From: Les Houches
To: Les Contamines
Length: 11.49 mi
Elev. gain: 3563 ft
Time: 6 hrs 22 mins
The hike:
Today’s hike was easy, especially compared to day 1. But it was definitely not as scenic.
I did Stage 1 of the official itinerary. This is probably the only day of this hike that I followed the official single day itinerary. I wanted to do more but the closest hotel that I was willing to stay at was another 17 miles and 5700 ft elev. gain away. So I had to settle for Les Contamines.
I started early (as always) and the town was really quiet.
This is the official starting point of this hike.
The first part of the hike was a tough ascent and not scenic at all. Many people skip this part and take the cable car to the top instead. But I wasn’t gonna cheat.
It was very foggy too so I could hardly see anything. I was actually grateful this part of the trail wasn’t scenic, or I’d have missed out.
But there were some wildflowers along the way.
Most of the hike today was on paved road, passing thru quaint little towns.
But there were waterfalls too.
It was raining/drizzling pretty much all day.
But it was a very peaceful and relaxed walk.
Between towns there were also some forests.
Here’s the little town Les Contamines at the end of today’s hike.
My route:
