One of the magnificent mountains of the world, Mont-Blanc—it is mesmerizing and more.
The first sunshine of the day was at sunset.
After two tough hikes, with a more difficult one planned for Friday, we set off on Thursday to visit an alpine lake, De Pormenaz, some 1,800 feet of elevation gain. It's situate outside the town of Servos so this would provide exposure to another of the communities of neighborhoods and homes up in the mountains and down in the valleys. Jenni often remarks how amazing it is to see homes established amongst the beauty of the wilderness, perched on mountains, all soaking in life the way it might have been planned at the outset. Obviously, life cannot be perfect but there's something to be said about living at a pace and in a place where the air smells good, the sights are breathtaking and the people are friendly toward each other. There are many similarities, from our observations, within the various communities throughout Europe living in the villages below and on the mountains.
Anyway, it was not that easy to find the location of the hike, trailhead or the direct trail to the lake. After a less than auspicious beginning, we followed the jeep trail for about an hour, overtook, with great respect, a French tour group of elderly people (elderly is now anyone past 70—it moves up on our birthdays each year.) We ended up looping the lakes and mountains which turned out to be a great result as we remained on the famous GR trail rather than branching off to the local one. However, this did cause, together with the lower trailhead from whence we commenced, an additional 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Nevertheless, climbing is something we love so it proved to be a positive together with exposure to wonderful sights as well as a steep technical descent on gravel, ladders and at times, chains and ropes. It made the 'rest day' tiring but invigorating and wonderful. As we often say, at the conclusion of the day (of course, we are tired) but the gain and achievement adds to our wealth. Our bank account though, not too much wealth, if any.
The editor spent much time on ladders and using chains. She told me she had a good adrenaline flow. For a moment, I thought she was hinting that her digestive system was working well but it was her 'nervous' system instead.
Then she crossed the alpine lake after 2,800 feet of trudging upwards but alas, the gray sky hindered the coloring.
A scene directly from of the Drakensberg, RSA, we think.
Farmer Jeffrey making the final ascent to the alpine lake after taking the long way around. Refugio in background.
On the way back, some 900 feet at almost vertical descent in many places.
A view of one of the towns from part-way up.
Reaching the lake overflow, fascinated by floating grass.
This is the mountain with the chains and ladders taken from part-way up one of the climbs. The climb/(descent)
begins bottom left and snakes up, continuing right and up again to reach the peak.
I said to the editor we'd stop for a snack on the way home but she obviously could not wait. I think this is
what South Africans' mean by "Vasbyt".
Some tricky sections on the way down for the editor or her adrenaline patches as she refers to them.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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