July 27, 2024 Rifugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur 9.8 miles Rifugio Elisabetta may have been hell, but everything else has been heaven. This morning is especially so—after we escape, that is. I didn’t end up going rogue last night; I dilly-dallied as long as I could in the restroom and then accepted my fate and climbed …
July 26, 2024 Les Chapieux to Rifugio Elisabetta 8.6 miles When I poke my head out of my tent this morning, Grace’s first question is “Coffee?” Man, it’s nice hiking with a fellow caffeine addict in a country with copious coffee. We start with some camp coffee though—to be followed by coffee at the store …
July 25, 2024 Les Contamines to Les Champieux (camp) 12.4 miles Breakfast at the refuge this morning reminds me deeply of the albergue breakfasts on the Camino. It’s self-serve style, and it includes coffee, cereal with milk, fresh bread which can be toasted, an assortment of jams, and yogurt. We sit with the same family …
July 24, 2024 Les Houches to Les Contamines 13.3 miles Today is the day! We are off to start the TMB and discover what this alpine circuit has in store. After another extravagant RockyPop breakfast, we pack up and walk back down to the main square for photos at the official start sign. There’s another …
July 23, 2024 0 miles hiked (some miles walked) Last night I utterly ceased to exist. My head hit the pillow and that was that until nearly 9:00 this morning. When Grace said she was setting an alarm for 9 last night, I thought to myself, “We don’t need that, we’ll wake up before 9.” …
Tuesday, July 19-Wednesday, July 20 (We’re going to call this one long day) Getting to the airport is easy; saying goodbye to England is not. We hop on the Heathrow Express and watch the city fade, then we’re in the land of security and brightly lit perfume shopping hell. After some amusing people watching at …
Monday, July 17, 2023 My alarm goes off and I set about making coffee and finishing up my packing. It’s the last day of the trip, and we have to leave Mousehole, which we very much do not want to do. We get everything packed and organized, and then I go out for one last …
Sunday, July 16, 2023 The sun is shining this morning. I repeat: the sun is shining! No slow start for us today. I have an alarm and a concerning amount of coffee and then we’re out. The weather is good and we’re going to St. Michael’s Mount! We get on the bus from Mousehole to …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 26: St. Michael’s Mount and Minack Theatre
Friday, July 15, 2023 It’s another slow start for us today, which, although it means we have less time to see the town, is really delightful. I take my time having multiple cups of coffee, writing, and existing. When we do eventually get out, it’s actually sunny! There are loads of people about, taking in …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 25: Mousehole, Newlyn, and Penzance
Friday, July 14, 2023 It’s absolutely chucking it down when we wake up this morning. Steve had warned us yesterday that it was supposed to rain today, and raining it is. I check the website for St. Michael’s Mount, which we’d really like to visit while we’re here, but they say they’re closed today due …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 24: Mousehole and the South West Coast Path
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 