Our latter half of the tour began with temporary frustration. The destination at the end of day 6 lay behind a 15-mile hike with roughly 4000ft of total elevation change. To conserve our energy to enjoy the scenery, we had planned to take the local bus for part of the way. It seemed everyone else had the same idea. And we ended up watching two buses, filled to the brim with hikers, pass us by at the bus stop. After waiting for over an hour and a half, we hailed a cab.
Our short ride took us through Val (valley) Ferret and along the banks of Dora di Ferret. It had the most pretty translucent aqua blue color. However, in his thick Italian accent, the lively cab driver warned us to stay away from the river as it also carried fecal matter from the pastures at higher elevations. In his words, “don’t go swimming in the shittin’ river.”
Upon alighting at chalet Val ferret, we began the ascent to the Italian-Swiss border of Grand Col Ferret. We made a customary pitstop for some hot chocolate at Refugio Elena along the way. It was the thickest and best chocolate beverage. After every sip, the top layer of the drink would cool and semi-solidify. When we make hot chocolate, we put the chocolate in the milk. Here, they seemed to put a dash of milk in the chocolate. Drinking along with us were 3 70-year-old American ladies completing the entire TMB. They remained our inspiration for the rest of the journey.
The chocolate ambrosia gave us the energy to speed hike up the steep incline in a light rain shower. Since the rain was intermittent, we would sometimes be well shielded in our rain jackets and, at others, boiling inside them since they trap body heat. However, the view up at the col (mountain pass) made it all worth it and more.
Surprisingly, we had to wait for the view. We were stuck in a hiker’s traffic jam. A section of the day’s route, while being part of the TMB, was also a popular day hike trail. One such day hike was a group of special needs kids with their parents. It was an inspiring sight. The joy on all their faces was heartwarming.
My mother shed a few happy tears when we got to the pass. There was a point on the second day of the tour when it seemed we might have to leave the TMB for my father’s knee problem on Day 2. But, they had managed to push through, and we were about to make our first border crossing on foot. Our pace had also afforded some time to enjoy our personal victory as we had ourselves a small picnic of bananas, India’s darling tea-time biscuit – Parle-G’s glucose, trail mix, and santra (hard orange) candy.
On our way down to the dorm of the night, “Gite Alpage de La Peule,” we encountered a shepherd and his flock meandering on our path. The flock was guarded by three shepherd dogs, but at the time, they had forgotten their duties and were roughing around with each other. The sight was a delight as sheep are not common in Austin, Texas. In the group, some lambs were glued to their mothers while others frolicked around. But, after a while, these courageous little ones would realize how far they are from their mothers and start bleating for them.
We made it to our first Swiss Refugio with enough buffer to chow down on another ham and cheese sandwich before the 6:30 PM dinner. At dinner, we were served a tartiflette, a baked dish of ham, cheese, and bread. No surprise there. Although I like ham, cheese, and bread, this was getting a bit too much. We were also offered our first salad for the entire tour. Or, in Tim’s words, “rabbit food.” Nevertheless, it came at perfect timing as Tímea was craving a few greens the night before. Except, at dinner, she and Harry were nowhere to be found. Peculiar, as they used to be one of the first at every Refugio.
The sun and we began preparing to go to bed, but there was still no sign of them. Just as the kitchen was going to close for the night, Tímea walked in, and then Harry right behind her. Both were absolutely exhausted. It turns out that Harry had a rough day, and Tímea had actually gotten lost. Instead of the 15-mile hike, she walked over 22 miles. Surprisingly, the arrogant staff were unwilling to serve our friends but ended up providing dinner. It was a very uncommon experience as all the other Refugio staff were kind, warm, and very welcoming. To cheer up Harry and Tímea, my dad also bought them drinks. When buying anything at any Refugio, the cashiers only accepted cash and no credit cards because of the spotty cellular connection.
At Alpage de La Peule, I had gotten the most exciting sleeping option. My parents and I were assigned a triple-decker bunk bed. On the nearly 10-12ft+ bed, I got the best sleep because I was far from all the dorm snorers. However, there was still some drama before we could sleep.
We placed our bags beside the beds and our down-feather jackets on the mattresses to mark our territory. Even though the dorm staff assigned the bed, we did it out of precaution. But the heat wave had relented that night, and it was chilly. So, we took our jackets to the mess to socialize with other hikers after dinner. And while we chatted, someone pinched our bed.
When I went to get my TMB map from my backpack, I saw a French lady laying out her stuff across our beds. As I attempted to calmly explain the situation to her, she got more stubborn and unwilling to move. Thankfully, Harry had just arrived, and he went off on her. Our good cop/bad cop act seemed to work as she finally left, possibly muttering french curses at us. We got our bed back, and I had the best sleep of the entire trip.
Conscience of Aniket 