamonix/Mont Blanc), back to Switzerland, and onto Lichtenstein

Part 1: Southern France, Italy, up to the Italian/Swiss border

The build up to the trip had more highs and lows than we had bargained for! Well, we had bargained on the HIGH of Mike retiring last Thursday, which was long-held goal, but the low of me suffering an unexpected health incident almost put a spanner in the works and the worry of it took some of the shine off Mike's happy time! As a wise person once said though, "It will be alright in the end and if it's not alright then it's not yet the end!" Actually that might have been the manager from "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", but it is still true. So in a way we could not believe our luck to find ourselves sitting on a bench in the little village of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, halfway between Monaco and Nice, overlooking the dead calm of the Mediterranean Sea, cliffs rising behind us. There are a number of villages along the coast and we would really recommend this one, and our hotel in particular. But of course the trip really began with leaving Perth.

We took the train to Perth Airport which is so great for us travelling only with backpacks and had an early afternoon flight to Singapore and then onward to Milan after a 4 hour layover. A midnight flight from Singapore provided some time to check out into the Land of Nod and we arrived in Milan at 06:00. We had booked the train to take us straight to the south of France, rather than spend the night in Milan and so although the travel was l-o-n-g by the end we were pleased to get it all done in one go. We will spend a couple of nights in Milan going home. After getting the train from the airport to Milan Central we popped into a Penny Mark to buy some snacks and then waited around in the station for our train to Ventimiglia, on the south coast of Italy. We enjoyed the 5 hour train trip, comfy seats and a window view. The scenery changed from rural flatlands to villages climbing up steep hillsides, finally to the big port of Genoa with it's hundreds of unit blocks, almost all with green canvas awnings. Our first glimpse of the Mediterranean. At Ventimiglia we joined a huge crowd waiting for the delayed train to Nice. Eventually the delay increased to 50 minutes. Suddenly everyone moved en masse out onto the platform. An American woman with her bike kindly told us that the train listed to Grasse would take the same route so we all piled onto that. And I do mean ALL. People and luggage and boxes of pizzas and more people. Luckily we had seats but our packs sat on the floor for everyone to step around. A Finnish girl heading to the stop after ours sat next to me and we chatted all the way about Finland and travel. So packed was the train that we had to get our packs and prepare a stop early to push our way off it! Our hotel was a short walk from the station and there was an excellent supermarket to shop at. We had a warm welcome from the hotel reception and a hot shower never felt so good. It is hot and humid here and we were pretty sticky. We ate a delicious baguette with cream cheese and were asleep by 18:00.

So we only woke up after 09:00. Bit unusual for us but a great sleep and our jetlag was sorted in one. There is a lovely fruit and veggie market in the square outside the hotel where we bought some fruit and we had morning coffees at the coffee shop which our room overlooks. We took a stroll through the little village and sat by the seaside. We spent the day taking the bus to Monaco and then all the way back to Nice and then back to our hotel. The coastal views were lovely, it looks just as you would expect the south of France to look. It is hot and humid and busy but not impossibly busy.

On our second day we had planned to go into Nice again, however took a walk around the little village and then just relaxed in our lovely hotel room. It was a hot day, over 32 degrees and we get the bus from Nice tomorrow to the mountain village where we start hiking, so it seemed a good idea to take it easy. We are REALLY enjoying the bakeries. Bread never tasted so good.


Last night we strolled down to one of the many beaches in the early evening to have our first ever swim in the Mediterranean. It was very salty and very warm! Lovely atmosphere on the stony beach with outdoor freshwater showers and small pine trees providing shade. We were up early this morning, looking forward to getting onto the trail. We had a bus to catch from Nice to Peille, from where we would start the trail. The trail's southern terminus is in Monaco and Peille is closeby but at higher altitude. We were happy to make this our start point to avoid a suburban start and the crowds in Monte Carlo. It is an ancient village clinging to the hillside. Unfortunately, after waiting for over 30min for our 09:40 bus in Nice, we discovered via another potential passenger that it had been cancelled. The only other bus to Peille left at 18:30 which was not good as we wanted to hike about 8-10 km from Peille. We followed the other passenger in catching the next bus at 10:30 to La Turbie, hoping to get a connector to Peille later that afternoon. The bus route is pretty twisty turny along a narrow pass which winds higher and higher. La Turbie has amazing views of the coast as it is pretty high up. There was also a slightly cool breeze. We hung about the village square, walked around the tiny old town and watched many cyclists who had ridden up from Monaco or Nice stop to fill their water bottles at the old fountain. We filled ours a couple of tiimes too. Some of the cyclists were on pro-teams which seems right with the final stage of the Tour de France coming through this teeny village 5 days ago. Many of the pro-riders live in Monaco/south of France. Eventually we were able to get a bus to Peille, around 10km away at 15:05. The road was amazing complete with very short tunnels cut through rock. We hit the trail at 15:30. and toiled uphill in the hot summer afternoon.

My pack felt pretty uncomfortable. It was very heavy but also the way I had packed it meant that stuff inside seemed to be pressing against my back which eventually became quite stressed. Mike fared better. The route was not as arid as we expected, mainly small woodland. Many properties, some were commune type places. Dogs barking at us everywhere, some in the road and pretty aggressive. Nevermind, we went to a tough school when it comes to dogs, ie. Washington State, Idaho etc. We were pretty excited to come across a river and Mike went down the steep river bank to filter more water. We were soaked through from sweating. After a break there my pack felt better, probably as I rearranged some things which meant not everything fit inside anymore but nothing was pressing into my back. Poor Mike has been battling with what started as allergy symptoms in France, but is now a cold and he felt pretty grim as the afternoon progressed. We took many breaks, progress was very slow along steep climbs. We both felt exhausted and due to the later start we realised pretty quickly that we were not going to get to our aim which was the top of the climb. We came across a spot as the path widened where we could pitch our brand new Hilleberg Nammatj tent, took a shower and got into bed without supper. We were lucky in that there was a little pool of water where we camped and a stream flowing somehere so we could filter water for tomorrow.


We had a pretty good sleep. Mike did not feel well this morning, but better than last night when he would have been happy just to lie down on the trail and go to sleep without pitching the tent. This being the case, and as we are closer to Sospel than Peille, we decided to do the 2 km that we had planned to do last night to the top of the climb and camp shortly thereafter. This would give us a day to rest which will help Mike recover. It was a major bonus to have the little stream where we camped, which had started flowing through the pool overnight. Mike filtered about 6 litres after we had breakfast. It was still a climb to the top of the hill, but not as steep as yesterday. We enjoyed the forested trail and all the wildflowers, many shades of purple and also deep pink. There are so many butterflies and brightly covered insects. From the top of the climb we caught our first views of the Alps. We have hardly covered any distance but it was amazing to look back towards Monaco and Nice and appreciate the effort. Waking this morning the air was much drier than yesterday. As we put on our hiking gear still soaking wet with sweat from yesterday, we were pleased that from here on (apart from the descent into Sospel, the lowest elevation on the walk) it would get cooler.

At the top of the climb we joined a dirt road which took us to a grassy area good for camping, but we kept going as our track turned off into the forest. We weren't keen to camp where there was car access. The views were great though! We saw two mountain bikers. A word on our experience of the French, you should always say "Bonjour", to everyone. People greet each other all the time, just passing on the street. It's quite nice, feels friendly. Maybe it's a regional thing, ie not sure this would be the case in Paris! So we just focus on our "bonjour's" and "merci beaucoup 's" and "au revoir'" and they seem to appreciate our effort! After a short distance we turned into an area of small clearings, covered by leaf litter from the oak trees and settled down for a day in the shade. We found that we didn't suffer through the heat of the day, it is much milder here. We are at 922 m above sea level. There was a small breeze. We are not eating much at all and are not sure why, could be the heat, the effort, the altitude, illness or maybe we are just burning the extra fat we have at the start of the trip. Walking does not require the same energy as cycling and it seems to suppress your appetite? Certainly when we cycle tour we can eat huge meals. We kept hearing noises in the forest and wondered if there were deer. Sure enough, a small red deer came bounding through our clearing. We will probably pitch the tent early as soon as we have solid shade. The plan for tomorrow is to cover the 4 km into Sospel and then pick up water to do another 10 km or so. This section of the trail was always going to be tricky waterwise. It is hot and there are not many reliable watersources. We did pass a permanent spring this morning on the climb and Mike adds these features to Open Streetmap so others can see for their planning. About 25 km from here we will start to hit refuges and more facilities. After Sospel we have a 1 500 m ascent and that is difficult to carry water up, but we have no choice. It will not be possible to hike 25 km from here, we cannot put that pressure on ourselves in these early days, especially with Mike under the weather.


We had a pretty noisy visitor last night, we suspect it was a wild boar as it was very heavy on foot and obviously digging around the leaf litter all over. There was also a barking dog that came quite nearby and someone seemed to jog by on the walking track with a headtorch on. There was some other kind of animal walking around later on. So the forest at night was actually busier than it was during the day. A red deer did observe us eating breakfast from in between the trees. Mike woke still feeling poorly so we decided to stick to our plan of getting to Sospel, which entailed a downhill walk and then finding some accomodation. There was a campsite in Sospel but it is about 2.5 km out of town which adds on too much distance when walking. We made straight for the hotel and the friendly manageress had a room for us for the night and we could get it from 12:00. Sospel is a very pretty village on a river at the bottom of a deep valley and we sat on a bench at the river and watched the passing crowds and a local cycle race come through. We went to the boulangerie artisan to buy a bread and to Spar supermarket for cream cheese and cold drinks. We arrived back at the hotel the same time as the manageress and could check in. The hotel was old and the room basic but we were happy. Mike needs to rest.

We have reevaluated our route. We are supposed to do this big 10 km climb up to the high point Mangiabo from Sospel and from the top it is a further 11 km to the next water supply. This is too far. The 1 500 m climb alone would take us about 7 hours, carrying an extra 6 litres of water. This on top of the 1.5 litres each that we carry each day would have to last us until the following day when we could get water at the 11 km mark and in this heat we did not think it was possible. So, looking at the hiking routes we saw that there is a route which makes for the village of Moulinet along the river and after that climbs up to that same water supply point. From here this is 16.5 km to Moulinet and then 10.6 km to the top. The climb to the top is not as high as from here as we will not reach the high point on Mangiabo at 1 821 m. We are happy with this change. Hopefully Mike feels better tomorrow but if he doesn't, it is good to be here where he can see a doctor or go to the pharmacy. It is still wonderful to be here and we enjoyed the walk this morning. It is nice not to be under any pressure with the walk. We will just take it as it comes.

