In order to cover everything about our 16 day holiday to The Alps, I'll be blogging separately about how we planned TMB and where we stayed during our hike as well as our favourites stops along the way. In order to cover the hiking TMB part of our holiday I've decided to split this into days one - four and then days five to ten. We had a rest day during our hike, and as there's so much to say, day four feels like a good point to pause. 

But before I begin anything I have just say how incredible this adventure was. The views were mesmerising and the walk was relatively peaceful for one of the most popular European circular routes. I have to be honest and say it was also the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. That might sound dramatic to some. Others may not have found it even an ounce of a challenge but it's all relative to your previous experience. Though, we did actually meet people along the way who had competed in marathons and triathlons, very active people for the most part who had previously done multi-day hikes and they also said it was incredibly tough. For me, the challenges I faced during this hike also made it that much more rewarding when we finished. 

I can't possibly share every bit of this hike, it was 45 hours+ of walking over a 10 day period but I'll try my best to cover off the main points of each day. If this post does leave you wanting more, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email  - missisgoode@gmail.com. 

Let's get down to business...(I hope you're ready for LOTS of photos!). 

Days One to Four

Hike Day One

Start point: Rockypop Hotel, Les Houches, France

End point: Camping le Pontet, Les Contamines-Montjoie, France 

Milage: 13.1 miles

Incline: 5,175ft

Decline: 4,525ft

Time: 5h 37 minutes

We started a little later than planned due to a camelback incident (it leaked everywhere), but eventually got on the road and walked through the centre of Les Houches. We'd chosen the high route and spent the first 2-3 hours of our day only going up. We started on the road but were soon into woodland and passed not a single hiker, only some builders near a chalet in progress. It was hot, but we were shaded by the trees and kept cool by the canopy. The route was tough in some places, having to scramble up shale alongside sheer drops, but we eventually made it above the tree line into a meadow beside the ski lift where the heat hit us hard and made the walk so much more challenging. 

The sun rising behind the mountains as we walked through Les Houches

A few of the mountains through the trees

Now more out in the open we began to pass fellow hikers, several of whom had caught the train to this point, which we now passed by in order to remain on the high route of this stage. Here, we had an incredible view of the a glacier. As we continued on this path the sheer drop below us became much more noticeable and we felt very exposed, fortunately there were some ropes bolted into the wall so we could hold on for dear life...

The main spectacle of the high route on day one is the bridge. There was only a few people about but everyone was eager to capture this moment and stay for as long as possible. 

The Himalayan-style bridge, 1,650m high, has reportedly been swept away on a few occasions

The view from the other side of the bridge

The walk to the bridge had been fairly flat with a little incline and decline here and there (or Inca flat, as it is known in Peru), but after crossing we were back to going up and the heat was slowing me down significantly. We decided to make a pit-stop for lunch - short and sweet due to there being no shade in this area - and spent our time enjoying the bells that rang from the movement of the cows and goats in the vicinity. It took a while before we could actually see them, but we could hear them very well. 

Then came our first sight of the snow.

It was a magnificent sight to see but blinding too. We trudged across, digging our poles in hard as whilst it was very thick it was also icy and difficult to walk on in some patches. We still had more incline to go so we made a quick pitstop for a breather. Here we spotted a marmot sun-bathing on a rock - it was quite far away but you could tell it was very cute and we were chuffed to have spotted one on our first day! 

We continued up and made it to the highest point of the day, Col de Tricot (2,120m), with an incredible view. 

Then came the decline. It went on for absolutely ever and again, the lack of shade made it a bit tougher. However, all you had to do was look up and take that view in to feel good. 

We came to Refuge de Miage which we didn't stop at but it looked like a very sweet place. We passed it by and went to the public loos before pushing on. To my horror, there was more incline. Michael was the map reader of the trip and I was occasionally left in the dark about where we had to go next...this was one of those occasions. Admittedly, I did struggle along this last incline more than a fair bit of the route. I started to doubt myself when on day one I was already finding it a challenge but I powered through. At the top we enjoyed a flat path for a short while before decline found us again, but those sensational views spurred me on. The route down was a wide track through woodland, it was pretty and very peaceful. 

