Every couple of years, Barbara and I go on Grand Adventures (aka big trips where we are quite active.) This year, we are hiking the 100 miles around Mt. Blanc, the largest mountain in Europe. This hike is commonly referred to as Tour Mont Blanc, or TMB.
What makes hiking/backpacking in Europe extra scrumptious is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO CAMP!
Camping is an option, but you can also stay in refugios/gites/hotels in the mountains. You get a shower, a bed, dinner and breakfast for about $50./person
One of my favorite parts of hiking this way is that part way through the day, you can stop at a refugio for a hot drink or a piece of cake. When we hiked for 5 days in the Dolomites (the Italian side of the Alps), I sampled many varieties of apple strudel. In France, I understand it will be chocolate cake.
But I digress.
On our Dolomites trip, we took a self-guided trip through a company I recommend- Distant Journeys (https://www.distantjourneys.com). They made all the arrangements for transfers, hotels, rifugios, etc.
This time, because TMB has a lot of infrastructure, and is a well-travelled, specific route, we made the arrangements ourselves. A book that helps a lot with this is: Trekking the Tour of Mont Blanc by Kev Reynolds. We are taking 13 days to make the trip: 12 days of hiking and one rest day, in the Italian town of Courmayeur. Where there is a spa with natural springs.
When Distant Journeys planned our hike, they had connections that enabled us to stay in the nicer refugios, and we almost always had private rooms.
This time, we will spend some nights in dormitory rooms with up to fifteen other people.
Truth: Snoring, both my own and others' is the part of this trip about which I feel most anxious. I am taking lots of earplugs to pass around. (Ambassador of Good Sleep.)
I am excited about meeting people from all over who are also hiking all or part of TMB. Perhaps the universal issue of snoring is an untapped avenue into world peace.
Besides seeing all the stunning natural beauty on trips like this, (and being fed) I also like that it offers a lot of solitude/coupletude blended with the conviviality at the rifugios. It is a good balance for the introvert + extrovert couple that we are.
If you want to see the kind of scenery through which we'll be hiking, I recommend going to YouTube and watching any of the TMB videos.
Will the hiking be hard? Yes, and I'm sure there will be at least one day when I can barely make it. But hiking in Washington, where extreme steepness is common, is great preparation!
When we are done with TMB, we will spend ten days exploring the Provence region. First, we will take a train to Cassis, on the Mediterranean. Our plans there are loose. I hope to swim, explore calanques I don't quite understand what they are yet; fjord-like, and perhaps visit other towns.
After five days there, we go to Marseille to rent a car and then drive to the Luberon region, which is famous for it's lavender. Home base will be the town of Rousillon.
Our last two days will be in the French town of Annecy, which we discovered almost by accident.
Towns, Mountains, Wandering, Water. And food I don't have to prepare. Yes.