Later on during the afternoon, whilst pouring over some brochures and maps that we picked up at the local tourism office, Mike discovered that there was a closer water supply trough about 17 km from Sospel via the big climb. So potentially we can hike around 7 km up the hill, climbing to 1 200 m which is a 1 000 m climb. We can camp there under some tree cover and then pick up water at the water trough the next day after 10 km. It will mean being careful with our water as we will have 9 litres in total, will use 1.5 litres each on the climb and then have 1.5 litres each for the rest of the day for drinking and 1.5 litres each next day for drinking til the water trough. In the heat seems a hard but not impossible task as it does get cooler as you climb and thunderstorm showers are forecast tommorrow with overcast conditions and a southerly wind. We will see how Mike is feeling in the morning. Seems a more direct appproach than wandering all over getting to Moulinet. We are very much looking forward to Mercantour National Park and the "Wondrous Valley". We had not heard of this place until planning the hike and it has a massive collection of rock art.


Pretty warm in hotel room last night, we just lay on the covers. We had the shutters closed and louvres open but there was no air movement. We woke around 05:30 and Mike gave the green light in terms of his health (not his mucous) and so we were "GO". We packed, dressed and went down to the boulangerie to pick up a couple of baguettes and coffee and breakfast. Outside the boulangerie we met a group of 4 hikers who were also walking up the hill today to spend 6 days hiking in the National Park. They had booked into refuges which they told us were fully booked. We will bivouac outside one of the refuges but still rely on it for food. They were going to drive up the first part of the climb to where there was road access to the trail. It was so cool meeting them as one of the couples had spent 5 years working and living in Australia and the other 2 years.They had met there. The bloke from the couple who had spent 5 years there worked for a company in the same field as Mike used to, water treatment. Such a coincidence as they were both familiar with the other one's company!! It gave us a boost to meet people doing what we are doing! The espresso and BEST CINNAMON SCROLL ever also gave us a boost. We set off over the river and headed for the hills. The switchbacks came pretty quickly, 14 of them. It was 06:45 when we set off and perfect timing as we had full shade for most of the climb. We SWEATED though in the high humidity, the sweat just dripped off and our clothes were soaked through.

We took a few rest breaks as Sospel shrunk lower and lower beneath us. Just after entering the National Park we took a long break at a small bivouac area and after this quite a few hikers passed us in two's and three's making their way down to Sospel. One person was really helpful with info about water availability at a cow shed which will mean that we don't have to rely on the water trough, which is not a sure thing. This will be about 10 km from our camp spot tonight. The hike up with elevation gain over 1 000 m took 4.5 hours with breaks. The very last 500 m were very hard. We managed the climb well though, even carrying the extra water our packs felt better than on day one. However by the end of the climb we were pulling ourselves up the trail by our poles. They are officially our best piece of equipment!! Second best: a battery-operated air pump which fits into the palm of your hand for our mattresses which is great for when you have no breath left at the end of the day and the mattresses get pumped up for you!

Mike had chosen a camp area just off the trail, plenty of shade to lie under all afternoon and a flat area for pitching the tent later. For the first time we probably could have pushed on, however due to our small water store, it was not worth walking in the heat. Tomorrow with an early start in the cool we should be able to get to the water source quite early. The rules in the park are refreshingly user-friendly and bivouacing is allowed but in the Valley of Wonders and the Valley of Fontanalbe you have to bivouac at a refuge/hut. There was a big thunderstorm which hung around behind us but no rain and it cooled down pretty quickly by 17:30. We have delighted the butterflies all afternoon as they love sitting on us.


We wanted to camp out under the stars last night, however, as the sunset we could feel the air becoming cool and slightly damp and no one wants to wake up to a wet down sleeping bag, so we ended up pitching the tent around 21:30. We were on the trail by 06:30 and the morning was beautiful. We still had 500 m to climb up Mangiabo but decided not to go right over the top, but took the contour path around. The path was slightly overgrown wiith nettles which gave us a rash on our legs but that faded by evening. Still many butterflies, lavender shrubs and other wildflowers. Also ticks. We caught a few on us today, all tiny, making removal difficult even with our trusty tick removal card. It was hot and humid again and we only had our standard 1.5 litres of water each. After the first couple of hours I was really thirsty and wondered how we would make our water last. We took a number of rests and were pleased to come across a drinking trough for sheep. It was filled from a large water container and it looked as if this had been done recently as the water was quite clear. We filtered a couple of litres to get us through to our end point and it tasted good enough.

We arrived at the small river that the hiker we met yesterday had told us about and found the water pipe. The water was piping hot! We filled our water bag and bottles and hiked back a little to where we could camp up on the hill with a great view over the hazy Alps. We relaxed all afternoon again, listening to the cow bells as the herd wondered back and forth. By 17:00 it had cooled down a lot which was a relief. We have planned out our next few days and contacted the next refuge to book an evening meal and lunch to go for the next day. A big part of the experience of hiking in the Alps is figuring out how the meals at refuges work. We can bivouac at the next refuge, but not at any others in this area. We don't want to stay in a refuge ie. in a dorm bed, but we will rely on them for meals as there is no possibility of resupply in the mountains. We will see how we go!


I dreamt we had a neighbour with windchimes on their balcony. Turned out it was cow bells that kept sounding through the night as the herd moved about. Pretty cool sleeping to that sound. As we set off we picked up a couple of litres of water at the cow drinking trough. It was full and the water was cold this morning. We had a long climb on a sealed road and overshot our turnoff adding a km to our distance but it turned out well as it brought us out at the high point and we got to walk through a herd of cows. They didn't mind at all which is very different than when they see you on a bicycle! We then had a couple of descents and a small climb, followed by the very steep and exhausting final ascent to drop into the Vallee Des Merveilles (Valley of Wonders). That climb was tough! We saw many hikers today which was really nice, many in groups. Everyone calls out "bonjour" as they pass, even if they are, like us, not French. It's funny when you both realise that neither of you are! One interesting moment was a couple in their 60's, both hiking topless, the female member clearly not concerned about skin cancer on her boobies. The views were impressive (the mountain views that is, no opinion about the boobies), suddenly we are in the Alps! The long climb was over an area strewn with boulders. We saw a herd of sheep and three chamois buck.

Dropping down into the final valley we were struck by how special it was. You can really see why it draws so many hikers. It is littered with boulders and lakes. We had 3 km to the refuge and the signs tell you you cannot use waking poles due to the rock carvings in the area. You can't see the carvings from the path, but you also can't leave the path. So we missed our poles over those last few km's. We saw other hikers with poles though and found out later that you can use poles but the tips must be covered. We brought our rubber tips with us for road walking so they will come in handy. The refuge is on a lake and although it had started raining thunderstorm drops as we neared it we were so excited about having a swim that we did just that. Amazing! Cold lake swim, after all the sweating we had done, we loved it! Felt so clean! We jumped out when the thunderstorm hit and it poured with rain and hailed! We grabbed our clothes and packs and ran for the building to shelter against a wall. We were entertained by a herd of visiting sheep, complete with shepherd and three Pyrenees Mountain guard dogs. One of the sheep almost leant up against us seeking shelter. After this it cleared for a bit but we sat in the refuge where it was warmer. We met two ladies who were so sweet, one was from Sospel. We could communicate even with my almost non-existent French and ditto their English.

The dinner would be served at 19:00 and we were permitted to bivouac from 18:30 in a large area for tents. The refuge was very busy, the dormitories were full for the night and many people would camp. However by 18:00 the mother of all thunderstorms came over and the rain was torrential, as was the hail, quite big hailstones carpeted the ground. There were rivers of water running along the track outside the refuge. Everyone took shelter inside. The dinner was a little delayed as they rely on some seating on benches outside and needed to put up a little shelter but with the rain it was impossible. When they were ready they placed your name on a table so you knew where to sit. We were at one of the outdoor tables with a lovely couple from Germany and a French couple. It was a really fun dinner with great conversation. The meal was really good and really generous! The staff offer extra helpings of everything. We were impressed by the organisation as all the food gets driven up and then prepared each day. After dinner we picked up our picnic lunches for tomorrow and went off to pitch the tent . Late night for us but we enjoyed it. We were also happy to put in our first 7.5 hour hiking day of the trip.


We hit the trail at 07:00, after some coffee and bread. It is a climb out of the Vallee Des Merveilles to the saddle which overlooks two valleys. The climb is in two parts, the second steeper, seperated by a pretty lake with a nicely built stone path along it's edge. We met Alex who we saw at the refuge last night and who came from Hout Bay, Cape Town and went to Rondebosch Boys High. He lives in Munich. Nice chat. We had planned to head for the Refuge de Nice, however reassessed at the top of the climb. The trail was busy with many hikers and we chatted to a family from Lyon who had come from Refuge des Valmasque and decided to change our route to head past it and onwards to Italy that way. We will run out of food tomorrow and going to the Refuge de Nice route will set us on a course into the Italian Alps from which we cannot emerge to resupply. Whereas, going to Valmasque means we enter Italy at a different spot where we can resupply and consider our options moving forward.

We descended down to the large lake and had a break and got into our packed lunch which was so good! Salt is clearly what we are missing from our diet, which is not a surprise as we have probably sweated out any mineral in our bodies over the last few days. We were visited by two chamois buck. We set off and had another break a little further on on the lake shore. The water is amazingly clear. We sat there for a couple of hours watching the trout hatchlings in the shallows. All the time there were many hikers passing along the trail.

We finally got ourselves back on the trail and found a terrific campspot above it. No tree shade in these parts, at 2 360 m above sea level. However although the sun is fairly strong, the air temperature is low. We ate the last of our packed lunch from the refuge for dinner, there were two "mystery tubs" which sort of rattled when you shook them. The contents were a type of grain (polenta?) with a lovely Malay spice flavour. Yum! We had a chat about where to from here. We can walk about 10 km further to Casterino and take a bus to wherever it goes to resupply. Or we can walk to Limonetto, Italy to resupply and camp for a couple of days to do some planning. We are thinking that if we can take the approach of walking say 5 days, then heading off trail to resupply and come back for 5 days etc this might work. We cannot use refuges as a long term food option as they are not cheap (the two dinners and two lunches we bought yesterday cost EU 64). Clearly they were worth it as they were delicious and produced in the middle of nowhere, but we can't spend that everyday and it is a logistical nightmare as you have to find out what each refuge will offer and then contact to book. Sometimes if you don't stay there you can't get a meal. We need flexibility day to day and so can't be locked in. Also, certainly in France, the refuges do not offer simple things like a baguette that you can buy and take with you. Maybe this is different in Italy and we think it is in Switzerland. So basically, if we remain in the high Alps food options are limited. We cannot carry a week's worth of food, the terrain doesn't allow for it.

