A misty day preparing for TMB

We had intended to a go for a walk today but it started raining at about 5 o’clock in the morning and was still drizzly at 8 o’clock. We couldn’t see the lake or the mountains, which were just metres from the campervan!

We had a cup of tea in bed and took our time getting ready, just in case the weather improved and we could have a short walk. However, although the rain stopped, the cloud was still very low. I did get some pleasing pictures when the sun managed to break through the cloud though.

We decided to move on and book into a campsite about 45 minutes away, which is near to Orsieres, where we meet the others tomorrow and leave Bertie behind for 11 days while we do Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB).

The drive down the Swiss side of the Grand St Bernard Pass was very pretty, and John was able to pull over at a couple of spots so I could take photos.

As we got to Camping du Grand St Bernard in Bourg St Pierre, the weather had deteriorated again and the cloud was completely down. We couldn’t see anything at all! We booked into the campsite and just grabbed any plot because it was impossible to see which might be the nicest!

Afterwards, we drove through Orsières, then up a long series of hairpin bends to Champex Lac, where we’ll start TMB on Monday. It’s getting very exciting now, especially as we’ve been exchanging texts with the others, and know they’ll be with us tomorrow afternoon.

Champex Lac wasn’t as misty as Bourg St Pierre, although it wouldn’t have been worth doing a walk because, with any ascent, we’d have been in the cloud and rather damp. We had lunch in the town looking over the lake, watching the fishermen catching lots of fish, and people sailing model boats. We also saw lots of hikers with large backpacks who we assume were doing TMB. After lunch we popped to tourist information to check bus times, which we’ll need at the start and end of the trek. Then, after buying a loaf of bread (you have no idea how difficult it was to find a boulangerie on our route through Italy and Switzerland!), we set off back to the campsite.

It’s a bit brighter now, although we still can’t see the mountains, and this is the coldest evening we’ve experienced this trip. We’ve now checked our kit and packed it into our large rucksacks, and we’re pretty much ready to go. We just need to make sure Bertie is clean and tidy before we leave him in the hotel car park.

John then made steak and fried onion baguettes for tea and we’re now relaxing with a glass of wine, looking forward to meeting the others in Orsières tomorrow.