Le Randonneur: La Balme

11 August 2015: I am writing today's blog entry on the terrace of the Refuge de Balme (1707 m.). It's late afternoon, and the sun is shining. I'm enjoying a glass of white wine, while Mary savors a beer.

We arrived here around 4:00, after about five hours of hiking. We paused along the way in Les Contamines-Montjoie for an extended coffee break. (We could get a good mobile telephone connection there, so I seized the opportunity to upload yesterday's blog post.) It was market day, so we were surrounded by stands offering all sorts of food that we would like to buy but could not carry. We settled for a melon that we ate for lunch (delicious!) and a couple of nectarines that we'll eat tomorrow.

After our picnic lunch on a bench just outside Contamines, we hiked up a road to the Refuge de la Balme. We had a lot of company on that road! There are several refuges and restaurants along this route or nearby, offering pleasant destinations for day-hikes. The GR5 is still common here with the Tour du Mont Blanc, so we continue to meet TMBers. However, since passing Moëde-Anterne, we haven't met anyone hiking the GR5.

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The sky looked promising this morning at the Refuge de Miage.

We started the day with a short, sharp climb (160 m.) to the Chalets de Truc, where there is a very attractive refuge. (Carroll camped near that refuge and enjoyed a convivial dinner there with other hikers in July 1984.) We bought some Tomme cheese at the refuge and made plans to spend a night there some time.

Les Contamines-Montjoie:

Mary was happy to carry the melon, provided that we ate it soon!

Today's picnic lunch, featuring that delicious melon:

After an hour of walking along a flat path south of Contamines, passing various centers for tourist activities (we paused for another coffee beside a lake with pedal-boats), the GR5 reaches the Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Gorge, a well-known baroque church that (according to our topoguide) attracts a crowd of pilgrims on August 15.