Today, I hiked out of Chamonix early, before the warm, reddish orange hues of the sunrise had touched the peaks around me.
I had a good breakfast at the hostel and set out on the GR5 for the first time in nearly a week.
The trail meandered beside the Arve river for the first 8km, and then curved through the village Les Houches, and finally up 600m through a ski area to the Col de Voza. I stopped halfway up to make a cup of coffee with an actual Payday bar! My favorite! I havent been able to find them since landing in Europe, but my dad mailed me a package with some American food. Mostly Mountain Houses, Paydays, and Skittles. Only the best!
The trail wound down from the Col Voza into the valley of the Contamines, and there was another pleasant walk for about 10km along the riverside up this valley. At one point, I found an apple tree right next to the trail! I smacked a few delishush fruits out of the higher reaches with ny trekking poles. That was a real treat to find, right when I really needed some sugar and calories!
I will say I wasn’t impressed with the amount of road walking today, and it really took a toll on my knees and the bottoms of my feet.
I found a nice park next to a cool lake with an island in the middle, and had a nice break around 2pm.
Then, a long climb up to just below the Col de Bonhomme, where I found a suitable place to pitch camp.
The trail was really crowded all day today! I guess because it’s a weekend in a touristy area and the GR5 shares a trail with the Tour du Mont Blanc, which everybody hikes if they’re in this area. It just got exhausting passing people like every 60 seconds. The “Bonjours” felt very forced, and to walk by without saying anything felt weird. Oh well. I’ll be in more remote lands soon enough. I knew this first day out of Chamonix would certainly be busy.