Trient 7/1/2024

I had to take a bus to Montroc to start today's hike, but it wasn't this short bus.  I just thought it was so cute.

After wandering around for a while, I finally found the trailhead. This is my first day on the Haute Route, which is the hardest of the two hikes. It was good that I had the Engadine to warm up.

I climbed up and up and then up some more.  It was very steep.  Buns of Steel.  Actually, it was more of a thigh-buster.  There were no spots to give your legs a rest.  It was about three and a half hours of what seemed straight up.

I literally had my head in the clouds all day.  Unfortunately, I never got great photos of the vistas because this was about the most that the mountains peeped out. To get an idea of the magnitude, if you look closely at the left of the above photo, those two ants are people.

Despite the limited visibility, it was breathtaking.

OMG  Please be a hut.

God is good, but it wasn't the one at the top so I knew I had some more up to go. Little did I know it would be another hour up to the pass.  Oh, mon dieux. 

This is the house cutie - a Border Collie - my dream dog.

Lunch was fabulous. I don't recall the French name, but it was bread covered with raclette and goat cheese. It also had Cornichons, sliced tomatoes, and a few fresh mushrooms. It came bubbling hot and was this side of heaven. The salad with a somewhat tart vinaigrette was the perfect accompaniment. It was rich, and I couldn't even finish half of it. It's a good thing I carry a plastic container in my pack. I have the rest of it for tomorrow.

This is a different Border Collie. Her name is Po.  Look at the little backpack.  The two dogs made friends and raced around the restaurant.

I forgot to take a photo of the hut at the Col de Balme, but this is the door. One and done - my first pass on the Haute Route

I flew down the mountain. The sign said 3 hours, and I made it in 2 as it was beginning to rain. This toilet was sort of in the middle of nowhere.  I got a bit of a chuckle because at the top of it are the words, "piss and love." Not my words.

I liked this little food truck.  It made m smile.

A Swiss tent city

Coming into Trient was this beautiful chuch.

My hotel is more like a hut experience, with a shared bathroom and a communal dinner. It is not my favorite, but it is worth it to do the high sections of the Haute Route.

For dinner, we had this excellent squash soup, unusually good for hut food. Our main course was penne pasta with bolognese sauce. I think there is a law that all huts must serve pasta with meat sauce. It was good but not worth photographing. For dessert, we had vanilla cake with a dollop of whipped chocolate cream. It was also good.

So it is a good night.  At least, I have my own room.