Another option would be to leave the route altogether, take the train from Limonetto to where we can do another sort of multi-day hike or hikes and then spend more time in Switzerland and Austria. Main thing is.....how many people do you know who would rather exchange their current problem for this particular one? Here we sit in the evening, overlooking an Alpine Lake in the French Alps, no one around but a nervous chamois trying to get a piece of the action and coming ever nearer to us?


Perfect morning, the chamois and baby eyed us from their rocky perch above our campsite, willing us to leave so they could regain their area. The walk along the lakes from where we camped to the Refuge des Valmasque was spectacular. The path was often high above the clear lake waters and if there had been a trout swimming in the shallows you could easily have seen it. We did not need to go to the refuge but wanted to check it out and the trail wound down the boulders in a pretty tricky descent. We greeted a few hikers leaving the refuge on the trail coming towards us. We have seen the same people a few times as many walk from Valmasque to Merveille and back. The park entry below Valmasque is a popular one. The refuge was empty when we arrived, breakfast over and the staff clearing up. We sat on the deck overlooking the lake and the mountains. It was beautiful. Then we pressed on, losing elevation as we walked the trail through the river valley below the lakes. The walking path here is really lovely and many hikers were coming up it. We stopped to rest at a waterfall. There was some road repair work happening on the wide trail path also.

Mike had spotted a road that we could take from the park entrance in the opposite direction to Casterino, which shaved off some distance and allowed us to retain some elevation. We stopped near the start of it to pick up water and wet our walking clothes to stay cool. I just lay down in the stream. We sat in the shade for a while and then set off. The narrow, unsealed road carried us up into the Alpine meadows along it's 6 km stretch. It was beautiful and pretty shady. Lovely scenery of all the surrounding mountains, a herd of cows, only a few cars and trail bikes and an old tunnel. We enjoyed the walk. At the end of the road we were back on the little path through the meadows, butterflies and wildflowers all around. At the top of the climb the area flattened out and there was the perfect bivouac spot. We relaxed for a couple of hours before pitching the tent. It is a great campsite. Tomorrow we have around 10 km to walk to Limonetto in Italy.


Today's walk was varied and challenging. We had a little climb over some boulders up to the old Fort de Giaure, right on the French/Italian border. It was embedded in the grassy landscape and home to a herd of chamois. There were many babies. We met a group of Italian hikers who had hiked up from Limonetto. We filtered water from another crystal clear mountain lake and as we crossed into Italy, we hit a long section of boulder hopping. The paths here are so beautifully built over the boulders so you can step from flat stone to flat stone most of the time, but it was also challenging in parts. I missed where Mike went at a stage as I saw another hiker and assumed that was where he was, then panicked a bit when I couldn't see the route. I have been using extra asthma meds up in the high country, it might be to do with the thunderstoms, anyhow, this has caused my voice to be very hoarse, so I could not shout out to get Mike's attention. Anyway, he soon found me.

We turned down valley to Limonetta and this was a super steep section which took a few hours along very narrow, but well marked trails. We dropped 1 250 m in total today from start to end. This section took our knees to the limit! It was sometimes hard to get a good foothold. At the end we joined a stony track or road right down to the village of Limonetta. This track was also steep in sections and I took a tumble as my left ankle rolled and ended up face down in the road pinned by my pack. My ankle was pretty painful and swelled a bit by the end of the day. It took me a while to get my pack off and myself upright. This time Mike had the panic when I did not appear around the bend. We now have a rule that I wear my whistle to attract attention if I get lost or hit the dirt. The final part of the valley was quite busy with picnicing groups. It is a lovely valley with a beautiful river. In Limonetta we went to the local bar to have lunch. The lady running it had no English and we have no Italian. We figured out that there were two dishes on offer, one was pasta, the other we couldn't work out. A table of diners tried to help us understand. Then we saw a bloke tucking into a dish of sausage and chips and told the lady we wanted that. Boy, was it good to have that meal! Along with a bread basket and olive oil, we just scoffed it all up. Then it was a final 4.5 km to the campsite at Limone Piemonte. We are now saying "buon-journo", "gratias" and "ciao" and are learning new words too. Limone Piemonte is a lovely little town, the Saturday evening craft market was in full swing in the narrow cobbled streets. We stopped at the supermarket to pick up a HUGE packet of potato crisps, baguette and cream cheese and headed off to the lovely campsite where we could have a swim and do our laundry. We may have the day off here tomorrow as we need to rest and figure out what we are doing next!


The campsite at Limone was really good, facilities were spotlessly clean and although the site seemed full, it was very quiet. We did some research and decided not to take a day off at the campsite, but rather take the train in the morning to Cuneo, a large town further down the mountain. Mike found a hotel on the main square to book into. The cost for the night was super reasonable and included breakfast. The train trip was enoyable, nice to see the different villages from the train window. First impression of Cuneo was of the train station which was marble clad with intricate brass handrails taking us upstairs. The whole town was pretty grand, with wide streets and undercover pedestrian walkways with tiny terrazzo tiles. Many impressive state and religious buildings, some hundreds of years old. We left our packs at the hotel and went for a walk. The town was so quiet, even the main square was empty. Two things we have noticed about Italy are the infinity drinking fountains that you find on street corners and in parks, They are carved from stone and just run continuously with cool water to drink. The other thing is the shopping hours, all shops close from 12:30 or 13:00 to 16:00 or 16:30. Siesta! We picked up bread, cheese and tomato for brunch and ate in a park. Later on the via Roma (main street) we had gelato, our first of the trip.

Our hotel room was superb, very high quality formal hotel standard and we went out later for pizza around the corner. We decided to book in for another night. We even watched some of the Olympics on TV! I have lost my voice completely and Mike and I both cough alot at night which effects our sleeping. Other than that we don't feel ill. We found a very helpful pharmacist who gave us some cough drops but decided next day to see a doctor. There was one listed next door to the hotel, only open from 08:00-10:30. So I went around there at 08:00 and the loveliest doctor saw me, diagnosed laryngitis and gave me a prescription for antibiotics, but did not charge me for the consultation! I came back to the hotel and Mike and I had a fabulous breakfast (honestly maybe the best we have ever had as an included hotel breakfast) and then we went back to the doctor for Mike to see him. He diagnosed sinusitis and prescribed antibiotics for Mike too! The pharmacist was also next door to the hotel so we just went there and got all our medications! Then back to our hotel room to rest! We were so amazed by this kind and sympathetic doctor, who when I asked about payment, just shrugged and wished us happy travels in Italy!

From here we will take a bus to Pontobernardo, changing at Vinadio, and continue our hike into the Italian Alps. First though, we need to do a food shop!


We so enjoyed the hotel, it was brilliant! Delicious brekky again this morning! We were able to resupply thoughtfully in Cuneo too. We have learnt from the food we took for the first leg in France, too much sweet and we ended up craving salt so much. Must have been all the heat and the sweating! So we have picked up many savoury snacks, chips, big and small packets, savoury biscuits with things to put on them like cheese wedges, small packs of cream cheese, a tube of mayo and a mango curry paste. We are also going to try cooking couscous and got two thai curry sauces, parmesan cheese. There was a large migrant community in Cuneo and many shops stocking Morrocan and other African products, so we got spicy snacks too. Let's hope it doesn't cool down and we crave the sugar! Oh - also the pharmacy next to the hotel had a special on sports drink powder, really good quality stuff. We brought a container of Powerade powder with us from home and it saved our bacon everyday in the first leg, so we know that we need hydrating drink. We bought two. We also got some basic iced tea mix-a-drink, so all in all we are happy.

We watched some of the Olympics last night again, what a joy it was to see the men's pole vault event.We slept in a bit this morning and caught the bus at 10:00 to Portobernardo. It was about an hour first to Vinadio where we changed buses but with a 2 hour layover, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful village with it's amazing fort and cobbled streets. There were the usual running water fountains everywhere and so amazing to see ladies just doing handwashing in the street using the water at their front door and then throwing it down the drain or filling glass jugs to water their pot plants. We picked up a bread and a drink at the local store. The next bus took us up into the mountains proper and it was great to gain all that height for free! This bus was a little van. The driver even stopped in a village and filled his water bottle at one of the continously running stone fountains! We got off at the teeny village of Portobernardo, along with the two other passengers. We got chatting to one of the ladies who was staying with her sister in their family accomodation. How cool - she has been living in Nairobi, Kenya for 20 years, working for the UN and now that she is retired will share her year between Nairobi and Italy. She had taken the 06:30 bus to Cuneo to go to the market and had now come home. She gave us her Kenyan phone number as we told her we are going to cycle in Africa next year and she is happy for us to contact her when we are there! Portobernardo was pretty exquisite really, including the most beautiful church, complete with fresco ceilings and a HUGE amount of gold ornaments and religious items behind the alter. We don't know much about Italian culture really, beyond what is exported which mainly is food and football, but when you see a church like this in a community so small you begin to see the importance of faith.

We planned to walk 3 km as we only got going after 13:00. It was a lovely walk all along a glacial river. We stopped to eat lunch. The mountains towered over us and seem very different to the French Alps. Part of the route avoided a road tunnel by taking the old road around it. We saw a few groups of hikers and chatted to a German couple for a while. The route we are on now is the GTA and they are hiking that to Mentone (next to Monaco). They gave us some tips about the route and the refuges. It seems you can buy food at the refuges pretty ad hoc. We are not in a national park now and this route is not as busy as the Mercantour area. The couple said that they had found the trail pretty quiet compared to Switzerland or Austria. Our experience in France was probably down to that area being really popular and so the refuges have to work on a booking system as they cater for many people everyday.

We passed a herd of cows and then headed off into a meadow by a ruined stone hut where there was a great camping area. We relaxed for a bit and then went to swim in the river and filter water. These two acts seem like luxury, given how scarce water had been on our hike so far! A thunderstorm threatened so we pitched the tent, also a luxury after the strict 19:00 bivouac rule in Mercantour. We had some coffee and then Mike went off to make like a cow and fertilise (side effect of one of the meds the dr prescribed to loosen his mucous is that it seems to loosen everything else!). Good news is that we have our appetites well and truly back! It is very much cooller up here than down in Cuneo and even prior to that we had a lot of heat. Looking back we don't know how we functioned, eating so little, no wonder we ended up with infections. So nice to have this lovely campsite and no one around.


A great day's walk today, mostly spent on a long uphill gaining 1 150 m up the Passo di Rocca Brancia to about 2 600m and then dropping down to the Passo Della Gardeta. The climb took 4.5 hours. It was beautiful and tiring towards the end. It is much cooler here which makes a huge difference. The views of the mountains, particularly from the Passo Della Gardeta were sublime, the best yet. There were a few rockslides over the track after the big climb which were a little tricky to navigate, but overall okay.

