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  • Day 26

    D26 - TMB Les Houches to Le Brevent

    July 30, 2019 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    TOP 3 Highlights:

    1. Back on your bike - As today was essentially our first day climbing real elevation since being sick, we were pretty determined to make it to our destination. We agreed to lighten the load as we were returning to Les Houches, so we only took food, water and essentials in my (Katey) smaller pack, and at 7.30am we stashed all our remaining things in the spare cupboard downstairs and set off at speedy pace. We both noticed that it took us a bit longer to find our rhythm but it’s hard to find complaint on a beautiful morning in the French alps. Les Houches is at 1008m elevation and our goal was to reach the cable car station at Le Brevent at 2525m. Ouch. Despite the seemingly never ending ascent, we really enjoyed the hike up and down, and even fitted in some time to go rogue off the beaten track....we may have scared a few sheep.

    2. Coffee at high heights - We stopped for a mid morning cawfee at Refuge Bellachat, and quite happily took our time as the view panned across the Mont Blanc massif. The fact that there were two little pug dogs running around the deck didn’t hurt either! It’s so nice to see so many people bringing their dogs along for the adventure - whether it be for the day or several.

    3. ‘Ring my beeeeelllll’ - on our way up, we reached Statue du Christ-Roi (Christ the King) at precisely 8.00am. We took our steps towards the beast, when all of a sudden there was a deafening sound of church bells. Further investigation saw that it was in fact one bell, taller than both of us, inside a structure nearby. It was an unexpected and moving moment that made us pause and give thanks for our health and continuation of our ‘tour’.
    The statue is a 25m concrete statue erected above the town of Les Houches in 1933-4 by the locals.
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