Short 3km hike to the village of Sixt Fer du Cheval, named after the horseshoe like feature of the riverbend in town. Surrounded by impressive sheer mountains on all sides.
Grab a few comforts at the supermarket and hang out. I booked a bed at an Auberge in town, but have to wait til 5 to check in.
In no hurry to do these last 20km to the marvelous Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. It’s Friday today, and everything there was booked this weekend, so I reserved three nights at a hiker hostal, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights.
I’m glad to beat the mad rush of the weekend in probably the most touristed center of all the Alps. Chamonix is world famous for its mountain views, especially of the highest mountain in all Europe, Mont Blanc.
Getting in on a Sunday, I’ll be able to lounge around and wave goodbye to the stream of tourists flooding out of the valley to make it home for their Monday commutes, haha.
And further, I get to take some time to rest and take it easy. I am still recovering from the nasty stomache flu that knocked me on my ass for three days, and took much of the joy out of the following three days of hiking.
And I get to wait out this dreary rainy foggy weather of the last couple days, to see these famous Sixt Fer du Cheval views in all their glory. As my hiker friend Croc Rocket told me before starting the CDT, one of the best things you can do on trail is to be flexible, and this is a perfect example!
The owner of the auberge is super nice, and was very fun to talk to. Being that I was the only person staying at this inn tonight, it was fun to ask him questions and get his story as to why he decided to buy a travelers inn and make this his lifestyle in his retirement years.
“It’s very important to be around and have interactions with people. And here, no matter whether you are Swiss, French, German, American, you can have a bed and a full day of meals, and that is the same for all people, it is a necessity of all people, regardless of nationality.”
I paraphrase, but that was what I remember from the conversation.