Arolla

A rainy walk down, then up to Verbier

Tuesday September 9, 2025

Verbier

The forecast was for the rain to stop by about 9AM. It did rain most of the night. At 7:46 I was on a bus for the 15 minute ride back up to Champex, where I finished yesterday. I figured I would start in the rain because there was no guarantee it would stop as forecast. It did rain for about an hour, so I was soaked and it was 60 degrees, so I was also sweaty under my rain jacket. On the AT I would just hike wet. I very rarely hiked with a jacket on. As soon as the rains stopped, I took my jacket off and cooled right down. The trouble was, it started raining again after about 30 minutes. I reluctantly put my jacket back on as it was raining quite hard. It continued to rain all morning. The ground was very slippery and I had my first good fall of the trip. That got me to thinking about the next two nights. I am scheduled to be in mountain huts. They are very small, at high elevation and don’t have full facilities, no showers. As I am soaked in rain and sweat, about to spend the next two nights in huts, with no towns in between, I started to think about options. Both tour groups I met are skipping this section. All the TMB walkers were complaining about the huts. Hmm.

9 miles in there is a gondola that brings you up the mountain. I had planned on taking this anyway, as this would be a brutal day having to climb 5,000 feet after walking 9 miles in the rain. The first gondola brings you to the beautiful town of Verbier. There is a very windy road up the mountain to get there as well. Then there is a second gondola to bring you to about 7,500’. When I got off this gondola it was 36 degrees. I was about 2 miles from my cabin, wet and cold, and decided to turn around and head back down the mountain. I stopped in Verbier and ran into a very nice couple in their late 30s from South Carolina. I joined them for a wonderful lunch. They also are avoiding the huts. They are spending tonight in a hotel in Verbier and in the morning will shuttle ahead and hike 22 miles to get to the next town. That finalized my decision to skip this section as well.

I took the gondola back down. Caught a 30 minute train ride to Orsierse, where I stayed last night. The plan is tomorrow to take a 50 minute bus ride over the Great St Bernard Pass into Italy. This is part of the Via Francigena, the Road to Rome Pilgrimage. Cooper would like to do this hike someday.

I have done my laundry in the bathroom sink, have everything hanging to dry out, including rain coat and my pack.

I felt bad about complaining there being too many people on the trail the past couple of days. Today I saw 1 person in 4 hours of hiking. This is a strange journey to do solo. (I used the word single in the last post, when I met solo.) Everyone does it differently, so even when I meet someone, they are gone the next day. OK, I am done complaining.

I am in the same town as last night, but in a different hotel. This is more of a local place. The owner has been great. I would guess he and his wife are in their 80s.

Wednesday September 10, 2025

Aosta, Italy

The owner of the hotel gave me a full credit this morning for tonight’s room. I had paid for two nights, then changed my mind and wanted to stay just one night. Last night I went to the bar in the evening to talk with him and he talked me into having a beer. When I ordered, he was no you want this one. OK, who am I to argue. I did request a sample first. Then he puts a bowl of peanuts in front of me. Then a few minutes later he brings out a bowl of pasta. The pasta was excellent, maybe the best I have ever had. I am not sure what the sauce was, but it sure was good. I tried to pay and he said we would figure everything out in the morning, since he owed me a credit anyway. This morning he tried to give me the full room charge back in cash. (85 swiss francs). I had to talk him into keeping 20 francs for the beer and food.

I enjoyed the bus ride over the Great Saint Bernard Pass. In the bus we took a tunnel through the mountain, but the old road goes up to 8,100 feet. The tunnel is open year round, but the pass is open June to October. The Saint Bernard dog breed originated here as the dogs were bred to assist travelers over the pass. It is also famous for Napoleon taking his army through the pass in 1800. I was familiar with the pass because it is the route the Via Francigena follows.

After arriving in Aosta, Italy (population 36,000), the first thing I did was go find my first Italian geocache. It was in a park near the bus station. The pigeons here look just like in the US. See picture below. OK, that accomplished, time to look for a laundromat. I have been washing my stuff in the sink, but it is nice to have a washing machine and a dryer.  Several of my things were still damp from last night. Anyway, when you are hiking and want to meet someone, the best place to go is do your laundry. Sure enough a young (30s) couple from Oregon was there. We had good conversations over the next hour as we both came and went checking on our stuff. They were also hiking in Switzerland and left two days early. They had planned to go to Italy after, so this was there first night of 2 bonus days in Italy. They are also very active outdoor people.

