Do you remember when I told you about the first day and how I was hiking in the rain, while being too naive to put on my rain jacket because I was too warm and the little bit of wind was not this bad? Well friends. My mindset was the reason we had to spend 2 days resting in a tent at Hobo Campsite in Courmayeur fighting a fever and stealing more toilet paper from the bathrooms to help my nose make it through the day. Please don't make the same mistakes I have and take being wet in the wind seriously. Otherwise, you end up like me, sick and feeling miserable in a tent on a campground with a dog stuck in a small space. Trust me, you don't want that. Not only that, I had also burned my lip on the last pass and looked like a Botox injection gone wrong. I felt incredibly embarrassed for all the mistakes I made that should not have happened, as I am an experienced hiker. But this only proves that even experiences hikers can make mistakes and make decisions that are not beneficial.
I don't have many memories of those two rest days other than me trying to hide my sunburned mouth from the world, eating a bit of fruit I got at the little convenience store and resting up walking Sierra a few times a day. At one point, I even decided to check into a hotel for a night. I really wanted a real bed to sleep in, a shower and cover from the rain. A chance to not get more sick. Once I started feeling better, I studied the map and realized that the next stage was going to be a tough one. As I was still feeling weak and not ready for so many climbs in a day, I opted out for a plan B. Plan A would have involved hiking up a very long way out of town just to head back down the entire way again for the night because there were no camp spots for me and Sierra at the time. The only dog friendly campsite is camping Grandes Jorasses all the way back down in the valley. And as I had just started feeling a bit better, I decided to take the bus from the campsite into town and another one right to the end of the valley, bus stop Arp Nouvaz, where the road stopped and met back with the TMB just in time to climb up to Col Ferret (2.537m). I have attached the bus plan at the bottom of this blog in full size, so you can read it. If you are interested in taking the same route, please be aware that you need a muzzle for your dog and that it is very likely that the bus is a proper travel bus and your dog can only sit in the middle aisle.
The hike up Col Ferret was really hard. Luckily there was a good cloud coverage, but as I was still feeling a bit weak, it took every ounce of effort I had to make it up the pass. The most frustrating part about hiking this day was the fact that we were overtaken by guys on bikes. Yes! Bikes. Mountain bikes. They just rode up this pass like it was nothing, leaving us behind in a cloud of dust. I could not believe my eyes when I saw them and their strong legs. I swore to myself that day, that I would make it my mission to also get fit like them one day. While I admired them for another few minutes, I kept huffing and puffing my way up the mountain. Constantly thinking why I have decided that hiking was a good idea after just having gone through a serious mental health struggle. While I was contemplating my life decisions, the clouds that were looming over us before started getting bigger and bigger, colliding with other chain of clouds in the area and forming a big storm front. I watched with unease how they got darker and darker. My kept hearing my dads voice in the back of my mind: "Don't be on top of a mountain during a thunderstorm."
Once I reached the top, there was not much time to linger. I threw my back to the ground, trying to catch my breath and congratulating other hikers who were enjoying their well deserved break. Even though I knew I had to get down, I made sure Sierra had a few minutes to rest, drink water and eat some snacks. Once she was good, I wrapped her in her raincoat, stuffed her backpack onto mine and put my rain gear on. With the first raindrop on my face, I shouldered my backpack and told Sierra we had no more time to rest and had to keep going. I felt my neck hair tingle and started to rush Sierra down the mountain. We were half running, half stumbling down the narrow path.
I knew we had to lose height as fast as possible. I was right. After heading down at an absolute record speed, I think we must’ve run down for about 5–10 minutes,
an earthshaking thunder exploded over our heads. I usually love thunderstorms, but having one rumble this loud and with this much force right over your head, is something I will never forget. It
shook my legs and make me take a cover position in seconds. What I love about hiking with Sierra is that she knows when it’s time to go. She did not take cover or got scared. She followed my lead
and we both continued running down even faster. I am so proud of her for working with me as a team to get down. She took care of me and did not lose her head, pulling on the leash or trying to
escape into random directions. She followed the path and my instructions, covering every once in a while, letting people pass and slowing down on the muddy sections. The way down into La Fouly
went extremely fast, as we did most of it running. The feeling when we reached the campsite was pure heaven. The fact that this campsite has a hiker room with a bonfire was heaven. Every single
hiker took refuge in this little cabin, trying to dry everything they owned. If you own a reactive dog, I don't need to tell you the feeling of pure happiness when your dog just curls up and
sleeps next to your feet, even though the cabin was packed with adults and children. I was really appreciative that nobody asked us to leave. Once my things were slightly dry, I went back to set
up the tent and get ready for a good night sleep. The forecast said: Sun the next day.
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