Tour du Mont Blanc
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."
I felt horrible. I had no energy, had a headache, could not eat, and somehow on the verge of throwing up. I didn't know what was wrong, maybe I had pushed myself too far? Was it the extra weight and carrying all of Sierras stuff that pushed me over the edge? But I carried even heavier on the PCT? Not having an answer, all I could do at that moment was to look from left to right. France - Italy.
I have never done a snow traverse with a dog. What do I do if she pulls me off a mountain? Do I unclip her? But what if she falls, and I can't reach her? Sierra does get really excited in the snow, and I was worried she will get the snow zoomies, and we slip and fall. When we reached the first snow patch on the side of the trail, Sierra was so excited. She ran towards it right away, rolling around and scratching herself a nice little slushy to lick off the ground. This only increased my worry.
If you want to hike with your dog, you have to think about the gear you want to take for them. You don't necessarily need a lot of things, but there are a few basics that are important to take in order to make sure your partner in crime stays safe and healthy.
I felt so weak and embarrassed. Didn't I hike the PCT in 2019? Where was my strength? What happened to my hiker legs? Why couldn't I properly breathe? Why did I feel like I was 70 years old? No, I am sorry, even the 70-year-old hiker who hiked past me this morning was doing better than I was right now. I was huffing and puffing like an old time locomotive. How in the world was I going to make it up the hill?
The Tour du Mont Blanc is Europe's probably most famous hiking trail. We hiked the trail with its almost 170 km through France, Italy and Switzerland. This was mine and Sierras first big hike together, and I was really looking forward to this.
