Day 7 - Saturday 29th August 2015 - Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla

Total distance walked:	15.60 km	9.69 miles
Total hours walked including stops	7 hrs 17 mins
Total hours walked excluding stops	6 hrs 37 mins
Height at start	2624 metres	8609 feet
Height at finish	2006 metres	6581 feet
Total Height Gain	876 metres	2874 feet
Total Height Loss	1509 metres	4951 feet
Maximum Height	2982 metres	9783 feet
Average speed excluding stops	2.36 km/hr	1.46 miles/hr

I was up, once again, at 6.30 am for breakfast at 7.00 am.  Cereal (very small bowls), pancakes with honey, orange juice, bread, butter, jam and café au lait.  I set off at 7.40 am and within 25 minutes after a steep climb arrived at the Col des Roux (2804m).  Then a fast descent to the Lac des Dix where I stopped for about 10 minutes with Dave, the Scotsman, who I walked with for most of the day.  A fast walk alongside the lake on a very level road although we had to pass a herd on the local Hérens cattle.  We arrived at the head of the lake at about 10 o’clock where we stopped for a short rest together with a Chinese couple who worked for the UN in Geneva.  Then up a steep ascent which levelled out although we had to cross several boulder fields and climb a moraine.  We stopped in the shade of two large boulders at around midday and were joined by Chandresh, one of the party of five Americans from New York.  It was very hot in the sun so the shade was very welcome.  I ate some lunch of bread and cheese, the remnants of breakfast plus a mini Mars bar.

Dave went ahead with Chandresh a little before I started up again.  Then up a very steep and rough rocky path until I reached the bottom of the ladder at Pas de Chèvres (2855m).  A relatively climb up the ladders which I understand were replaced recently and I reached the col at about 1.20 pm.  I only stopped briefly at the col before descending steeply before the path levelled out and a fairly quick walk down to Arolla which I reached at about 3 o’clock.  I met Dave and Chandreash in the village centre before I went down to the Hotel du Glacier and ordered a large beer and was joined a short while later by Dave.  It had been a very hot day which made the beer very welcome.  We talked to an Australian couple who were also walking the Haute Route but in a leisurely way taking cable cars and buses where they thought the walking might be too difficult for them. 

I finished my beer and took my bag up to the Dortoir where I had a room for six for myself and then went up to the Tourist office where I got some cash – I only had a few Euros left.  I bought some chocolate at the nearby shop and then went for a shower and shave and wrote up my diary for the previous day.  I met Patrick and Veronique who I discovered were also staying at the Hotel du Glacier.  Dave was camping and Chandresh and his party were staying at Chalet Les Ecureils.  I also discovered that Greg and Molly were staying at the Kurhaus where they were going to have a rest day so I wouldn’t see them again.

I tried several time to send a text and phone Pam and also tried the hotel Wifi to send an email but all attempts failed.  After going to the shop, I met the Chinese couple and had a beer with them at the Hotel du Pigne.  They were going to catch a bus to Zinal sometime after 5 o’clock so I wouldn’t see them again either.  After meeting Patrick and Veronique, I had a beer with them at our hotel and agreed to meet them for dinner at 7.00 pm.  I walked up to the Hotel du Pigne at about 7 o’clock as I had tentatively arranged to meet Chandresh and his friends there for dinner before I realised that I was demi-pension at the Hotel du Glacier.  I met Dave and Chandresh outside the hotel on a public bench drinking cans of beer, so I had a can of beer with them before returning to dinner at the hotel.  A very nice meal of a fish loaf with salad, pork chops, mashed potatoes and broccoli followed by a Peach Melba, all with one glass of red wine.  After dinner, I walked back up to the Hotel du Pigne to discover that the rest of Chandresh’s party had arrived – there were still three people who hadn’t arrived at 7 o’clock.

I then walked back to my room and went to bed but not before discovering that I had definitely been bitten by bedbugs at the Cabane de Prafleuri with bites up my arms and around my waist band.  I applied Anthisan and took a Piriton.  I read for a while, charged my mobile batteries, getting up at midnight to charge a new one.  My bill for dinner, bed and breakfast plus one large beer and one glass of red wine was Є87.50.