In Which "It's All Downhill From Here" Isn't As Easy At It Sounds

So, Friday afternoon, Carol and Julia headed into the line for the cable car trip back down to Chamonix.  Meanwhile, Torie, Maddy, and I headed out to the trail down the mountain, to hike the 4,207 feet from the 7,602 foot level to Chamonix at 3,395.

The trail at the top was great -- lots of switch backs, with rocks to scramble down, and views for miles (see pictures below).  It was nice and cool in the mountain air, and after about ten minutes we came to a mountain café where we enjoyed huge pieces of homemade fruit tarts -- blueberry for Maddy and I, and lemon for Torie.

Thus fortified, we headed down.  At times we could hear the rushing of a river in the distance, and we also had great views of the sprawling Glacier des Bossons, which has the greatest reach down of any of the Alpine glaciers. 

There were many switchbacks, and the trail did not seem that steep, although it did get steeper.  We saw lots of wildflowers and few hikers -- about eleven who were coming up, and six who were going down.  In two and a half hours, that's not a lot of hikers. 

The terrain went from an open rock field to meadows with a rich variety of plant life, and eventually into an Alpine forest with occasional views down into Chamonix and throughout the valley.

It's been more than 48 hours since completing the hike, and yet my thighs are still burning with every step.  While going down the mountain is far easier than going up it, the work your thighs do in keeping your upper body in check leads to quite the burn for those of us who haven't hiked in a while.  It was definitely worth -- and I am so glad I bought hiking poles to use, because it made it a much quicker and steadier descent.

We had one scare when Torie trip over a tree root when we were getting close to the bottom, but she did not twist an ankle, she only bruised herself and her pride.

By the last half hour, we were definitely ready for the hike to end, but it only did so once we reached the parking lot.  All in all, the views and euphoria of the first 90 minutes made the last hour worth it.

That night, we were too tired to go out to dinner -- even across the street to the resort restaurant -- so Carol made a great dinner of marinated mystery meat (the butcher claims it was filet mignon, but it looked like no filet we'd ever seen), green beans, bread, and tomatoes.  It was a fabulous (and affordable) last meal for the trip. 

Aurore, our wonderful concierge at the resort, arranged for breakfast to be sent over Friday night, since they don't serve breakfast earlier than 7:30 and we were hitting the road to the airport by 6:30.  It was very nice of them to do, and another nice gesture by the French to put a cap on the trip.