Tonight we’re writing from L’Auberge de la Nova. The plan was for Molly and I to have a glass of wine while we did this, but the “town” we’re in is too small to have a place that sells glasses of wine.
So we had to settle for buying the entire bottle, at 12€ that wasn’t a bad compromise to have to make. The rest of the day wasn’t nearly as relaxing as blog time. We set 6:00 alarms and got up promptly. We’d had the foresight to buy some breakfast from the grocery across from our hotel last night since there were no other options nearby.
The hike today started with a mile and a half of straight paved path. I reminded myself to enjoy it since I knew we had a very difficult day ahead of us once the ascent began. After that mile and a half of hiking bliss the ascent hit suddenly and hard. For the next several hours, we climbed. 4400 feet up. I think we’ve only climbed that far in a day once before when we summited Mt. Massive, but I don’t have internet to verify that.
Near the 1/3 way up point I wished out loud that there would be a bar serving Lagunitas IPA around the next corner. This may sound like a ridiculous wish, but it seems that the majority of bars here have it on tap. In the US this wouldn’t surprise me, but here most places only have 2 or 3 taps. Of all possible beers, and all possible American beers why this one? I asked our bartender about that last night, and he had no idea. As we turned the next corner on the trail though, a refugio came into view and we knew we’d have to stop. It was too early for beers, but we enjoyed cafe and the best blueberry tart ever.
Once sated we kept going up. Way fucking up. We eventually made the top just after 2, and just on time for lunch at Refuge Bonhomme. I had a pasta described as “the common Savoy pasta”. It was quite good, seasoned well, with some kind of meat. I wouldn’t recommend making the hike just for the pasta, but it was a nice bonus. I would recommend the hike for the tart.
After lunch we readjusted our muscles and started heading down. Way way way down. It wasn’t fun, but I made it. As a reward I decided I deserved two drinks: my first whiskey of the trip (do Europeans not know about whiskey?) and limonade, a delicious carbonated lemonade that is ubiquitously on tap here. Both served their purpose perfectly
After drinks we washed ourselves and our clothes and headed to dinner. I’m certain others will describe it with pictures so I’ll refrain, but will say it was perfect for our first night in a refugio. Tomorrow we hike more.
You beat it by 100! Mt massive is 4,300 feet!