Making our way down the valley, a thunderstorm rushed through with pretty strong winds. We used our wet weather gear for the first time as the rain came down like needles in our faces and took shelter in an old defensive building. It didn't take long for it to blow over and we kept walking. In the valley we followed the river and found a good campspot under the spruce trees. We went back to the river to filter water. We ate well today from our new improved salty menu and enjoyed our special sports drink. The trail was very quiet all the way up the climb but busier after that with nearby refuges.


It has to be said, the Italian Alps are spectacular! The trails and tracks make for really good walking, you feel like you are walking on tracks which are centuries old. Although we passed quite a few walkers this morning, it does not feel busy, so retains some kind of ancient quality. The scenery is full of punchy mountain tops which lurch skywards and you often feel as if you are in a bowl surrounded at every side by towering granite shards. Added to this we spent the day mainly in pretty spruce forest. We had a longish climb from our campspot, but all on a stone track. We stopped to fill our water bottles at a double stream infinity fountain emerging from a wooden tub. We passed a few old stone huts with chunky slate roof tiles. We dropped down to Sorgenti del Maira with it's beautiful little pond where we had a refreshing 2 minute dip, so cold was the water. Mike did ask first, "Why is no one swimming?" as there were many picnicers and walkers relaxing in the lovely day area. "I think we will find out when we get in!" I said. No regrets, it was wonderful. We relaxed a while in the shade. There were many parked cars as there is a road up here. People drive and then do day walks. There is an amenties building with toilets, many sinks and taps and even garbage disposal which I gladly used.

Pushing on, the route ran along a concrete covered water channel. Water was just rushing out of the mountainside. We dropped down to Chiappera which has a refuge and camping a little further on. There is also a restaurant where they sell suppies. The blokes who worked there were so friendly! We bought 3 locally made salami's, a chunk of local cheese, two icecreams and two homemade biscuits. Then one of the blokes asked, "Don't you want some bread?" I couldn't believe it, "Of course!" This little place just provided everything we needed! It was the first place on the trail which did so, and at reasonable prices. We would eat like kings tonight! We ate the icecreams and biscuits and then continued. The day was beautiful but quite warm. We followed the stony track all the way up the next climb. This area was busy with day walkers. For the first part the river ran right by the track but at a point the track was closed to vehicles and then it kicked up, ending up high above the river. Fortunately there was a small stream we could use to filter water. We picked up the extra 9 litres and continued upwards, hoping to find a flat area to camp. Eventually we passed the upper track where a few cars were parked and some farmhouses. By the time we found a flat saddle to camp on it was nearly 18:00, but the sun was still shining brightly. We waited for it to drop behind the mountains alongside and then ate a delicious bread and cheese sandwich followed by a salami. Things are certainly looking up for our tummies! You can just feel the fuel being absorbed. We had a shower and pitched the tent. We do have a pretty strong stream flowing right where we are camping, so did not need to carry all that extra weight! Of course when you don't... you know the rest! There is a herd of cows making it's way down the mountainside so we have been hearing cow bells all evening. We can't get over the views from our tent, it is amazing what you can achieve on foot!


Another perfect weather day in the Alps. The air is so pure and so clear, every peak stands out sharply against the sky which is as blue as a summer's day should be. We finished up what we started yesterday with a 2 hour push up the Col Del Mary. At the top we crossed the French/Italian border into France and came apon a wooden letter box on a stake. It reminded us of the box the research team have at the entrance to their road on the Dalton Highway in Alaska. They put treats inside for people on bicycles. So I had a look inside but found hand written notes addressed to other hikers presumably and even a little box of some sort of supplies with names of the people written on it who were to pick it up. There were even actual letters and postcards with stamps on them! Does someone then clear this box? Or are other hikers just supposed to take the letters to the next post box? We are intrigued! Over the top, the gushing stream accompanied us into the valley beyond. There is something about the combination of ice blue water over green and blue hued river stones that seems so typical of the high mountains. We passed a beautiful lake where people had their tents set up.

Walking along towards the next refuge at Maljasset, we saw a track turn off down to the river with a handy wooden bridge so we went down there and spent a couple of hours having a swim, doing our washing, having another delicious cheese and bread sandwich and a sleep. Beautiful spot. It was then downhill to the refuge which had car access so many people about. It is actually more than a refuge, it seemed like a little village. We filled up our water bottles and I went in to the refuge to ask if we could buy some bread. This was "not possible". I guess they use it up when making up the fancy cheese and meat platters they sell for EU 10 to people who drive here. They had quite a menu, all too fancy for people who just want the basics. So far it is Italy 1 France 0 for understanding what hikers need. At the other end of the village we took a sharp right up the toughest climb we have ever down on foot. It took 40 min to walk about 1 km. It was unbelievably steep and the track underfoot was smooth dirt, so you really had to drag yourself upwards with your poles. A younger couple passed us quite soon into it, but then we passed them later and they passed again later, so we had a few chats. The path dramatically overhung the valley.

The last 2 km to the top of the Col Girardin were not as steep, but by then we were pretty exhausted. It was a hot afternoon and we stopped to have a hydrating drink, but as we went higher there was a breeze. Matters were not improved by the horseflies and other biting flies which tormented me (but not Mike) all the way up. The horseflies are of course the worst as they deliver a toxic bite in an instant and are hard to clobber to death with you have poles in your hands without which you would be going backwards very quickly!

Mike had mention of a spring on the map, but we did not hold out much hope of this as it was so dry. However, as we neared the top the grass began to get much greener and there were small channels in it which looked like they would have been formed by water. There was also a wooden A-frame hut with a stone hut alongside which is clue that there should be water as why else would you build one? Mike spotted a black water pipe running along the hillside to the hut so we just kept walking, following the pipe. Sure enough, in the distance we could see a fountain of water pouring out! The younger couple were refilling their bottles. There was brilliant camping right there and the views, well we were on top of the world! The fountain was cleverly diverted through a series of hollowed out stone basins until it drained out on to the ground. We relaxed for an hour or so. We had been on the go for 10! We cooked a delicious meal of couscous (instant - our first time cooking this and it really was instant!) with Thai curry sauce and salami and cheese on biscuits before getting into the tent. It was a good but tough day, first day which found us with sore feet by the end! 1 239 m of elevation gain to our overnight campspot at 2 537m! It was a pretty cool evening as a result! Tomorrow we just have a couple hundred metres of climbing, then pretty much alll downhill to Ceillac where we will resupply or catch a bus into a neighbouring village to do so.


We had a couple hundred metres climb to finish up the Col and then it was down, down, down to Ceillac. The track was really good all the way there. We love camping just short of the top and then having that gift in the morning of discovering a brand new view, laid out before you. We took a break at the lake where there is chapel for Saint Ann, beautiful spot, quite a few people camping there. Further down the hill there was a shepherd with some dogs herding a large group of sheep and they pretty much followed us for a distance. Some of the rams had massive bells around their necks, they would have looked big on a cow. We passed a few hikers coming up. Many people hike with dogs here. We find the people very friendly, everyone greets everyone else as they pass. We stopped for a breather at the next lake, this one was not an alpine lake of fierce blue, but quite muddy and reedy. Many people rested there.

After this the track turned very steep down towards the village and many, many hikers were walking up, some with very small children. By the time we reached the bottom it was just before 12:00 and pretty warm. It seemed too late in the day to take on such a climb, especially with small children and especially as one would really want to make it all the way to the lake by the chapel to make it worthwhile.

The river which we had followed down continued toward the village through a valley of wheatfields. Many paragliders were jumping from the hillside across the other side of the village, splashes of colour in the blue sky. The village of Ceillac is little but had all the amenities, including the infinity fountains at each end. It was busy, seems touristy. Certainly the gelato prices did! The supermarket had closed as we arrived, but the boulangerie was still open so we bought a baguette for lunch (not tourist prices) and went to sit by the shade at the river for a few hours (supermarket closed 12:30-15:45). We ate a delicious salami and cheese sandwich and later had a dip in the icy water. All the while we were entertained by the paragliders, must have been perfect conditions for them today.

The supermarket was perfect for three days resupply and we picked up a couple more baguettes. So for dinner tonight it would be fresh baguette with tomato and cheese and potato chips for after! We wanted to get to the top of the next Col, it was a hot afternoon and we made the start at 16:40. The climb was around 600 vertical metres, through mostly spruce forest and 22 switchbacks helped get us up the steepest part. We were pretty tired, second tough climb in two days, but not as steep as yesterday's climb. We had full bottles but were taking a punt that the spring marked on Mike's map at the high point actually existed. There is something about being in these high mountains that makes you believe in mercy! If the spring was not there it would be a further 2 km to water. We stopped a couple of times going up, it took 2 hours. We are much fitter now and our arms are much stronger which helps on steep climbs with the pole work. We love our poles! Near the top we saw....a marmot. Now I have not mentioned these furry little beasts before. They inhabit the alps. We call them "fatties" because they are all fat. And we have noticed that you will only find them and their distinct burrows where there is water. So seeing the Fatty we were optimistic. We saw another pair of hikers resting on the top of the climb where it widened to a grassy patch. We dropped our packs and took the filter, water bag and bottles to schlep higher up to where the spring was showing on the GPS. We must say that at this point our optimism had vanished. It was pretty green but nothing looked like water trickling. Until Mike called out, "I see it!". Tiny stream tricking along a specially placed hollowed out wooden channel, spilling out onto the pebbles and away down the mountainside to disappear once again. It really was the tiniest of trickles, but Mike made short work of it with our MSR Guardian filter by moving some stones and making a small dam. We walked back down so happy and content and checked with the other hikers that they were good for water. Then we went up a little rise under a spreading spruce tree to have a hydrating drink, relax, shower, eat and get into the tent. Such a rewarding day. Mercy was shown!


L-O-N-G downhill to Bramousse! As we filled up our water bottles at a trough fountain a friendly herd of cows approached for their morning drink. As we neared Bramousse it grew very steep down. I asked a Frenchman how to say, "Steep", it is "milles de plus". So I will try that one out, it applies in most circumstances on this hike! After Bramousse we crossed the big river which runs along the valley and then took a break before the climb of the day. It had taken 3 hours to get to this point. As we dropped down towards the river we felt a little disbelief that there could even be a trail up the almost sheer rock walls in front of us. It looked like an impenetrable fortress! We had seen quite a few hikers on the trail this morning, those that were coming off the descent down the Col de la Lauze looked a little dazed!