Milage: 7.17m

Incline: 4,325ft

Decline: 75ft 

Time: 3h 18 mins

Having stayed further out of Les Contamines than the book notes we were starting a little ahead for day two. We headed out of our refuge and went along the road then up a gravel track for a short while before hitting a steep incline of huge flat boulders and concrete. There was nothing spectacular to speak of on this part of the route as we were just within the tree line. However, we were intrigued by a sign that said 'Pont Naturelle' and went to investigate. As we followed the sign there were some photographs attached to the railing to show you what you were going down to and they certainly enticed us further. The walk down was natures steps - the roots of trees that had formed almost perfectly into stairs, albeit slightly chaotic and uneven ones. We came down to beautiful light blue water and water carved rocks that looked like something out of a film, it was nature at it's most beautiful. We spent time here just taking in the view and when we headed back up we found loads of people had walked past without even an ounce of curiosity - I'm glad we weren't one of them!

We carried on up where we came to an incredibly deep ravine which Michael was too terrified to go to the edge of - which was fair enough. There was a nice viewing point to look down into it. It was so very deep and we were walking right on top of it! We continued our stride up hill, quite leisurely, and found ourselves on a flat rocky track with fields of bell-cladded cows either side of us. 

Before long we were going back up again, stopping off briefly by a public toilet, before getting back on the route which felt like we were climbing into the clouds. We pulled up on some rocks for some lunch and there were a lot more people passing us by than there had been on day one. We continued on up surrounded by the most incredible 360 view of the mountain range, rolling green hills and snowy peaks. Pure beauty. 

We walked alongside a glacier river, where one brave man was taking a dip, before coming to our second patch of snow. This was much icier than the snow on day one so we stepped very carefully, it was also much steeper so I really dug my poles in for fear of sliding all the way back down! Michael began chatting to an American woman who had a super quick pace - I left them to chat and trudge at their own speed whilst my little legs toddled along. Post-snow the terrain was steep and rocky, with some loose scree and multiple thin paths with lots of people going in all directions. 

We made it to the top, but before we even took the views in we heard someone shout Michael's name. I was baffled as we were obviously on top of a mountain in The Alps - who would recognise us up here?! It happened to be the two lovely lads we had met back at Birmingham airport, Joe and Stu. They were hiking the TMB in 9 days, without a rest day, so we expected them to be absolutely miles ahead of us but we found out they'd had a lie in on this day and it was lovely that our paths happened to cross. I flopped down next to them and we spent around half an hour catching up about our first days before taking in the view and heading off as a group. The views continued to be beautiful. We had an up and down path before us, crossing smaller patches of snow, climbing over rocks and following slightly unclear routes but it didn't take long at all for our refuge to come into view. We leisurely strolled down to Croix du Bonhomme where we'd be spending the night and said our goodbye's to Joe and Stu who had a few more miles to go before reaching their camping spot.

The location was pretty awesome. 

Milage:12.1m 

Incline: 3,175ft

Decline: 4,775ft

Time: 5h 15 minutes

We'd opted once more to take the high route of the day, which was the recommended one as the low route followed mainly roads and made for good, but not spectacular, views. I'll be honest and say my morale was a little low. My toes had been hurting the day before and I won't go into the details, but something wasn't quite right with my big toe nail so this affected my mood and my speed whilst walking. 

We left our refuge and followed the same path we had come down the night before then took the route on the right across our largest patch of snow yet. This was very icy like the patch from the previous day but much steeper. I dug my poles in as far as they'd go but wasn't feeling particularly stable so opted for skirting round the edge of the snow on the rocks, where possible. Once we were over this patch we came to the bottom of a very small glacier which look like a huge wave frozen in time. It was amazing to see up close. 

We climbed around this, over the rocks and came to a stop, stumped at where we were supposed to go next. Many people were heading in the opposite direction to the route we had planned. A Dutch couple who sensed our confusion stopped to compare routes. They told us the route where many people were headed was an even higher route for this stage, considered one of the most dangerous. We later learned that many people who took this route did so with crampons (these are basically an attachment to your boots with spikes in that allow you to walk on ice and snow with considerably more stability). 

We decided against that route and, quite blindly when I look back on it, followed the route that we had mapped out on Komoot (the route planning app we used). It told us to cross the small glacier then scramble up a very unstable looking edge but when we reached the top, there was no where to go. We sat down to study our route once more and to our horror found several people had followed us, two being the Dutch couple who when we spoke to them seemed very confident of where they needed to go. A French couple reached us first and we tried to communicate to them that we'd clearly taken the wrong path and they needed to go back down. They were more adamant than we had been that this was the right path, and even after we went down, they spent nearly 40 minutes up there trying to find the route. We headed back towards the small glacier that we had only just crossed and from this angle, could clearly see the route we were supposed to go down. With this being the high route, we had all convinced ourselves that we must have needed to incline more, but we didn't. 

