Day 9: 9 miles walked and only 400′ climbed. Totals are now 93 miles walked and 14,500′ climbed. But … today’s story is not climbing, it’s descent!
4,100′ descent in 9 miles! In fact, we descended 2,100′ in the first 3 miles! That’s about a 13% average grade descent. Can you spell “blisters”?
Weather matters. As we left this morning, the latest reports were that they were expecting 8 – 10″ of snow tonight. This is August. It’s good that we descended 4,000+’ today! Even here, tomorrow’s temperature at 8:00am will be 40F. We’ll be descending another 2,200′ tomorrow, so it should get warmer.
The hike: This morning started cold and rainy
As we left the top
The descent into the barren above-tree-line valley was stunning
And once we dropped below the tree line, it just got more and more beautiful
We’ve met some fascinating people in the last couple days. The high Alps tour guide, Lana, who knew these Alps well. The Swedish women walking a reverse Francigena. Our recent acquaintance, Ken, whom we’ve learned has done all of the great trails in the US (PCT, Appalachian, and the Continental Divide trail). And others, all with remarkable hiking resumes. Then there’s us. We’re just glad to have the health and resources to enjoy this beautiful creation!
Enjoy your journey. It’s the one you’re best fitted for!
Wow, what a change of weather now! You two look all snuggly in your rain gear and jackets. Did a short walk with Priscilla this morning and as we sat drinking a latte we were looking at all the pictures and trying to figure out just how many changes of clothes Di had in her backpack.(only women would be looking at the clothes! Lol.) careful on the downhill. Hope your knees and toes hold out! Love you both.❤️
Whatever you do, don’t look at last year’s pictures and notice my clothes are the same! When it was hot, I was thinking about what to remove from my packlist for our next adventure. After the dramatic weather change, I probably will keep the warm clothes insurance!