Day 102 – 105
Day 102 – 105

Day 102 – 105

Km 3421 to km 3558, Europaweg (Switzerland) to Courmayeur (Italy).

Day 102

03/08/2022 – 14km

Taking a day off in Zermatt. The campsite here is great, very informal, and cheap for Switzerland.

Zermatt is a funny place. There are no regular vehicles here, only these boxy little electric vans.

For dinner I indulged in more sports nutrition (Macdonald’s).

Day 103

04/08/2022 – 43km

Today took me to the highest point of the trail I believe, Theodul pass at 3320m. It involved a long walk up the Theodul glacier, but even in summer there is a groomed trail (which I saw some people cycling down) so it was doable in my worn out running shoes.

I’ve now left Switzerland and am back in Italy for a few days.

The going was pretty easy for the rest of the day, and I was surprised to see how much distance I’d covered.

I’m staying at a very nice free hut tonight. I got chatting to the two other groups here (one of old Belgian school friends, another of Italian students). They were all so friendly and it was really great to spend the evening talking to people.

Day 104

05/08/2022 – 38km

I hit a roadblock today. I was walking along the trail when I suddenly came to a sheer channel about six or seven metres deep cutting across the path. The walls were soft mud and rocks. It seemed as if a lot of water must have caused this recently.

I spent maybe half an hour looking for a way to safely descend into this ravine, but it was all way too dangerous. I decided to road walk around.

Back at the previous village I stopped for lunch (porcini ravioli for €6.5!) and they informed me that indeed, there had been a really bad flood just last night. On the way out of town I could see the debris blocking the main (only?) road in the valley.

This morning I also glimpsed Mont Blanc in the distance. I’ll be below it tomorrow.

Day 105

06/08/2022 – 43km

It was easy hiking today, and I’d done my distance by 4:30.

In the afternoon I joined the Tour Du Mont Blanc, and man is it busy. The busiest I’ve seen a trail yet. Good thing I’ll be off it by the end of tomorrow.

When I arrived at my destination of Courmayeur, I learned that the campsite I was hoping to get a bus to was in a valley blocked off by a landslide. There were a lot of people also unsure what was going on, and generally a lot of chaos, as is the Italian style. I arrived at another campsite eventually and treated myself to a pizza.

4 Comments

  1. Maarten

    It was good meeting you, and hearing your colorful and inspiring stories. Next day, we got stuck for 24 hours in that nice village thanks to the Landslide. We we’re not as light footed as you. Another warming experience for 5 old schoolfriends. 🙂

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