This descent was very challenging. It was incredibly steep and the pain from my toe was adding to that challenge. The path was clear in parts but disappeared in others, so you were trampling over scree, through small rivers and over rocks. The view was still beautiful though. As we headed down the French couple had finally called it quits on the high pass we had all invented and in a very unconventional manner, the man headed down the mountain pass using the snow. It was incredibly dangerous but clearly a means of making up time. He skied down a very steep patch of snow from the top of the mountain to the bottom, falling only once. He didn't have ski's and used just his feet and his walking poles for balance. His partner on the other hand opted for the path, but in order to keep up with him she was frantically running down. I'm not sure who was in more danger of getting hurt but they definitely made up time as we didn't see them again! 

We came to a stop near a beautiful waterfall, where an absolute mad man took all his clothes off and dived in. This water was freezing and he barely flinched or winced at the cold whilst floating there in just his underpants. We decided to walk down a bit further away from the small group that had gathered by the waterfall so we could have a snack in peace. By this point we had only covered 2 miles and it had taken us 2 hours, so we really wanted to get a move on and make up some time. I tried my hardest to pick up the pace and at one point lost my footing, slipping on a rock and landing on my arse with a thud! Fortunately, my bag took the majority of the impact so I was back on my feet in seconds and only had a few bruises. Reaching the flat ground we found ourselves in a meadow surrounded by wild flowers and the mountains. 

We reentered civilisations, coming to a public toilet a short walk away from a cheese factory, before climbing uphill, which I was quite happy to do after hours of decline! We made a short pitstop at a refuge called Les Mottets, a pretty place, where we refilled our water. The climb up was steep and felt never ending once again, but the challenge was to be expected. I dragged my heels far behind Michael but pushed on nonetheless. The air started to cool as we closed in on the peak that marked the boarder between France and Italy, at 2,600m high. 

It was freezing cold at the top, so much so I couldn't bare to stand up there for very long to take the view in. We did so anyway, briefly, and then headed back on our final descent of the day. Michael was bouncing with energy so was way ahead of me whilst I was experiencing pains in my knees, which had never hurt before, and my heel, where a blister had formed. I felt my mood begin to slip but every time I felt this way, I just took a breath, looked around me and reminded myself how amazing it was to be there. 

We came to Rifugio Elisabetta, the end point for this stage in the TMB book, which meant our refuge was only an hour or so away. We stayed on flat ground for a short while before taking a short cut that avoided a long winding road, but also happened to be very steep. It didn't last long though and we were back on the flat within 20 minutes or so. The road we now followed ran alongside Lac Combal and was a dusty stoney road. Here, the views weren't as uplifting as they had been previously but we were very close to our resting spot. We came to the bridge over Lac Combal and crossed over, heading to the left to reach our refuge. 

This was our favourite refuge on the route. Despite the location being quite normal compared to the beauty of others, the building itself was stunning, warm and welcoming. 

Hike Day Four 

Milage: ~10 miles

Incline: ~1,525ft

Decline: ~2,775ft

Time: Approx 6+ hours 

Full of energy, Michael decided to pop off on a little side hike that I thought it best I didn't join on. I was a little in the wars and wanted to conserve my energy for the hike and that alone, which was a bit of a shame. He went off to explore the lakes that were set back and above from our refuge, which he recommend as worth a visit.

After he returned, we spent a short time admiring a marmot that was hiding amongst the rocks before heading on our way. We had quite a climb for the beginning of the day and despite my poorly toes and achy knees, I was feeling up for it. I kept up a fast pace as we climbed up into the mountains once more, and enjoyed some incredible views. There were low thick clouds hiding Mont Blanc from view but the other mountains were still visible and stunning. 

We reached the peak of this part much quicker than we expected, and I had set the pace the whole way, steaming far ahead of Michael. We stopped just after the peak once more to admire a marmot, this one was scurrying across the snow and the longer we looked the more marmot's we spotted. There was a family of them perched on the hillside, babies and all, and they all looked very cute. 

