Day 7 Trekking
Champex-Lac to Trient
10 Miles, 2300 ft Ascending, 2500 ft Descending

I’ve deduced on this trekking trip around Mont Blanc that “steep” has multiple definitions, most of which are completely disagreeable to the human body. There’s regular steep, which means I will huff and puff and perhaps mutter a bit under my breath. Then there’s the next level up of steep, that which attracts animals like mountain goats and ibex and sadly, Alpenwild trekkers who must find a way to cope if they intend to actually make it back to Chamonix. Then finally, there’s the ultimate degree of steep, the kind that encompasses both of the previous definitions and on top of that, adds shin-sweating. This is the condition I find myself in as we inch our way up to Alp Bovine, and shins don’t sweat. Seriously, Google it. When I checked, Google directed me to a WebMD site about “hyperhidrosis”, the medical term for “you might possibly die from sweating too much, especially if you’re over the age of 25.” This is somewhat alarming but the fact that I googled this from my hotel at the end of this sweaty-shins day means at least one thing went right.

But besides surviving another steep ascent, a lot of other things went right today. First off, it’s assistant guide Erica’s birthday, a fellow Leo with a sunny and spirited disposition to match her sign. And who doesn’t love a birthday celebration at (nearly) the top of an Alp, surrounded by fresh fruit pie, mountain hut cuteness, crosses, and cows?

Additionally, we are in a “beyond super-cute” (Gina’s definition) hotel for the next two nights, having been shuttled forward into France at the end of today’s trek so that we may enjoy this 4-star fineness. But don’t worry, any of you Tour du Mont Blanc purists, there is no cheating allowed on this mountainous circuit, meaning we will get shuttled back to Switzerland tomorrow morning so that our feet complete this stretch back into France under their own power. Another sweaty-shins day ahead? Time will tell.