After a rainy couple of days, we were fortunate to wake up to a beautiful clear morning at Refuge de La Croix du Bonhomme. We took advantage of that with side trips to Tête Nord des Fours and Lacs Jovet on our way to Les Contamines. From there, we returned to our origin in Les Houches via Refuge de Miage and Col du Tricot to complete our Tour du Mont Blanc.
From Rifugio Bonatti, we followed a variant of the TMB over Mont de la Saxe and then down into Courmayeur. We hiked back up out of Courmayeur on a stormy morning, reaching Rifugio Elisabetta under broken clouds. Clouds and rain obscured the views for our hike from Elisabetta to Croix du Bonhomme.
Days 3-5 of our Tour du Mont Blanc hike. From Trient, we followed the Bovine route to the lakeside town of Champex. The next day, we walked an interpretive mushroom trail and through the Swiss Val Ferret to La Fouly. From La Fouly, we crossed the Grand Col de Ferret and followed the Italian Val Ferret to Rifugio Bonatti. Continue reading
We recently returned from a fantastic ten-day hike of the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Switzerland, and Italy. We’ll eventually add detailed posts about the actual hike, but we want to share some notes on planning the trip and logistics with our trip fresh in our minds.
The Central Massif of the Picos de Europa contains a mix of steep-sided canyons and ravines, green pastures, limestone peaks, and rocky, barren landscapes. To start our hiking in the Picos de Europa, we went for a three-day, two-night tour of the Central Massif. From Fuente Dé, we hiked to Refugio de Urriellu below the spectacular Naranjo de Bulnes, then to Refugio Collado Jermoso, and finally back to Fuente Dé. Despite encountering thunderstorms, rain, and snow, we loved the spectacular scenery.
In June and July 2017, we spent a week hiking in Spain’s spectacular Picos de Europa. The jagged limestone peaks, verdant green pastures, delicious food, and a pleasant stop in Bilbao made for a fantastic trip.
Read below for our notes on planning a trip, getting around, and where to stay, or jump right into our description of the trip:
In June 2016, we visited the Dolomites. This post covers our drive up to Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the hikes from there. We enjoyed three fantastic hikes in the Cortina area. During that time, we hiked a loop around Passo di Falzarego, to Lago di Sorapiss, and a loop at Tre Cime di Lavaredo. We also enjoyed a night and spectacular sunrise at the Lagazuoi rifugio.
On a 2014 trip to Torres del Paine, a couple advised me that if I had enjoyed that trip, I should return and visit Bariloche and Cochamó. When searching for a March hiking destination for 2016, we returned to this suggestion and booked flights to Puerto Montt, Chile.
In planning our trip, we considered several options before deciding that there was more than enough to keep us busy for an entire week in Bariloche. Rather than lose days to moving between different towns, we decided to make that our home base for the week. What followed was an amazing week of hikes, visiting mountain lakes, and delicious food.