Day 2 - Monday 24th August 2015 - Argentière to Trient

Total distance walked:	13.00 km	8.08 miles
Total hours walked including stops	5 hrs 26 mins
Total hours walked excluding stops	5 hrs 02 mins
Height at start	1251 metres	4104 feet
Height at finish	1279 metres	4196 feet
Total Height Gain	1033 metres	3389 feet
Total Height Loss	994 metres	3261 feet
Maximum Height	2198 metres	7211 feet
Average speed excluding stops	2.58 km/hr	1.60 miles/hr

I was up just before 7.00 am, dressed, washed, packed my rucksack and down for breakfast at 7.30 am.  Fruit juice, cereal, croissant, bread, butter, jam and coffee although there was porridge, bacon and eggs etc. if you wanted but you would need to pay extra.  Paid the bill for bed, dinner, breakfast, two beers and a half bottle of wine was Euros 49.

It had been raining when I woke up at 6.30 but it had stopped and wasn’t raining when I left at about 8.10 am but it started again before I had left Argentière, so I stopped in the tunnel under the railway and put on my anorak and rucksack cover.  My Viewranger was playing up and was giving my location some mile or so west of my true location.  It eventually corrected itself when I was almost at Le Tour, an hour later.  There was a sign on the path to Le Tour saying that the path was closed and trying to send me back down into the valley.  The last thing that I wanted was to lose height so I ignored the sign and continued with no problems.  There had been a small landslide near Le Tour and there was no bridge but the river was easily crossed without getting my feet wet and the landslides caused no difficulties.  I noticed that several bicycles had used the path before me.

I was in Le Tour at about 9.25 am where I stopped and took a couple of photographs, standing in the doorway to the ski school to keep dry for 5 minutes.  I continued shortly after 9.30 am and trudged up quite a steep path under the gondola too Charamillon at 1850m.  I stopped for ten minutes and had a Chocolat Chaud (Є3.30).  I started off again just as it started to rain more heavily, so I went back and put on my waterproof trousers.  Again, quite a steep path and it was wet underfoot.  The guide book (Cicerone Guide by Kev Reynolds says the day is relatively undemanding but I found it quite hard going.  I don’t suppose the rain and having to wear waterproofs helped.  I arrived at the Col de la Balme (2204m) just before midday and stopped for a beer (Є3.50).  Everywhere in mist and no chance of any views of Mont Blanc.

I started down to Le Peuty shortly after midday taking the shorter route, I had no wish to get caught in the rain for the sake of a “a more scenically interesting route” when one couldn’t see anything but mist.  The path was steep and also wet but I made it down to the Auberge Mont Blanc by 1.35 pm. A total travelling time of 5 hrs 25 mins compared with the guide book’s 5 to 5¼ hours, so despite the rain and stops, I felt that I would be able to do most of the walking within the times suggested in the guide book which was encouraging.

Disaster, no Salade de Montaigne although now called Salade Mont Blanc so I had a Salade Mêlée instead, quite nice but too much lettuce despite ordering a “petite”.  I also had a couple of beers – lunch and the beers was Є17.60.  I went up to my dormitory on the second floor and changed into some dry clothes after having a shower and shave although the shower stopped half way through!  I then went down to the reception area to write my diary.  I had a coca cola (Є3.70) and a beer (Є3.90) before dinner.  Although in Switzerland, I could still pay in Euros and they were charging One Euro to One Swiss Franc – thus gaining about 8% on every transaction but I still had a number of Euros and no chance of getting any Swiss Francs for a few days.

Dinner at 7.00 pm with vegetable soup, then a slice a cheese, a pork casserole with rice followed by ice cream  I had one 50cl bottle of red wine (Є18.00)   - a bit different to the Є6.00 for a 75cl bottle in Argentière.  I talked to an American from Oregon doing the TMB and then going to visit ancestors in Sicily who he had discovered through Ancetry, a 106 year old 4 x great grandmother – although this seems hard to believe.  Also one French girl who was teaching in Rochester, obviously an avid walker and also a French lady called Cornelia who spoke good English.  I think that she, the French girl and the American had met up on the TMB.

To bed at about 8.30 pm and read for a while before going to sleep.  Again, I didn’t sleep particularly well.  My bill for dinner, bed and breakfast was Є68.00 which I had paid by card in advance.