TMB Days 2

Day 2
Notre Dame La Grange to Mottets, Refugio. This day was 13.5 miles, 5,500 foot ascent!!, 3,300 foot descent and took 9 hours. This day was way busier than the previous day, in fact, I would describe it as more of an anthill than a hiking trail. Much of the ascent was a single track, making it a pilgrimage to the pass.

One lady was being assisted up by a guide with a tow rope. WTF! He would hike lead with a six foot piece of climbing rope attached to his back and her harness in the front and pull/force her to keep up. Nuts!

I have seen some crazy shit in my hiking days, but never a human tow truck. Probably the craziest I have seen is on my Everest Base Camp Trek (19 days). Hikers experiencing altitude sickness or an injury, would be carried out by porters (often half the weight of the westerner) by a makeshift chair, attached to the back of the porter with a strap going across his forehead, that they would sit in and be carried out.

Anywho, we ended our day at Refugio Mottets, which was quite lovely. We bought dinner, no where else to eat 🤷‍♂️, which was simple but good. Then they brought out a music box, which was the hit of the night. They played some Beatles and other songs that everyone would know and finished with the song Hallelujah.

Everyone in the Refugio started singing along creating such a joyous moment. It was a sense of community amongst strangers and togetherness from people from every corner of the world. For that brief time we were all in the moment and in it together, without ever even having to introduce ourselves or know anything about the other. Ah, the power of music. For all the hiking and stunning sights, this was far and away my favorite part of the day.Read more