This area turned out to be a marmot's paradise as we spotted them everywhere. On this day alone I think we ended up seeing around 16 marmots, whilst some people saw next to none during their whole hike. Michael and I were well known whilst we were in Peru for having keen eyes for the wildlife, so perhaps that was why we saw so many. We stopped for an early snack on the edge of the mountain, with a beautiful view ahead of us, before carrying on at a leisurely pace, enjoying the day. We reached the steep descent which is where, as I had expected, our pace slowed significantly. We passed the most beautiful mountain slopes that were clearly very popular during the winter for skiing. The grass was covered in wild flowers and made for such a bright and colourful view, made more picturesque with the mountains in the background. 

Whilst continuing to enjoy the somewhat leisurely pace, Michael checked his map and it quickly dawned on him we had further to go then he had realised. He was clearly in the mood to press on as rain was due around 3pm, but I couldn't go much quicker than I already was. We passed by a huge lake where many people were enjoying their lunch, and then got caught in a large group of hikers who were heading in our direction. Not only were there lots of hikers in the area now but there also appeared to be a race underway. This part of the trail was wide enough to allow people to pass whilst continuing to walk, so I was content enough letting both hikers and runners alike to shoot on pass snail-paced me. 

After passing by a refuge and the ever so tempting ski lift, we followed a stoney track for a fair way down, during which, the rain came almost on queue, so we whacked on our ponchos and hit the road. The majority of the hikers that had shortly passed us by pulled over at the refuge for a pitstop, but we had pressed on. From here we could see the town of Courmayeur clearly, and it was so close but so far. We turned off the stone track into the woods that ran directly below the cable car, twisting and turning along a steep declining path that was only just wide enough to fit one walker. This was the first and only point of our entire walk that I was actually in agony. As I pushed on down I stopped and said to Michael, 'I don't know if I can carry on', and I didn't just mean at this very moment in time, but in that moment I seriously doubted whether I could manage the entire walk. My knee was in an incredible amount of pain and my toe was in agony too. Combine the pain of them both, alongside the descent that put intense pressure on them, and you can imagine why I was struggling. To add to the stress I was feeling, the route for the race was directly where we were walking. Had we known, we probably would have tried to avoid it. It became quite stressful having to look out for runners every few seconds. If you didn't move out their way they would undoubtedly just bowl you over. These lads and lasses were running at a fast pace downhill and probably hadn't stopped or slowed down since they started, but looking back for them as often as possible slowed us down considerably. 

I saw Michael's mood beginning to drop and picked myself back up. My pain was bad but the damage wasn't going to be lasting and the next day was our rest day, I knew I'd be fine and within minutes of telling myself to be positive, I actually did feel it. Michael estimated we had another hour or more to go, but I could see Courmayeur and I was certain we'd reach it sooner. I'd set us the goal of reaching it by 4:30pm. Determined, we pressed on. The rain stopped which lifted our moods instantly, but the day had started so leisurely and positive that it was frustrating that it had begun to drag. We had no view now we were well within the woods except a peek of the town below us every once in a while. 

Finally, the end of the tree line came into sight and it was only 4pm. Walking through Courmayeur wasn't all that pleasurable. Walking on tarmac is probably the worst with hiking boots on, so I was even more keen to reach our B&B. Some of the streets we passed through were quite charming, small cobbled streets with nooks and crannies here and there but the majority of this part of our walk was spent near the main road. We only had 5 minutes left to walk but it was the longest tarmac filled minutes of my life. 

We crossed over a roaring river, strolled up a hill and ahead of us was our quaint little B&B. 4:25pm, on the dot. 

And at that point, can you imagine how happy I was to see this bed?!

There ended our fourth day of walking, though we did walk some more that day in order to find dinner, and that was more of a struggle than I expected!

Many people decide not to have a rest day on the TMB but it honestly did me the world of good. I'm not one for luxury holidays, as you'll know from my previous adventures, but this really felt like luxury to me after a few days in dorm rooms with at least one snorer every single night!

Whilst I loved staying in L'Abri des Amis for our short stay, I was keen to get on the road again, which was actually to my own surprise considering my battered toes and knees. I felt revitalised after two nights here and knew the most challenging days were yet to come.

Don't forget to come back for the next instalment, and if you want to know more in the mean time just drop me a comment below!

MissIsGoode