The climb up that Col took 4 hours and it was tough! 1 111 m vertical metres gained in 7 km! It was a hot day but the old spruce trees on the mountainside gave us shade here and there. We passed through a coupe of hamlets, always with an old church and bell tower. At one we filled up with water and soaked our shirts at a water fountain quietly observed by a fat frog on a stone. A few crazy mountain bikers were coming down the Col and you had to watch out for them but they were respectful of walkers. We stopped later to filter some water at a stream and have our second hydrating drink. A lady passing told us they had walked up to have some of the delicious tart at the Refuge de Furfande. They had taken a shorter walk up from a nearby parking area, but still, that must have been life-changing tart to encourage that sort of motivation! We both took strain at different times on the climb. Mike was pretty strong until just after we filtered water but I felt pretty exhausted a lot of the way. Reaching more or less the top we could see the refuge and still had a small climb up to it. My stomache was cramping by then. It was after 14:00 and we had only had breakfast and a couple of small packs of biscuits to eat. There hadn't really been the opportunity, it was too hot and the climb too long, and we had drunk a lot; hence stomachache. So I made a beeline for the toilet at the refuge, thank goodness there was a vacant stall! The refuge was busy, largely younger people and there were many tents set up. It was a shadeless area up there overlooking the valley and many people had sought shade around the back of the refuge. We did not really want to hang around there, but I did poke my head in to check out the famous tart. There were two kinds, generous servings and it did look delicious, but we didn't feel like it.

We set off, hoping to find a shady campspot along the way. We passed by another herd of cows, this one had quite an assertive bull with a HUGE bell around his neck. We reached the river and filtered all 9 litres of water and had a refreshing dip. It was very shallow, so I just took off my boots, socks and shorts and lay down in it, soaking the rest of my clothes. Onwards we went, heavy loads now with the water but it wasn't long til we found a flat spot on a little rise. We were honestly just walking on our arms now! Poles doing all the work! We just collapsed, it was almost 17:00 by the time we ate our amazing baguette (packed in plastic zip lock bags it had stayed fresh) with sliced sausage, mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Delicious and overdue!

We relaxed in the shade of our tent and watched the thunder clouds build in the distance. We are camped just beneath Col Garnier. Tomorrow will be an easier day, all downhill really as we approach Mont Dauphine which we will reach the following day, making tomorrow a short one.


The thunderstom reached us last night, pelting rain, flashes of lightning and thunder boomed overhead. We are very happy with our tent! On that, those who follow our trips would know that since 2012 we have used Hilleberg tents exclusively. They are a Swedish tent manufacturer. We would never use any other tent. Their tents are rated yellow, red and black label, with black being robust 4-season tents. Hilleberg tents go up so easily as the tent outer and inner are connected to act as one. We use the Staika for cycle touring, it is a black label tent and has two entrances and vestibules. It weights 4 kg. We are on to our third Staika. We used the Rogan for the two thruhikes we did in Australia, which is a yellow label tent. It also has two vestibules and weighs 2 kg. We got it when we hiked the Bibbulmen as the shelters on the trail provided protection too, even in winter. The Rogan feels very like a summer tent. For this trip we bought a Nammatj 2 as we are in the mountains until autumn and expect to encounter adverse weather. The Nammatj has a single entrance and vestibule. It weighs 3 kg and is also a black label tent. It is a very important aspect of the travel that we do that we have every confidence in our tent. We are very impressed with the extra detailing on the Nammatj 2, even down to a inside clothesline on the roof and the way the window openings work at each end. It is different having the entrance and vestibule at our heads, but the tent feels very strong, even though it weighs 25 % less than the Staika.

We slept in a little today after yesterday's epic and set off up the 200 m or so of the Col Garnier. After this we dropped down towards Mont-Dauphin, the next town. It was steep down, losing more than 800 m. The terrain was canyonlike ad we crossed an amazingly clear river with beautiful pools. We had decided to keep the day short and then hike into the town tomorrow. Just at Gros there was a crystal clear stream with a little bridge over it and we washed our clothes there and had an icy wallow in the pool. Refreshing! We then walked up into a shady spot and had lunch. It was about 11:30 when we got there. It was a warm day but we had shade, Solly (our solar panel) was kept busy in the sun and our clothes dried. Later we had couscous and Thai curry sauce for dinner. We love how all the insects sit on all our things, including our noses (butterflies). They are so inquisitive.


I spent last night crawling out of the tent to vomit and then crawling back in. I was so ill, I can't remember being that sick. It went on and on and it was not the most comfortable place to be standing around waiting to puke. I took medication for nausea and upset stomache but whatever was inside had to come out, and boy did it ever. So we slept in a little this morning however I was alright to get going, we had 11 km to walk to Mont-Dauphin. I felt a little funny, but it was such an easy walk it didn't really matter. There is amazingly a sealed road that goes from Mont-Dauphin to Gros. I say "amazingly" as there is really nothing on the road and yet here it is, well--maintained. It was a great road to walk, a mountain pass that slowly wound it's way down providing views of a deep canyon and the farmlands that ran to it's edge.

The fortified town of Mont-Dauphin could be clearly seen and the trail passes straight through it. It was impressive! It was still downhill after the old town as we dropped to the river. We had to go out of our way to get to the grocery store on the other side and do our resupply for the next 3 to 4 days. It was strange that there wasn't a decent walking path to use to cross the bridge, we had to use the shoulder. I was by then exhausted, but we had a few km's to walk to the campsite we had picked. There was a lot of activity going on by the river and the lake with many groups of holiday makers kayaking, playing games and small children having pony rides. We relaxed in the shade as we could only check in at the campsite at 14:30. I started to feel nauseous again and it would hang around for the rest of the day. The campsite was a disappointment when we got there, there was one site which was not really a site which we could have had, but it sat and baked in the sun, grass shrivelled up to a crisp. We decided to take our chances along the river and found a spot where we could swim, relax in the shade and pitch the tent later. Hoping for a better night tonight. As I write another thunderstorm rolls in.


Mike woke up after about 2 hours sleep last night, feeling nauseous, asking for some medication for it. Then it was game on, repeat performance of my previous night, except I think he was sicker with it, dealing with evacuations from both ends sometimes simultaneously. He says he has never been that sick with a stomache ailment and I believe him as neither had I. By about 04:00 the worst was over and he was able to sleep for a few hours. It rained in the morning and we lay in and wondered what to do next. Accomodation options in this area are limited. Gap is a town about 45 min away by train with some hotels, but it is the height of summer here with a public holiday this week and it seemed so out of the way of our general route. We could not face a campsite. We decided to pack up and get on the trail as Mike felt well enough to do so. I wasn't sure it was the right idea, but being the trailblazer in the upset stomache debacle, at least I knew that I was feeling better this morning after a full day so he would head in that direction. We walked up passed the Petrified Fountains and it was a pretty steep climb. We were both taking it slow and finding it tough with the heavy packs post resupply and not feeling our best. We came upon a section of path that crossed some sort of water divertion, there was a blockhouse which housed some sort of tank and then an outlet pipe below from which some water ran so we decided to camp there. It was a cooler day today after the rain. Mike was able to get down to the pipe and fill our water bag. We pretty much slept all afternoon. The flies were really irritating. This section of the trail does not re-enter the high mountains for a few days, tomorrow we will pass a village and a campsite where we can stop early again. We are both really hoping to feel better soon!


Such a pretty piece of trail today, high Alps are a vague memory as we walked through mixed woodland and flower meadows. It has been amazing to hike down into Mont-Dauphin and then out of it as we have had such a range of views of the same valley from on high. Today we had similiar views of Saint-Cr'epin over the river. The river Durance appears glacial blue from the hillside. We are enjoying the variety of walking experiences offered by the Via Alpina. Certainly this walk out of Mont-Dauphin into Parc national des 'Ecrins is not as dramatic or as popular as the one into it, but we really enjoyed it. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I not been completely exhausted. In a way I felt worse than yesterday, as if I had gone backwards. Just dead on my feet. Hopefully I pick up some energy. Mike is almost back to 100%! We are both eating and taking our hydration drink, might not be enough though.

The trail passes through a few small settlements, most remarkably Champcella with it's beautiful church and war memorial. Seemed so poignant that there were many names remembered for WWI but for WWII only two names. Possibly the male village population was decimated by the first one? The village was so pretty with flowers growing everywhere. These small settlements always have really fertile veggie gardens, Champcella's had masses of HUGE ripe tomatoes. We are wondering if we cannot try to buy a tomato or two if we see a gardener about? After Champcella we had some road walking and there was a triathlon coming through so we were amongst it. It was pretty fun to experience that. Many of the cyclists were in really flash kit, amazing bikes. They had support vehicles and timing chips. It's pretty cool though just to see them pull over to fill up their water bottle at the local village fountain! We stopped at an auberge for a drink (Coca-Cola served from glass bottles poured into glasses, tres chic!) and I had a scoop of rum and raison ice cream.

We turned up away from the main river but along a large tributary and passed the campsite, kept going. I was really tired and we had a rest at the side of the track. A few hundred metres later the track became more or less walking access only and then Mike went to walk along a bit further. He came back to report a small area good for camping with picnic table and benches on the river. It was perfect! We had a good river swim and a snack for dinner and were in the tent quite early.


More walking through pristine mixed woodland today. We passed through a few small settlements, Freissini`eres being the largest. This was a very pretty village and when I spied the tower of tomato boxes outside one of the buildings I went into the auberge to ask if I could buy one. The proprietor was unimpressed! The village had a cheeseworks also, but it was early in the morning so closed. We did not need any food, but have both been trying to eat what we crave and that is not easy on foot! Luckily we hit a town and food store tomorrow so all our food dreams may come true. We are both losing weight, which is normal and expected but which was accelerated by our stomache illnesses. Whereas usually when you are at home recovering from such a bout you can have just what you want, we can't really. All I really want to eat are potato chips and we bought a few bags at our last resupply. Mike wants to eat fresh tomatoes and salt, which we also bought a few. We are probably eating too lightly. The heat doesn't help.

We had a long climb up Col des Lauzes and in the overcast and slightly humid weather we were plagued by flies and mosquitoes. It was really unpleasant. I attract more flies than Mike, which he is pleased about as they can swarm! He gets more mozzie bites. The climb was pretty easy and followed by a sometimes steep downhill to a raging river where we found a picnic table and could relax for a couple of hours after an icy swim. Around 16:00 we set off on the final climb up Col de la Pousterle. It was quite hot and sweaty going up but very pretty with wildflowers, especially lavender. Amazing views of the mountains to come and the valley below. We planned to camp on top and stopped at a cow trough with running water to pick some up for a shower. We bought a new ultrasil Sea to Summit bucket for the hike so it is easy to fill and then filter out of. There was a large herd of cows with newborns and some of them also came to drink. The rock walls at the top of the Col are popular with climbers and many were parked up there in campervans, looking like camping for the night. We walked a bit further and found a good spot to camp with wonderful mountain views, looking down into the town below. We are only a couple of km's from Puy-Saint-Vincent so will head there tomorrow for brekky.


