Our group shrank by two as Deborah and Patrick separated and drove to Switzerland in search of waterfalls and K-drama locations.

Chamonix

We checked out of the smelly hotel and moved into the cheery one down the block. Bienvenu! Time to paint the town red. Or some shade of subdued color.

Chamonix

Group photo with the Olympics logo of five interlocking rings that represents the five continents and the colors of blue, yellow, black, green, and red were chosen because at least one of these colors were on the flags of every known country in 1913 when it was designed. The first Winter Olympics were also held in this city in 1924.

Yumidori

Lunch at the restaurant founded by a chef who is a three-time sushi vice champion. Whatever that is. It’s an annual competition amongst non-Japanese sushi chefs judged by Japanese.

Chamonix

We had our TMB shirts, gaiters and other souvenirs but not the raison d’être for being here, so we boarded the bus to find it.

Les Houches

Group photo at the famous archway that is the “official” start and end of the TMB trail.

Les Houches

Individual photos under the wooden archway.

Les Houches

Monkey see, monkey do.

Church of St. John the Baptist

Keeping the sinners locked inside. The holy water was boiling.

Church of St. John the Baptist

Repent and pray harder.

Lac des Gaillands

We took the bus back and hopped off at the nearby artificial lake that was created at the beginning of the 20th century when the excavations for a nearby railroad line left a huge hole. Just add water.

Lac des Gaillands

No swimming allowed. Stumping permitted.

Lac des Gaillands

Group photo with the cloud cloaked Mount Blanc in the background.

Ruines du lac Sinclair

We crossed the road to explore the “ruins” we had sighted from the lake.

Ruines du lac Sinclair

Looking out from the “cave” across Lac Sinclair where Chico and Ferlino stood on the other side.

Ruines du lac Sinclair

Turns out these so-called “ruins” were actually the remains of a amusement or tourist park built by Lord Sinclair in 1886.

Mont Blanc

Looking up at the 15,766′ mountain that lays claim to being the highest peak in Europe and whose ownership is contested between France and Italy.

Hotel des Lacs

We stopped at this budget friendly hotel that has been welcoming tourists since 1930 to have ice cream from Australia.

Chamonix

Imitating the pedestrian stick figure that was first designed in 1961 by German traffic psychologist Karl Peglau to be more intuitive than symbols.

Aux Petits Gourmands

We popped into this bakery saloon to have Soupe à l’oignon and chocolate pastries, while the others shopped for souvenirs.

Hotel Lyret

Back in our hotel rooms for a spell, never understood why European showers have only half-screens. I read it’s because to save costs, easier to clean, space constraints and assuming that users can direct water where needed.

Casa Valerio

We had dinner at the nearby Italian restaurant and some had gelato in a cone for dessert on the streets of Chamonix.

Wednesday September 10, 2025

Hotel Lyret

Checked out of our nice smelling and friendly hotel as we spent the last day in France.

Hotel Lyret

Lionel, our guide for today, picked the four of us up from the hotel with our rented helmets and harnesses. The rest would take a bus to Geneva. We would join them later.

La Flegere

Deja vu. We found ourselves back at the mountain resort that marked the end of our TMB trek two days ago.

Via des Evettes

The start of our via ferrata or iron path.

Via des Evettes

Walking down past the chair lift and mountain hut with stunning views of the Alps in front of us.

Via des Evettes

Stepping down.

Via des Evettes

Traversing over a short scree field.

Via des Evettes

Going up the trail with the Mont Blanc massif mountain range behind us.

Via des Evettes

Time to put our rental equipment to good use.

Via des Evettes

Following the cabled path on the first via ferrata created in Chamonix in 2016.

Via des Evettes

Scrambling over protruding rocks.

Via des Evettes

The lanyards were somewhat of a hindrance on some parts, so I didn’t use them going up the Jardin a Michel section. Not recommended.

Via des Evettes

Chico clipped in and properly using the shock absorbing lanyards.

Via des Evettes

The Compagnie des Guides rated the Via Ferrata des Evettes as 2 out of 5 for difficulty.

Via des Evettes

Some of the vertical sections were surprisingly somewhat taxing, especially when you had to wait your turn to ascend and you were just hanging on these metal rungs on the side of a cliff.

Via des Evettes

Follow me. Easy peasy.

Via des Evettes

The rest of us crossing on the first suspension bridge, Pont des Chamois, which was roughly 20′ long. A taste of what was to come later.

Via des Evettes

Squeezing our way though the Boite aux lettres.

Via des Evettes

Climbing up and over a ridge.

Via des Evettes

Robin roped in.

Via des Evettes

Not quite an overhang, but close enough for our purposes today.

Via des Evettes

Making our way up the near vertical Deidre a Lolo section. I didn’t know they speak pidgin in France.

Via des Evettes

Looking down at the rest of the group climbing up, where is our rope?

Via des Evettes

Chico climbing out of the clouds.

Via des Evettes

You can do it. Look at me. I’m going backwards. Bouncing up and down. You can do it.

Via des Evettes

The face of determination or something close to it.

Via des Evettes

Balancing my way across the 164′ long Himalayan bridge.

Via des Evettes

One foot in front of the other foot. Repeat until the end.

Via des Evettes

Chico high above the valley floor.

Via des Evettes

Highlight of the day for Chico.

Via des Evettes

Ferlino bouncing on the suspension bridge.

Via des Evettes

We are done, time to shed the helmets and harnesses. Just got to hike back to La Flegere and beat the rain.

Via des Evettes

Following the posts and painted rocks to the cable car station.

Via des Evettes

Chico and Ferlino making their way down through the boulder field.

Via des Evettes

Walking down in the soupy mess of weather.

Via des Evettes

The end of our fun today. Lionel drove us back to Sanglard Sports to return our rental equipment and we tipped him for his time and trouble.

Chamonix

Sitting in a vintage gondola car circa 1920s.

Cool Cats

We had lunch at this highly recommended place that served gourmet hot dogs. More like a hot mess. I guess I’m more of a Costco hot dog kind of guy. We then walked back to our hotel and picked up our luggage and waited at the bus stop for our ride to Geneva. What looked like a homeless French person approached us and struck up a conversation with us and turns out he was waiting for his Chinese side piece who soon got off another bus. They then provided bi-lingual drama entertainment by yelling at each other in public, actually the woman was the active participant and the man was the passive participant. Robin, Chico and myself soon boarded the bus while Ferlino got lucky and took an earlier bus. We arrived in the town of Geneva where the bus dropped off the passengers at the first stop and was leaving for our destination, the airport. When the mad hatter woke up and ran up and down the aisle “I fell asleep! I need to get off! Stop the bus! Sorry!” We got off at the airport and was going to foolishly walk to our hotel when a well-placed call saved us and we took the shuttle and checked in.

Geneva

Meanwhile, Aida, Mari and Roger had arrived in the city that started as a Roman settlement in 58 B.C.. The group checked in, had their lunch and started their city tour. Walking city tour.

Jet d’Eau

Mari with the landmark water fountain that jets water up to 490′ high. Depending on the spot and wind direction, one may get slightly drenched.

L’Horloge Fleurie

The flower clock that was created in 1955 as a homage to the city’s watchmakers that is made up of 6,500 flowers and plants as the Geneva Ferris Wheel rotated in the background.

Rues Basses

Walking through the commercial heart of Geneva.

Bourg-de-Four

Passing through a Chapelle in the cobblestone square in the old town of Geneva.

Saint Pierre Cathedral

Exploring the historic church that was built on an ancient site of worship in 1160 and has been modified multiple times as it transitioned from Catholic to Calvinist faiths.

L’ancien arsenal

Three canons standing guard outside the 15th century armory.

Promenade de la Treille

Built in 1767 and measuring 413 feet long, this panoramic seat lays claim to being the world’s longest wooden bench. No rest for the weary.

Restaurant au Carnivore

Shall we eat here?

Reformation Wall

The monument located in the University of Geneva has four statues of men that were key proponents of Calvinism, the faith that believes God has predestined people who will be saved, rather than the Catholic Church who believes salvation lies in faith and good works.

Geneva

City sightseeing.

Promenade des Bastions

“To get squares, you have to give up squares.” – Bobby Fischer.

Place de Longemalle

Satisfying the sweet tooth.

Meat ‘ic Fish

Our last dinner in Europe where we dined on steak, had dessert prepared at our table and got charged roughly 30 dollars for 3 liters of water. Sacre bleu! At least, I brought my own drink. Saved some euros.

Thursday September 11, 2025

B&B Hotel

We checked out early to catch the airport shuttle, as Ferlino and Robin went their separate ways to go back home.

Geneva

The flights back home were three connecting flights from Geneva to London, London to San Francisco and San Francisco to Honolulu. 18 hours total.

Home Sweet Home

That concluded our European trip which was filled with awesome adventures, spectacular sightseeing, wonderful memories and in the company of good friends. Mahalo!

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Ferlino Carinio, Mari Saito, Robin Farr, Roger Schiffman, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

The day had finally arrived as we started on the CliffsNotes version of the TMB. We had eschewed hiking the entire 106 miles circuit that typically takes 8-11 days to complete. Instead we opted on a guided six-day hike that highlighted the “best” of the trail and left the more “mundane” sections out in left field. The TMB trail started for practical and economic reasons to move herds of sheep between the valleys and to facilitate fur trade among the scattered groups of people living in the valleys. Now it serves to move hikers between the valleys.

