Overnight fog gathers again as I have a steep climb into mist in the morning which clears upon reaching the plateau. The trails are filled with hikers today as I near Mont Blanc but I focus on the cool valley views all around me. I end the day in a public bivouac near le Refuge de Miage.
Everything is properly soaked in the morning due to condensation. I have a good climb out of the valley before getting to the meat of tourist activity as I coincide with the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. Mont Blanc herself is snow covered and shining in the sun light every time I see her between clouds.
I resupply in les Houches and start climbing. More and more people and I'm going counter to the flow. I spot paragliders circling above and imagine what the view must be like. The day is filled with ups and downs as I get a parallax view of Mont Blanc constantly present. I complete ~3800m(12467ft) of elevation and end my day in peace as I camp lonely near Lac D'Emosson.
I climb up Cheval Blanc in the morning and the whole climb is a test. The final bit is vertical as I pull myself along ropes and use metal steps bolted into the mountain. The wind rips around as I admire the views. As I descend down the rocky ridge I have a sudden tightness in my chest which force me to stop for 10 minutes... Eventually I continue and thankfully it does not return.
I'm led to the Cascade du Cirque du Bout du Monde where there are hundreds of tourists, so I make quick work to hike past them. At this point the sun is out in full force and I am drenched head to toe in my own sweat. The climbing seems to never stop but the crowds die down and the views are top notch as I make great time.
In the early afternoon I contemplate stopping to spare myself doing too much more climbing in one day but ultimately decide to continue. I tackle the Dents Blanche with a steep climb, passing through a notch then using ropes to quickly descend down the rocky wall on the other side. The descent from here is another slog and I feel a bit of the chest tightness again but it doesn't manifest as severely. There is one final climb along a dirt road as I camp on a saddle near the construction of a new refuge(?).
I walk and climb along a windy ridge in the early morning. I race down into the valley hoping to arrive at the town boulangerie before noon. I make it in time and have lunch there as well.
The rest of the day is filled with climbing but there are not many water sources. Either there is livestock nearby or the chalets in the valleys have pipes sucking it all up. I see a dead cow get helicoptered out of the mountains by its neck... There is a nice semi-exposed ridge walk as I get my first view of Lake Geneva once again! My trip is nearly done!
I push hard in the afternoon while rationing water and eventually make it to a campground. My toes are tender and nearly raw so I try to manage that in the evening. I plan on finishing tomorrow so I attempt to buy a plane ticket home which gets denied by my bank. I end up having to walk my mom, step-by-step, to buy the ticket for me.
I meet HexaTrek hiker, Jarno, going northbound. I've seen him posting on the HexaTrek discord in the past. We chat into the night.
The final day. A bit of an anti-climax as it is mostly flat walking through towns and along the lake. It is a welcome pace change as my toes are still in a rough shape from yesterday. I stock up at a boulangerie at the first opportunity and enjoy the hot day. I eventually arrive in Yvoire and in silent shock take the ferry to Nyon, thus completing my continuous footpath along the HexaTrek.
86 total days. 9 zero days. 35km(21.7mi)/day average. 39km(24.2mi)/day moving average. Countless beautiful views, crazy descents, dozens of immaculate croissants, hours playing charades to communicate in French and cozy nights surrounded by mountains. The next two days I would stay at the Nyon youth hostel before flying back home to Toronto having completed another insane thruhike!
If you are interested in my post trip retrospective of what went well and what went wrong the click down below to read on.