Downhill this morning to Puy-Saint-Vincent, your typical French Alpine village.The Sherpa supermarket was open and we had cornflakes and milk for brekky, so good! We then went back to buy three baguettes, two kinds of cheese, fresh tomatoes, bananas, avocado pear. We had to rest after eating breakfast! Then more downhill to Vallouise. This section was through very pretty woodland, a little trail where tree stumps had been turned into gnomes wearing hand decorated fabric hats. Vallouise was lovely, on a glacial blue river. We rested outside the old church. The trail then climbed up to Ecrins National Park. It was an overcast day and it rained for a few hours as we walked, not cold though. We stopped to eat lunch in the park in an old stone shelter. It was just after 13:00. We could see the next climb up to Eychauda.There were quite a few hikers on the trail coming down into the park. The 19:00 bivouac rule helped us decide to climb the Col today as we would be waiting around anyway to pitch the tent, we may as well walk. The trail up the Col was well used and not too taxing, but in the end would still be a 700 m ascent. It was good starting the climb late in the day as there were very few walkers out then. One bloke had greeted us when he passed us at the shelter, as he was finishing the descent. Sometime along our climb, we noticed he was behind us. When he caught us we asked him if he was walking both ways, it was a bit confusing but it sounded as if he had taken a wrong turn? I think he got over the Col before the mist closed in.

There was cloud about and we could see it was raining higher up. We took a few rests on the climb and it took less than 3 hours. We were tiring as we neared the top. Total climbing for the day would be 1 300 m.Near the top we started looking for camp spots and also water. We could see a large herd of sheep in an enclosure and there were a few ski lifts up there. The ski lifts went far higher up the mountain as well. Ahead the trail went into a white out as the cloud came right onto the road. We kept walking as we had not yet found a suitable camping spot, but we did not like the thick mist. It had started raining again and getting heavier. We found a flat spot next to the road and put the tent up really quickly, getting soaked. Before long though we were inside, dry and getting warmer. Dinner was good!


It rained very heavily for most of the night. When it didn't rain it was absolutely silent. Our stony, muddy campsite held a lot of the water and the underneath of the tent oozed with it. It had stopped raining when we woke up at 06:00 but the mist was still swirling beneath the Col. We got going anyway, in yesterday's sodden clothing. I wore my rain jacket though, instead of my hiking shirt. It was a few kilometres downhill to Le Monetier-Les-Bains. The track quickly dipped below ski lift stations, where we saw a pair of hikers looking cold and damp like us. A herd of cows livened things up. We were back into woodland and progress was slow as the track was very muddy and slippery. It started raining again and we put on our rain skirts and Mike his rain jacket. As we descended though it grew warmer. We had been going two hours before we stopped to have breakfast. The rain had stopped and we had a nice place to sit in the spruce forest, a convenient stream to filter water from. Oats had never tasted so good! Actually I should mention...French oats are heaven-sent. They are so creamy and smooth, you can't believe something can taste that good with only water and sugar added!

As we neared the town, the path got busier with Sunday hikers. Everyone friendly as usual. The weather improved, but it stayed windy. Le Monetier-Les-Bains is a ski resort type town and it was pretty busy. There was a general park and recreation area just on the river and we settled down at a picnic table and got our stuff out to dry. I noticed there were several electrical plugs and Mike tried one out, it worked so he plugged in our battery to get it charged up. There has been a lack of sunlight lately, so Solly has not been working! Bonus to be able to top up our battery.

We spent a couple of hours on housekeeping, drying out, getting some supplies at the Sherpa supermarket and having a look at the route over the next few days. It was a productive time! We set off up the climb to the Col de Buff'ere after 13:00. Initially it was pretty steep as we left the town but overall the route was manageable. It passed several chapels and we had another herd of cows on the path and beautiful views of the valley and town as well as of the high country we were in last night. We love how this route lets you reexperience the previous day from a different perspective! Soon we were high up on the grassy plateau as we climbed towards the high point. We passed very close to a herd of sheep. This was our first experience of the guard dogs first hand. There were three dogs, the main guard dog being the Pyrenees mountain dog which barked and barked at us. The other two dogs ran towards and behind us, as if to put us off. The sheep were on the hillside below us, behind the dogs. As we passed the main dog it fell in behind me and walked closely next to me until we were clear of the sheep, then it disappeared back to the flock.

It got pretty windy as we neared the Col. There was a spring there which we didn't expect, we had planned to descend about 2 km over the Col to a river. There was a handy curved stonewall around a flat piece of ground which created a good windbreak for the tent. We decided to pitch in there. It was 17:45 and we really wanted to get to bed dry! It was really cold in the wind. After setting up the tent we went to filter water at the spring, had a super quick shower and got into the tent as it was starting to drizzle. Supper was fresh baguette, tomato, cheese, chicken breast and salt and vinegar chips, yum.


It didn't rain much last night but it was very windy and very cold. The tent shivered and shook in the wind for most of the night, but the guy ropes did not budge. Very sturdy tent, we are happy campers. We slept in 'til 07:00 and were amazed at the clear day that awaited us. The air is so clean up here every mountain has sharp edges. We hit the trail at 08:20, so much later than usual. Downhill to the refuge otherside of the Col. It was a nice one! The valley was very beautiful. A couple of hikers coming towards us with a black and white cat in tow stopped Mike to explain that this cat had followed them from the refuge and maybe it would follow us back. They even suggested that we carry it in our arms as apparently it would not scratch. Seeing as this cat had followed them about 1 km I think it is safe to say it could look after itself. Anyway, we have poles in our hands, how would we carry a cat? Even if we wanted to. I spoke to the cat as we passed it, but it showed no interest in us, or in going back to the refuge. We sat at a bench when we got there and chatted to a Dutch family with three daughters, the youngest being 6 years. They had walked to the refuge from N'evache which would have been a very tough climb for such a young child. It was very steep downhill to the village which is quaint (with the tiniest chapel we have seen and a big church as well) and has above it's quota of restaurants. It also has a boulangerie patisserie and we bought two amazing breads (baked over coals) , two croissants, a jar of apricot and melon jam and two chocolate brownies. It was a really good bakery. The village was full of mountain bikers and there were many hikers as well. As we walked out the other side there was a massive parking area with packed buses coming and going ferrying many people into the village. Where were all these people going? We weren't sure, but as we left the village behind and headed into the mountains, they did not appear to be going our way!

We left the village and hiked up into the forest. It was pretty dry, even the big river valley had only a trickle of water. We rested by a small forest hut at a picnic table and had a few slices of our delicious bread and jam, followed by a sleep. After this it was a steep climb up to the plateau, the Thures Valley. On top it was open grassland. We continued to climb slightly, there were many hikers up here and it was cool with a light breeze. Then it was steep downhill all the way to our next refuge! We were both tiring now and rested at the refuge before continuing to where we had planned to camp. The whole area was very busy and it looked as if a few people may have wanted to camp in the area we had picked, Lac Vert. So we backtracked and carried on the main track until we spotted a flat area near the river where we could camp. We walked off the track into the field and had a good rinse in the river before dinner and tent.


First a climb up towards Mont Thabor, very beautiful high alpine scenery, then down, down, down to Mondane, losing 1 500 m in altitude! Beautiful weather day today. The walking was good, but the downhill was very steep and brutal on the GR 5 to Mondane. Mondane is not on the Via Alpina route, but it has an Intermarche supermarket just before at Fourneaux which is good for a staple resupply. We also went to the pharmacy to replace the Immodium and Valoid medication which we used for nausea and diarrhoea recently. It was a very good pharmacy, and I waited my turn in line, but no one working there had any English, so the teenage son of another customer translated. Everyone in the pharmacy gazed in rapt attention as we discussed our recent bout of vomitting and diarrhoea which was now over, but we needed to restock the medication in case of a repeat. Heaven forbid. I threw in some plasters and hydration drink. I also asked the pharmacist if I could get some iron tablets, but he just grimaced as if to say, "Too much already, lady," so I left it. We sat at a nearby bench and ate delicious chicken, cheese and tomato sandwiches. Then we walked 2 km to the campsite at Mondane.


Although busy, the campsite at Mondane turned out to be very quiet with a convenient camper's kitchen with kettle, hot water and power outlets to charge devices. Solly is serving us well as usual, but it is still convenient to have electricity to bump up our battery. On technology stuff, we don't have much; we each have our phone, I use my noise-cancelling in-ear headphones to listen to music (and books but haven't done so yet), we each have a headtorch (barely used now given the long days), Mike has a shaver, there is my folding keyboard for typing these entries, Mike had a kindle but it broke (sad face.....good innings...about 11 years), pump for mattresses and our battery for power storage. We spent some time in the camper's kitchen last night and this morning. We slept in 'til about 08:00 this morning which was great and Mike finalised my tax return, happy days! We left the campsite around 10:30 and headed for the laundry. We highly recommend French laundromats, "laverie". They are fully automatic and you pay by card and the machines dispense the detergent themselves which is great. This one was quite little, with 5 machines all already spoken for, but as they are digital you can see how much time is left and we only had to wait 15 min for a machine, the people using it were in the laundromat so that was good. We are pro's at magically getting changed inside (or indeed outside) a laundromat without flashing any bits, indeed we could probably carry on a conversation whilst doing so without the person noticing! As I am now wearing ankle straps on both my feet you can imagine what my socks/feet/ankle straps smell like after a few weeks! Horrendous. Anyhow, in went all our washing and out it came 40 min later, smelling super fresh! We stuck it all in my ultrasil Sea to Summit tote bag and walked a few doors down for a pizza lunch. Great pizza, local hang out super busy at 12:00. We each had a really good feed, when it arrived you thought, "Wow that's big!" but somehow it all disappeared easily.

Short walk along the main drag to some benches opposite the main train station. We set out some of our wet stuff to dry in the sun and changed into our damp walking gear, G1000 (Fjallraven fabric) is so brilliant it will just dry on you when wet. Mike popped over to the train station, we were due to take a bus to Termignon at 13:25, but there was a bus there which was going in our direction. It was in fact going to go through Termignon, so that was brilliant, especially as it was going a slightly shorter route. So he came to get me, chucked the damp stuff back in the tote bag and jumped on the bus. It was a regional bus so we could put our luggage in the hold and it was nice and comfy. The other passengers were a group of three German blokes and a couple who had also stayed at the campsite. It was a scenic 25 min trip as the bus wound it's way along the narrow mountain road. We passed through a few villages, they were all lovely.