There was a perfectly healthy looking young man on the street asking for money. He was near the laundromat, so I saw him several times. I kept saying no. On the fourth time through I asked if he spoke English – yes – he is from Nigeria. We ended up talking for several minutes. He wanted me to bring him to the US. It is a dream of his to go there.

OK, geocache, laundry, now time to find an authentic Italian Pizzeria. Aosta has the classic old cobblestone streets with no cars and tons of outdoor cafes, like we enjoy in Spain. There was one place that was much busier than the others, so I choose that one, figuring the locals know. I think they were right. They did offer a couple pizza choices that included French fries. I went with the traditional spicy pepperoni. It was great. BTW – this is my second pizza of the trip. I know both food photos have been pizza. Elizabeth is the food picture taker, but a few of you have commented that you like seeing the food.

I am physically feeling fine. I just lack motivation for some reason. In the week I have been gone I have had 2 employees get injured. Both are minor, but we have only had two minor injuries in the past 5 years. I was also informed that our liability insurance carrier is no longer offering coverage of our type, so I have been working with our broker to find new coverage.

My expectations were very high for this trip and the scenery has been beautiful. I have had fun conversations with people every day, but besides the 13 women the first two days, I have not had a repeat meeting. The only person I have talked with while walking was the female guide of the group of women. And both times she was walking very slowly because of her clients, so after 5 or 10 minutes, I moved on.

Thursday September 11, 2025

Arolla

I was asked about how this compares with walking the Camino. For me they are totally different. This route is physically very difficult with few services. The terrain has even more vertical than the Appalachian Trail. The TMB/Haute Route are both set up to stay in lodging, although there are places to tent. A designated field with 50 tents. I have only seen one. On the AT you can set up a tent anywhere. The Camino is much easier hiking and is really a village to village walk. You have many choices of places to stop for the day. Here the huts/villages are spread further apart. As far as the number of Americans on the trail, I would say it is similar. Officially Americans make up about 12% of the walkers on the Camino. I would guess that to be comparable to this walk. When I did the Camino in January there were very few Americans. This group of hikers is more intense – it is a difficult hike, and you need money to be here in Switzerland, so the hikers are a different crowd. The Camino can be walked very inexpensively, so it draws people from all walks of life, which I really enjoy. You also asked about water – there is water available everywhere in season on the Camino. Here you need to be a careful and pay attention where the next water source is. I carry about 1.5 liters here.

It was amazing going into the grocery store in Italy yesterday. Prices were 1/3 to ½ of what they are here. There was a local Swiss guy who took the bus over in the morning and came back in the afternoon with lots of bags. He went over just to go shopping.

This morning I caught a train and two busses and ended up in Arolla, my regular scheduled destination for tonight. The bus ride up the mountain was something. The first picture was taken from my seat in the moving bus. Arolla is at 7,000 feet, so probably 4,000 feet higher than the valley below. I am staying in a beautiful classic lodge. I had a local dish for lunch. Think scalloped potatoes, with ham, and baked with cheese and tomatoes on top. When I ordered it, I thought I was getting a pasta dish, but it was very good. Enjoy the pictures of the patio.

I then walked about 2,500 vertical feet backwards on the Haute Route. I saw quite a few (20) people, so that is encouraging for tomorrow. No one I said hi to spoke English. Near the top it was getting late, cold and the clouds were moving in when I saw a group coming toward me. It was the group of 13 women, who are now just 7. 6 have bussed ahead. I actually enjoy talking with the two guides. They are both very friendly. None of the women want to talk with me. I had the woman guide take a picture of me to prove to Elizabeth that I am actually in the mountains. It is a joke, as I don’t like selfies and I never have pictures of me doing these adventures.

The male guide said I made a wise choice going to Italy yesterday. Going across the ridge it rained and snowed all day, with almost no visibility.

There are 34 people scheduled to stay here tonight. There is another hotel in town where the group is staying. There are regular tourists here, but I am hoping many are hiking the Haute Route.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzue