First Day of Hiking,

The first day of our hike coincided with Greg’s birthday - he was greeted early in the morning with a special rendition of Happy Birthday. The best gift ever was waking up to an absolutely spectacular day to start our hike. Because we are hiking so late in the TMB hiking season, we actually started on Stage 10 in order to stay at Refuge de Flegere which is closing later this week.

We were all in high spirits as we started our ascent up towards the refuge. At a certain point, we needed to decide whether or not to take an alternative high route to Lac Blanc - we decided since the weather was good to go for it.

Stopping for lunch along the way.

Lac Blanc was beautiful and we’re glad we made the trip! However, our first day involved 4006 vertical feet up and we were all really ready to get to the refuge after the descent back down! So members of our group were beginning to wonder what they got themselves into 😀

However, once you reach the refuge, claim your bunk bed, all seems right in the world again - especially with this view right outside the door.

The birthday boy relaxing after a long first day - so grateful to be with friends enjoying this awesome place. As several in our group said at various points WOW! 😮