Termignon was a very picturesque village, all quaint buildings, specialist fromageries, boulangerie, lovely church, supermarket, rushing river. We had few hundred metres to walk to our campsite which was on the river and really lovely. The office was closed but we could pick a site and set up. We hung out our laundry to dry on the fence and checked in when the office opened at 14:00. Our site is HUGE for our small tent and next to us is a single hiker and then a single car camper so it is very quiet in our part of the campsite. We bought bread for today and tomorrow at the boulangerie and jam, yoghurt and sorbet at the supermarket. Feast or famine on this trip! The mountains feel as if they have changed personality a bit, everything feels a little Swiss here! In fact, one of the German blokes chatted to us when we got off the bus. They had finished a 5 day circuit up in the mountains here and left a car here at the start, got the bus back. He offered us a lift to Zurich as they had two spaces in the car! Wasn't that nice? Yeah, I could do an escape to Zurich right now! Got to walk there though.....after a day off from hiking today we feel keen to get going tomorrow.


We picked up the trail right at the campsite and left at 07:30 after a hearty breakfast of baguette and berry jam. There was a big climb of over 1 000 m ascent right off the bat, total climbing for the day was 1 672 m which is the most we have done so far and may not repeat. The first climb was steep in parts and mainly used a wide old stone track which was good to walk. We were in shady spruce forest until we popped out above the treeline and the shade ended. We had the chance to rest a few times on the climb at conveniently placed benches. There were a few shrines to Saint Antoine. Near the top Mike and I got seperated when he stayed on the main path as it veered right and as he was a little ahead of me, I glanced down the path and could not see him (although he was waiting a little along it) so I went on straight, the path narrower here and pretty steep. I kept going but when Mike did not appear started to worry and blew my whistle a number of times. Eventually I stopped and checked the map on my phone, seeing immediately that I was off route. I turned back and Mike appeared around the corner, having come to look for me. He could hear my whistle but could not place the direction it was coming from. We were both stressed out by the whole incident, but have put it behind us. Above the treeline we crossed the sealed road a number of times and soon we were at the carpark which was pretty full. You can also catch a bus here from Termingnon, it arrived while we were having lunch at one of the large round picnic tables.

We rested for a while and looked at the information boards. We saw that camping, even bivouacing was not allowed in the heart of Vanoise National Park, you can only bivouac at a refuge which allows it, which for us meant a long day to Refuge de La Leisse. We like to do the right thing. After only seeing three other hikers on the climb up to now, it was very busy as of course it would be seeing as you could drive there. We took the trail passed a lake, the Refuge du Plan du Lac (where we rested and picked up water) and great views of the glaciers, all within 3 km. The walking was pretty easy now that the climb was over. A further 3 km on was Refuge d'Entre-Deux-Eaux. We rested here too. It was then around 7 km to our refuge to camp. We were pretty tired, but the views were great and the path was good. Just before the refuge the glacial river we had been following as it rushed down slowed down and meandered a bit and the camping was so good, we were tempted, but decided to continue to the refuge and follow the rules. It was a steep climb to the refuge where there were many people. We went to check out the camping area. It was small and full. What to do? You can't just cram in and anyway, the camping was not great. So we filled our water bottles and walked about 1 km further where we found a spot on a spur that would work. No shower or swim tonight which we hate, but there you are, can't have everything. It was a full-on day and a pity that our camping option did not work out but we tried our best. We will be leaving the park tomorrow.


Our alarms go at 06:15 however it is not a hard and fast rule that we actually get up at that time. Today though, wanting to stay unobserved, we jumped out of bed, packed up and hit the trail at 06:47. We stopped to make brekky at a small lake after 2 km. The scenery was absolutely amazing today, very much scree slopes and stony glacial valley. We had views of glaciers to our left and as we summitted Col de La Leisse at 2 758 m, which will remain the highest point on the trip, in the haze of far, far away, we caught our first glimpse of Mont Blanc, rising above all the mountains around it. Although I have said that the terrain was rocky and almost barren, the plant life was amazing and tiny. It was wildflower heaven up at 2 750 m, the first time we had seen forget-me-not's on the hike, also deep purple pansies and bluebells. The astonishing thing was the volume of flowers, when you hit a patch of pansies there were hundreds, followed by swathes of forget-me-not's and so forth. As we descended and dropped away from those alpine conditions, the flowers diminished. The track itself was good and as we came over the top we started seeing hikers coming up the slopes for the day. The gondolas were running for trips to La Motte, one of the glaciers we could see and the ski lifts were operating to bring hikers and mountain bikers up to the Col, or down! Well, not the mountain bikers, they live for "down" and we watched them flying down the slope, often through the air! It is worth us remembering that we can use these lifts if we want to. In this case though we were happy to walk down. It was such a beautiful day, as we neared Le Claret, we took the opportunity to have a freezing dip in the river we walked beside, sunning ourselves on a rock afterwards. A couple of hikers passed with a donkey carrying their gear in packs on it's back.

Le Claret is a ski resort and we shopped at the Sherpa supermarket for the next few days. We went to sit under a tree in a park for a couple of hours, having chicken, tomato and cheese on the most amazing seeded bread. We watched the goings on around us, lots of holiday makers. Lots of mountain bikers! Then we carried on walking along the track towards the lake and Tignes. The lake is absolutely crazy clear, glacial fed, bright blue and you can see the trout swimming in it from the shore. Quite a few fishermen! I used the public toilet. French toilets are very interesting. Firstly, they are unisex. Then, in many villages and small places, they will have say two stalls with a basin outside. Then right next to the basin will be a urinal. So I would come out of a stall to wash my hands and some bloke is having a pee RIGHT THERE. It was just a little surprising, is all I am saying. It is even like this in restaurants. Maybe just the ones we go to! Anyway, then you get the bells and whistles fully automated public toilets, which they had at the lake at Tignes and I have used them outside large shopping areas. This one at the lake, I was waiting for the person to finish and there was a bloke behind me. When she came out, I stepped in and there was fine mist being sprayed all over the floor from small outlets. Until water trickled out the door. I turned to the bloke behind me and we just laughed. When you go in, you press a button which locks the door and shows the toilet as occupied. Anyhow, when I had finished I was looking for how to flush. It is all shiny silver metal inside, even the basin with little pictures showing you where to get water, soap and dry your hands etc. Nothing about flushing. Eventually I took a punt, pushed the button to unlock the door and open it, like magic, the toilet flushed! YIppee, " All yours!" I said to the bloke.

We continued our walk around the lake and out the other side of Tignes. It really is a place that offers all sorts; horseback riding, golf, gondola trips up to the ski fields. It's amazing, plus the lake swimming looks miles better than the Mediterranean! The path wound along the hillside until we had views of the next lake,which is actually manmade, Lac du Chevril was created when a river was dammed. Hydro-electric power is generated here. We walked through Tignes 1800 (named for it's altitude) which is a very pretty village and stopped at the Spar for a Coke. Then we walked across the dam wall and climbed up the hillside. After a while we crossed a stream and decided to camp soon after. Mike was filtering water into our water bag when "pop" the pin which the filter handle pivots around popped out and although we looked for ages in the stream, the grass and the rocks, we only found one part of it! Damn. Anyhow, Mike has bodged something up using the part he found and some rocktape and it works!!

We took a dip in the stream and then walked a little further on and found a good place to camp. It had a large flat rock to sit on and have dinner.


The first half of the day was a small trail through forest, going from village to village. Some were absolutely perfect, others in a state of disrepair. I should say settlements, rather than villages. At most there would be a group of say 10 houses. We had great views of the valley we had crossed yesterday and the glaciers on the hillside above. Each glacier ended in a massive waterfall. We could only wonder at the volume of water that continuously runs off the hillside.

We stopped at Le Monal for lunch and a rest, a very pretty place. Shortly afterwards we filled up with water and then headed off into far quieter territory, leaving the daywalkers behind. From then on we did not pass through any more settlements, the track was a narrow forest path. We ended up descending through a ski field and walked through a ski lift area, complete with restaurant and activity area. All abandoned now of course. It was strange comparing this place to Tignes or Le Claret which were hives of activity. Crossing the track we saw a very agile snake, quite little about 40 cm long, but almost under Mike's boot! This was surprising as we have not seen many lizards. We stopped to rest at a picnic table in the forest and wished there had been a stream there as it would have been a perfect campsite. Although there were no major climbs today, we still ascended 960 m and were feeling tired by 15:00. After this the track climbed some more until it rose above the treeline and we crossed a fast flowing river. We could spot a relatively flat, pretty private place to camp in the open cow pasture over the river. We went and dropped our packs there, going back to filter water and have a wash. Mike was worried about the weather, it was cloudy and seemed rain was likely. I was keen just to get back to the river, get the washing and filtering done and get back to pitch the tent. As Mike was filtering water and I was getting into my swimmers at the river, it started to drizzle, by the time we were all done it was raining and putting up the tent it started raining hard. We put on our rain gear, trying to stay as dry as possible and got all our stuff and ourselves into the tent as soon as we could. It rained pretty hard for over an hour, thunder and lightening too. We were happy to have made it to our end point by 17:00 and not get wet on the trail. We wonder if we are destined to end each day "absolutely bloody buggered" to coin a phrase a hiker used on the Bibbulmen. We ate in the tent and were quite snug. By 19:00 the sun was out again. Tomorrow, Italy!


The rain started up in the early hours and it was still raining when our alarms went off at 06:15. What to do? We lay in a little wondering, hiking in the rain in wet weather gear is fine, but getting ready in the rain, brekky etc is alway a bit crapola. Also our site had turned out to be quite slopey, which we sort of knew but there were no other options and the vestibule was majorly slopey too so no good for cooking in. Well, all we do is boil water for our AMAZING French oats and then again for our coffee/tea. But still. So we got dressed and got ourselves sorted and as so often happens when we are in luck with the weather gods, by the time we were out the tent it had stopped raining. Very cloudy though, cloud swirling down off the Col ahead of us. Brekky was good and we got going, first thing on the agenda was big climb up Col du Mont whereupon we would find ourselves descending into Italy!

