Day 2 - Trient – Fenetre d’ Arpette – Champex - Le Chable

When I first entered Trient there was no one there, however as the day grew long people started to limp in from crossing the Fenetre – D’arpete. The pass I would be climbing tomorrow. The painful strides and wobbly movements reminded me of the day after amble of first time marathoners. It wasn’t pretty. One woman declared, “I am caput!” and then dropped into her bed. Went to bed early as I had an early start.

When I awoke, the entire room was snoozing. I was lucky to wake at the right time as I had no alarm. I had a quick breakfast and headed out the door by 6:45. Luckily, I had no problem finding the trail. It was the clearest description yet. I walked in almost total solitude. No one got out the door before me and I was making fast progress with the less weighty pack. At one point, a day hiker named Stephen joined me for part of the trail. We split as I headed up to the Fenetre and he journeyed downwards. If I was lucky, I would hit the pass as the light hit the glacier. I had to climb 1400m (4600 ft). I was fortunate to climb while shaded by the mountain and with a moisture wicking breeze keeping me dry.

As I rose, the glacier was being lit more and more by the sun. I hoped to see the extravagant view of the ice falls close up that was shown in the guide. However, as I rose up the path, the glacier appeared to pull further and further away from me. It turns out the “classic” shot is no more. With global warming the glacier is retreating rapidly. So rapidly that it no longer looks even close to how it did in the photograph.

As I continued, one guy came cruising down the mountain. A runner, training for something, he flew passed me. When he did, he patted me on the back, I assume a compliment to my progress up. I continued in what became a boulder field, amazed at the dexterity of the runner to have been able to traverse it so gracefully.  Luckily it was marked really well and I made steady progress to the pass. When I reached it, I was the only one there, which was really nice. I plopped down for a bit for a break and took in the view. While the glacier behind me was nice, I felt the oncoming valley was more majestic. It had great contrast between the scree, rising peaks, and valley floor.

After 15 minutes or so the first of the hikers from the other valley reached the top, so I left to let him enjoy the fruit of his labors alone. While the up saw so pleasant, the initial down was anything but. The scree was a death trap. It was loose and really steep. The book warned about this, but I was surprised at the unstableness and lack of footing. This continued for the first 100 m (330 ft) of the decent. While the next 150 meters were slightly better, it was also really difficult to get ones footing. This made it really hard to enjoy the ever improving view of the valley that was opening in front of me.

The wildflowers coming down were phenomenal in their individual splendor, their variety, and their numbers. When one looked back, one was treated to huge stone guardians on either side of the pass I crossed. As I approached Champex to meet Jennifer, the once perfectly marked trail got confusing. I prayed I wasn’t on the wrong trail as I saw another trail lower with lots of people walking on it. I had faith and continued and lucked out that the two trails met at the foot of the town.

I walked through town to find her hotel. As luck would have it, it was the first one. I saw her bag in the lobby. Success, but then I found a note, “Went to lunch.” Doh, where’s the faith? I wandered thru town, peering into one outdoor restaurant after another, until my sweetie saw me and came running with a big grin on her face. We ate a very over priced horrific pizza (really 20 miles from Italy you would think they could do better) and then headed out for my second double in two days.

The trail was supposed to take us thru “Working Switerland.” While the book tried to make it sound appealing the only people what would enjoy it would be an urban planner or a person in need of an easy day. With the added mileage I had already walked and now the full weight of my pack back on my back, I saw little appeal in the hike. We crossed lots of roads and kept 2nd guessing ourselves as to where the path was. The peak of our dismay was when we came about a dirt bike track. Motorcycles roaring, dirt kicking into the air, this was our introduction to the Le Chable, the town we were to spend the night.

We hobbled to our hotel and then went to a pub for dinner. They had Guiness on tap, so I ordered one expecting to soon forget the day’s woes. The waitress came by and sadly announced the tap was having trouble. I was totally dejected, I do so love my Guiness. She brought another beer, which was ok. Then a few minutes later she came by with a Guiness and stated that she saw how disappointed I was and milked it to get one our for me. Love the waitress! She even let us borrow her computer to check on the Olympic Trials results. Sadly, they were not posted yet. This of course is what happens when the created of www.racewalk.com doesn’t go to the trails, but goes hiking instead.

The story continues..