TMB Day 8

I, who took no part in the planning of this trip, just found out that most normal humans do the TMB over the course of 10 nights and 11 days. Oh no, not us. We are circumnavigating all 111 miles-ish over the course of eight nights and nine days because…🤷‍♂️😂. Oh the price you pay for not being a planner.

I know we are incredibly late into our set, but let’s meet the band. We have Nikki and Ryan. Ryan is an award winning brew-master and overall beer aficionado. Apparently there is such a thing as a beer sommelier, which technically he is not, but is to us.

Nikki and Ryan are tremendously fast hikers. So much so, that they are typically picking out our rest/lunch spots and waiting for us. Ryan was also a big planner for this trip (Nikki helps) and is undoubtedly a big reason why we are doing this hike faster, because well, they’re faster. 😉

Nikki is what I would call one of our foundational pieces. She is very structured, organized, a rule follower, and laughs easily. Both her and Rebecca are bibliophiles. She helps the rest of us who are less inclined to plan, really anything. Everyone in our group, minus Stacy and I, are quite reclusive by nature, yet quite adventurous when it comes to anything outdoorsy.

Then we have Rebecca and Nick. Amazingly they grew up together and went on to get married, who says fairy tales can’t come true. Nick is our navigator. Most of us don’t even bother looking at Gaia, but instead, simply follow Nick like a bunch of goslings.

Rebecca, though introverted by nature, to the point of talking to strangers may be defined by The Hague as a crime against humanity, is often the life of the party.

My wife Stacy is adventurous to her own detriment, generous to a fault, not really, the most chatty Kathy of the group and very loving by nature. As for me, well, probably better for someone else to describe.

Stacy's inserted definition, "Brian, the equally most chatty Kathy, full of age-old wisdom and really just on the trail on a search and rescue mission for the best sweet treat on the TMB."

Today was the most spectacular of all the days. No rain. We hiked to Trelechamps today, which was 8.5 miles with a 3,500 foot ascent and a brutally steep 3,300 foot descent. This was one of those days that were so overwhelming that you wind up taking the same photo over and over.

At the summit, you get 360° views, including Mont Blanc. These are the mountains we originally saw at the beginning of our hike. I remember looking up and being in disbelief that towards the end of our journey, that we would be on top of them. Now we are.

The peaks are so jagged that they look like the jaws of some mythological beast long dormant. All the peaks are snow-capped with glaciers the height of a five story building in between each.

The views are so stunning that I feel like I have reached some version of maturity where I am only now realizing the beauty of the mountains and am now forever changed. It is hard to take your eyes off of them as I sit there transfixed. They are my Zen, my Qi, the Yin to my Yang.

Now we drink, we eat, we celebrate another day in the Alps. We plan for the next and final killer of a day. There will be thousands of feet climbed and descended, ladders will have to be climbed, aaahhhh. Our knees will keep asking us what they have done to us to deserve such treatment, but will never understand since they are merely our transport, our vehicle allowing us to attain such heights both physically and metaphysically. Until tomorrow.Baca lagi