Before the climb kicked up we met a pair of hikers, one American (Washington State) the other Dutch. They were also doing the Via Alpina but from the other end, Trieste, Italy and through Slovenia. It was great to compare notes. The American seemed pretty experienced and had started hiking on 15 June, so 2 and a half months ago more or less. They had just started walking together a few days ago. They recommended the green route in Switzerland but said it had been crazy busy when they did it. We hit Switzerland in about 5 days and it seems schools have gone back and holidays are over, so fingers crossed. We had expected it to be busy. We also met a family of three and they were doing a 7 day hike home to Chamonix. The climb was pretty easy to manage and took about 3 hours from our start point with breaks. The views from on top of glaciers and the roaring river were amazing. We had been chased all the way up by misty cloud and some rain so it was great to see clear skies. High above us still on the slopes were a group of chamois, farewelling us from France. We haven't seen chamois in a while. We hiked a little higher up to a ruin where we could have lunch in a sheltered spot, it was pretty windy. We chatted to two blokes, Italians. They were lovely. The descent down into Italy was steep and the path a bit patchy.We had planned on a short day, hiking up the next valley to a lake (Lago di San Grato) high up under snowy mountaintops. There looked to be many day hikers going up there as there is a road nearby they can drive up. It was 13:30 and we could see many great places to camp along the river which drains from the lake, so we just decided to call it a day, and have a relaxing afternoon in the sun. We did some housekeeping; I sewed up a hole in one of my outer pack pockets and Mike refined his repair to the water filter TWICE, once with a very large and very old nail he picked up and the second time with a stick which he wittled down a bit with his knife and is the best replacement! He calls it Sticky but it's probably going to wear another hole in my pack pocket. Never mind, best to have good water! There was a great river pool to wash in. We pitched the tent round 18:00. Beautiful day, we deserved it!


We hit the trail at 07:30, it was pretty cold we wore beanie, hat and gloves for the first time. The valley was in shade for the first part of the day and it was a pretty stiff climb up to Lago di San Grato. The lake was beautiful and no one was around. After this we climbed more along a very narrow, slopey path which hugged the hillside. It was the sort of situation where you could not look down or enjoy the view. Then followed a steep climb up to a point higher than Col du Mont but without a name just next to an old wartime bunker. The trail was patchy in places.We met a female hiker coming up from Valgrisenche. Then it was down, down, down, first on a pathway, then an old military road which went for ages, built out of stone, then across a scree slope of large rocks and boulders and finally down switchbacks you have to see to believe to lose the final 380 m to Valgrisenche. In all we climbed 770 m and descended 1 400 m. Oh man, I was shattered. Mike was okay til he sat down in the village, then he too felt exhausted. The village was very pretty, all red geranium flower boxes. We had a 10 min wait for the general store to open and were impressed by the selection. We even got a litre of milk and box of cornflakes to eat at a bench in the shade. We listened to an old lady giving her husband stick in a ground floor apartment with the door open. The village also had a charging station at the bench we sat at which was nice. We resupplied for about three days. The next grocery store is in Switzerland, about 60 km away. Tomorrow we have another 1 000 m climb and so it goes, so it is unlikely we can pack in many kilometres into a day which helps cut down the food you have to carry. There are a few villages coming up where we can get a meal which saves on our food store. After about an hour we continued along a grassy pathway adjacent to the roadside until we could access the river. After the walking paths turned off we went a little further and found a spot to camp, then had a river swim. Let's hope we rejuvenate overnight!


Our route passed through Runaz today and Mike had a look at hotels in Arvier, which connects via a short bus trip. We spoke about it as we packed up, deciding to have breakfast en route. We stopped at a convenient bench to make breakfast, deciding on soft boiled eggs on bread rolls. We have unfortunately both had coughs again, mine started after Tignes and Mike's just yesterday. Two days ago, after the Col du Mont I felt a little chilled in the evening, more so last night, as if my skin were tender. Mike has it today. So it seems that our health has once again suffered. What is it with this trip? Last year we travelled for 8 months in North America without any issues to speak of really, and that trip was as exhausting as this one at least, maybe more. Clearly we need a break and a day off. So we booked into Hotel Ruitor, Arvier for two nights.

The trail took us through some very pretty villages today, especially Planaval and Baulin, and it is great that there are information boards which provide details about the history of the places. We climbed about 400 m on a sealed road, which was a nice change from yesterday! A group of mountain bikers passed us, how e-bikes have changed that activity! Certainly mountain biking is now accessible to so many more people. The tiny villages here have charging stations for e-bikes. Sometimes locals want to talk to us and when we say we are Australian and don't speak Italian, they will ask if we speak French. They are pretty keen to communicate.

Baisepierre was a really quaint settlement and the information board said that 8 families had lived there ongoing until WW2 whereupon they vacated due to wartime communication difficulties.It now only functions during summer when the same families return to grow vegetables and keep the buildings in good condition. These small settlements seem very close knit and it is easy to see why with the properties remaining with the same families for generations. It was all downhill to Runaz, but a nice path, pretty shady and not too steep. It felt very rural. We popped out in Runaz and then walked along the road to the first bus stop. The bus was due in 10min and we were happy to have made it, although they run hourly. It is amazing, the amount of fresh produce grown everywhere, walking through Runaz we saw four types of tomatoes on the vine right at our eye level! The bus was on time and had a clever ticketing system. You tap your phone when you get on but it doesn't charge you until you tap again when you get off. It was only a 12 minute trip and we could get off right near our hotel. The hotel is fabulous, family owned and run and really well maintained and beautifully decorated. The owner and manager were so friendly and welcoming. Our room has a great view of the terraced vineyards and castle which is lit up blue at night. We are looking forward to a rest!


Our first day in Arvier we did not do much. The village is small but has it's own castle (lit up blue at night), a church of course, a chocolatier, a supermarket, a pharmacy, 2 hotels, a campsite etc. Our hotel room had such a lovely view of the valley to Aosta and the mountains. The hotel served a really good continental breakfast with lots of variety. It was a special treat that coffees were made on demand, literally any kind you wanted, by the owner/barista. I would recommend the espresso! We rested a lot, stocked up with more cold and flu meds at the pharmacy. By that evening we had decided to stay a second day. The hotel had such a lovely atmosphere and the staff and guests were a pleasure. Also, Mike's all-in-one Phillips shaver and hair trimmer looked like it needed a replacement head. Aosta is only a short bus ride from Arvier and a city with large stores. So on our second day we got the bus at 09:15 and went to the HUGE supermarket and appliance store. They did not have the replacement Mike needed, but could tell us where to go, a store which sold all sorts of electrical accessories. They had the right part which was good. We also went to an outdoor store to replace the ropes on our tent pegs, they did not have thin enough rope but I got a Sea-to-Summit Ultrasil dry bag to replace the dry bag that I store my clothes in(a vaguely non-descript part of a three pack I got at an auto-store in Tok, Alaska to strap my rain gear in to my front fork). Suffice to say it had had it's day. The bus ride to Aosta was very picturesque, terraced hillsides growing grapes, castles and the raging river. Aosta has many aspects of the Roman occupation still very much part of the city. One of the most visible being the wall built 25 BC through the town. We are really pleased that we spent time in Arvier and visited Aosta and would recommend doing so.


It did both us of a world of good spending three nights at Hotel Ruitor. We felt ready to tackle the mountains again, still a little tired but much better. We caught the 09:15 bus back to Runaz and picked up the route again. We had a major climb which took most of the day, passing through tiny villages and along terraced hillsides. The trail was very quiet. In the afternoon we met a Swiss couple who have been competing the Via Alpina by hiking for 2 weeks every year. They started in Trieste and have thus done the bulk of the walk. They stay in accommodation along the way. It is great to meet people who figure out a way to do big things which works for them. Total climb for the day was 1 179m over 11km, but the bulk of it (1 000 m) happened in the first 5.5 km. Super steep! It was also pretty warm, very sheltered with no wind. We wanted to have a rest at Cerellaz, a very pretty village and as we were leaving, we saw a shady spot on a grassy area next to the road. There was the usual wooden railing fence along the grass. The whole villlage clings steeply to the hillside and there is barely a flat surface anywhere, certainly no benches or anything like that. But we were happy to rest on the shady grass. It wasn't mowed or anything, just longish grass, pretty rural. We had just taken our packs off and leants our poles against the railing when a car came along, braked swiftly on seeing us and a bloke opened the driver's window, poked his head out and declared that it was private property and then proceeded to tell us pretty rudely to rack off. He spoke French but this kind of stuff supercedes translation. Mike said, "Well, we were only going to sit here!" What a tosser! He roared off down the road. We put our packs on and kept walking. Prior to this we had made eye contact with another village inhabitant who also did not look best pleased to see us. It sort of set the mood for villages for the rest of the day. They were not very welcoming places, we got the feeling that the inhabitants would rather we weren't there.

We toiled skywards for a few hours. Vens was the last village we came to and as we approached we observed an animal hunting something in a shorn hayfield. It was so weird, the way it pounced upon it's prey. It looked sort of doglike, but probably more catlike. Common sense was that it was a fox, but the tail was slender and not furry. Eventually it clocked us and took off into the undergrowth. We would be interested in knowing what it was! After the final climb out of Vens, it all flattened off and the path was well-trodden and well-built. It was amazing to see our height gain so clearly! We walked for a few km's and stopped when we found a really nice place to camp right on the river. We were both tired, but is had been a rewarding day.


We had a 700m climb up the Col Citrin. It was quite an enjoyable climb as in the early stages we still had that good wide track from yesterday and we were entertained by herds of cows all morning. The herds are dairy cows and some quite young. They would sometimes engage in head butting contests and bump each other out the way. You have to watch out for cows as they can move fast and probably don't have great eye sight so might bump you out the way too! They do notice you as you walk passed and one cow liked the salty smell of us, trying to get a lick of Mike as he passed and then being a bit more confident with me, nudging her nose into my elbow and giving my salty shirt a few rough licks. I managed to escape her attentions when her friend looked like joining in. "Hiker found licked to death by cows on Via Alpina route," read the news headline. The track got steeper and steeper as we reached the top. We sat on top for a while, having a snack and resting. A couple of hikers came passed and another couple who were walking the Via Alpina too having started in Trieste end of June. They were Swiss, however spend three months a year in Australia, When I asked where they were from she said Switzerland and part Australia, he might have been the part, but I wasn't sure. Anyway, she had hiked the Bibbulmen 4 times, on one occassion she had hiked Perth-Albany and then back. They were quick hikers and tenting too, they looked ultralight. They were interesting to talk to and we spent more time on the col than we had planned.

The downhill was not as steep as the up and Saint- Leonard and Saint-Rhemy were the villages of the day, very picturesque. They are on one of the Pilgrim walking trail routes and there was a sign saying 1005 km to Rome! Also a book for pilgrims to sign in. After Saint-Rhemy we started the uphill walk towards the Colle Di Gran San Bernardo. The track was once again wide and good for walking. The river ran along the bottom of the valley to our left and the road which leads to Switzerland to our right. When the path climbed above the road we found a good flat spot for the tent and also several streams crossing the path to filter from. There was a campervan parking area on the river proper below us which the hikers we met earlier had camped at and recommended, but that is too close for comfort for us when it comes to campervanners! We relaxed on the path, had some tea and food to eat and after a shower pitched the tent. The road is popular with motorbikes and cyclists.