Refuge du Plan du Lac to Le Montana: E2 Day 187

An even longer day owing to lack of permitted camping spots, around an arena of spectacular mountains followed by a walk high above the valley below.

One of the difficulties with refuges and mountain huts is you are never quite sure of how things are done, and it varies between places. Some things are universal, such as changing out of your hiking boots into flip flops or plastic shoes, a selection of which is often provided, before entering the premises. Instructions at communal evening meals were delivered in rapid French, unintelligible to myself, so I simply copy what everyone else is doing. My faux pas this morning was to use my coffee bowl for my cereals, which I should have spooned into a smaller container, that people obtained from an unknown source.

Leaving the mysteries of refuge etiquette behind I walked through morning mist, dropping down to a road where the bus from Termignon turned around. A small dam diverted water to a hydroelectric plant some distance away. Then the climb began. I plodded up the grass covered mountainside as the mist cleared, around temporary electric fencing, then following a narrow path this way and that as it struggled to a shoulder of grass and rock. One couple passed me and I overtook another with dayglo orange rucksacks (raising the question: should you have bright clothing so you can be seen in the event of an accident, or subdued colours so as not to distract from the beauty of the surrounding environment). Once at the top, the path was joined by one from another refuge, and there was a good number of people climbing slowly into a terrain of rock, stone and, subsequently, a few small lakes. People frequently stopped to take photos and admire the spectacular view of the summits surrounding us on three sides. Small glaciers were visible spilling down from the mountain tops. Lower down, snow collected on terraces in the dark grey rock faces. White, candy floss clouds drifted across the mountain peaks, adding to the grandeur of the scene. Closer to me, on the stony ground with only sparse grass, I admired the cushions of pink saxifrage (or was it moss campion?) and occasional examples of low creeping juniper. There were several impressive waterfalls today, the water falling in threads and ribbons, startlingly white, soap powder advert white in the sun against the dark rocks. There were many streams to cross. Footbridges or planks were provided on some of them, others you had to pick your way across. I was glad my boots were still waterproof.

Glaciers on the Vanoise mountains above a small lake.

River crossing.

One of the waterfalls.

Buildings look small within the immense landscape.

The route described by the GR5 was a large semi circle around a bowl of mountains, so that after four or five hours I was looking back over a deep valley to where I had walked yesterday. Not all that motivating. I was planning on lunch at the Refuge de l'Arpont. It seemed a long time coming  eventually appearing behind a shoulder of land. Sadly I arrived just as the staff were starting their own lunch which they had between 12:21 and 13:13 according to the notice. I wondered how they selected such precise times, symmetry? I waited until they finished to buy my own food, among a rush of waiting people. Most were registering to stay the night and I probably confused the three people milling around behind the counter by wanting only food. They certainly confused me, a product of my lack of French no doubt. My original plan had been to stay at this refuge but it was full, both the beds inside and the bivouac sites outside, whose numbers were limited by the Vanoise National Park (as I understood).

My attempts to book into the the next nearest refuges had also failed as they were full, so I headed off after lunch without a clear plan. The path followed the side of the mountain rising up and down and crossing streams. Often there were angular rock outcrops and slanting slabs of silver schist to negotiate. One had to be careful not to over estimate the amount of grip your boots had on the rock before they slid down. My poles helped to stabilize me. Based on my progress I expected to reach the Le Montana refuge by 7 or 8 pm. Although it was full it was outside the National Park so bivouacing (overnight camping) was possible near it. At first there were many people heading the other way up to the Refuge d'Arpont, but as I kept going, the afternoon turned to evening, and I was alone on the trail. A marmot stood on its back legs and whistled at me as I dropped through multiple switchbacks. Much effort had been made to make a good path among the crumbling rock, building up the path below rock faces. I  arrived at the National Park boundary around 7:30 pm. A few metres further on there was a small patch of flat ground. Stones had been cleared to the edge of it so evidently it had been used for camping before. I soon had my tent set up and waited for it to dry out while I ate some of my emergency rations, tinned tuna, oatcakes and trail mix. My phone had recently regained a signal so I have booked an apartment for tomorrow for two nights near Mondane as a rest day. After over 11 hours on the trail today I am looking forward to getting there and relaxing.

Looking down on the valley from my camping spot as night fell.