Day Six: Crossing into Switzerland.
We woke up with the sun this morning and headed down to a buffet-style breakfast, a welcome change! We fueled up on yogurt with granola, fruit cocktail, and the classic trail staple of bread and butter.
Today was easily the best hike of the trip so far. It felt almost like a rest day compared to the previous climbs. We started with a gorgeous flat stretch along a ridge before descending toward a river.
The climb up to Grand Col Ferret was a long, slow incline. It was a bit drizzly, but we felt strong and actually clocked our best ascent time yet! Reaching the top meant crossing the border into Switzerland. It was absolutely freezing at the summit, so we had a very quick lunch by a giant wooden cross before starting the descent.
The way down was gentle, passing through flocks of sheep. Halfway down, we stopped at a charming refuge with woodchip floors, where we had a wonderful surprise: we ran into Angel and Milene from our very first night in Les Houches! It was so good to see familiar faces. We shared some apple and chocolate before continuing the trek along a pretty river road.
We finally arrived in the town of La Fouly and checked into the Hotel Edelweiss. It's a fancy hotel, but we're tucked away in the attic dorms. The perks? A hot shower with amazing water pressure. We've officially mastered the 'plastic bag laundry system' and hung our clothes outside under the protection of the balconies.
We're sharing a room with Mackenzie from Albany and Kaitlyn from Virginia. We spent the afternoon running to the grocery store for a power adapter (no luck), but we did score cheese crackers and jalapeño chips. We retreated to the hotel to watch a massive downpour from the window, sipping rosé and reading.
Dinner was a social rollercoaster. We sat with some new folks named Faith, Rob, and Antoine. Some of them were a lot with nonstop talking. On the other hand, Antoine was fascinating: a Brazilian MMA fighter and boat captain!
The food was fantastic: vegetable soup, tofu with veggies and rice, and ice cream pie (hands down the best dessert of the trip).
The night ended with us moving our damp laundry to the cubby strings in the room and sharing a few laughs with our roommates before bed. Switzerland is off to a great start!