Chamonix

We stored our unneeded items in the hotel’s storage, packed our pasta in the provided tins, shared some of the lunch load and ate our standard breakfast fare.

Chamonix

Is that where we are going today? General direction?

Chamonix

Sylvia paying our bus fare as we took the short ride to the next town.

Telepherique de Bellevue

Didn’t we pass Les Houches, the official gate and start/finish of the TMB trail? I guess this will have to do for now.

Telepherique de Bellevue

Waiting in line to take the cable car ride to the top.

La Chalette

Group photo at the top with the panoramic mountain view.

TMB Trail

I guess this is the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc trail for our group.

TMB Trail

Mari crossing the cog railway line. You mean we can take the train?

TMB Trail

The girls making their way down the rooted part of the path.

TMB Trail

Heading out to the picturesque mountains. Not a bad way to start the morning.

TMB Trail

“Chains? We don’t need no stinking chains!” Paraphrasing the famous misquote from the 1948 film The Treasure of Sierra Madre.

TMB Trail

Sylvia and Ferlino passing through one of two cattle gates on the path.

TMB Trail

Is that Mont Blanc in the background?

TMB Trail

Descending down a set of switchbacks which bottled the hikers on the trail.

TMB Trail

Crossing the Glacier de Bionnassay footbridge that passes over the river fed by the glacier melt.

TMB Trail

Passing through an alpine forest as we pushed our way up, somebody had magic hiking sticks on the trail.

TMB Trail

Robin at a nice scenic spot with the Alps in the background.

TMB Trail

Back to the grind.

TMB Trail

We had our lunch below the windswept pass with tins of pasta salad and of course; bread, cheese and meat.

Col de Tricot

Our first mountain pass in the Alps at an altitude of 6,955′ with Mont Vorassay in the background.

TMB Trail

What goes up, must come back down.

TMB Trail

Making our way down the steep switchbacks.

TMB Trail

Descending towards the valley pasture.

TMB Trail

You take the easy way, I’ll take the hard way down.

TMB Trail

Headed towards our first shelter on the trail.

Refuge de Miage

We stopped at the mountain hut in the center of Miage Valley to have carbonated drinks and ice cream.

TMB Trail

Refreshed and recharged, we crossed a small stream and refilled our water bottles before resuming our hike.

TMB Trail

Back on the trail to climb a smaller pass.

TMB Trail

Chico taking advantage of the creative use of a tree stump.

TMB Trail

Nice to have a bench at the top of the pass to rest our derrieres. Trying to speak the local lingo.

TMB Trail

Looking back at our steep descent from the earlier pass where we lost over 1,800′ of elevation.

TMB Trail

Robin trying to orient herself to the direction of the trail.

Chalets du Truc

Brief stop at the mountain hut located on the plateau du Truc with sweeping mountain views of Domes de Miage to the Aravis mountains. We would have to miss the evening milking of the cows.

TMB Trail

Passing through the 14,000 acre forest reserve created in 1979 that encompasses pastures, rivers, forests and glaciers.

TMB Trail

Mari crossing over an electric wire meant to keep the cows in their place. I don’t think anybody actually checked if the switch was “on.”

TMB Trail

The group waiting their turn to cross over another slippery cow barrier. It must be working, we didn’t see any cows.

TMB Trail

Leaving the tree line for signs of civilization.

TMB Trail

Looking both ways before we cross the road. Safety first. We walked on the roads, passed through clusters of places for rent, crossed over multiple bridges, followed the stream and passed a horse pasture among other things.

TMB Trail

Are we there yet?

TMB Trail

We are almost there. That was a long 15 minutes. I think it must have been measured in metrics.

Le Pontet

Checking in, party of nine. We were assigned to our dormitory style rooms with bunk bed accommodations and bed bug powder at the foot of the bunks. There was some confusion as to whether we could bring our packs to our rooms or not. Some heeded and some did not.

Le Pontet

Some of us took hot showers in the common areas and then we all met up to have our family style dinner. BYOC (Bring Your Own Coke).

GPS Tracks

Our first day on the storied Tour du Mont Blanc trail covered 8.74 miles through the wilderness of the Alps. Somebody inquired as to taking a zero day on the second day. Cost was 270 euros for the taxi. That was roughly $315 dollars. Hard pass. The secret to motivating hikers? Hit ‘em in the wallet.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Deborah Tom, Ferlino Carinio, Mari Saito, Patrick Tom, Robin Farr, Roger Schiffman, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.