Day 2: Les Contamines to Les Chapieux (July 20)
19.4 km, 1,315.5 m ascent, 1,015.8 m descent
This was a hard day. We started by climbing, and climbed some more to the Col de Bonhomme, and then kept on climbing to the Col de la Croix de Bonhomme. We ate lunch. Then we got to go down. That was nice.
We finished in Les Chapieux, a settlement that basically consists of two refuges that are only open in the summer. A little shop sold local specialties. We bought some cheese, nougat, and an Opinel knife. We also bought a glass jar of local terrine, which turned out to be a ridiculously heavy and unnecessary addition to our packs.
We stayed at Auberge de la Nova, where meals are communal and the showers and toilets are in the hall, though our room did have a sink.
We had a fun dinner conversation with some Norwegians who were mountain biking the TMB – they’d carry their bikes uphill and then ride them down. I can’t imagine another more simultaneously grueling and terrifying!
