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Breakfast was 7am and was typical - bread, salami and cheese, cereal, juice/coffee, and diced fruit. Overall we were not happy with the food here, but we got enough calories to keep going.
We started off on the trail around 8am. We crossed over the footbridge we'd crossed earlier, then turned right to continue downhill. This part of the trail is pretty nondescript. Some forest, not many views, not much of interest.
We went downhill for about 2 miles. At one point I think we missed a turn, going left instead of going through a closed gate. We had to turn right to rejoin the trail (people ahead of us and behind us made the same mistake). Thank goodness for GPS.
We started the climb, which is very steep in places (and just somewhat steep in the others). There were lots of wildflowers (my allergies did not like this). Not many views on the lower portions of the climb, but the views would come later.
Cows and cross
Gentle trail before the big climb starts
We had several stream crossings which we just rock hopped across. There were a couple places where the trail was basically flooded, but it was shallow and we could just walk in it with our waterproof boots without a problem. Maybe an inch or two of water in most places. No need to use our water shoes, although I did see one woman walking barefoot on one section, in fear of getting her boots wet.
Views open up a bit on the climb
The grade finally started to ease up and the terrain was mostly grassy, with views of the cities below to the northwest. Then we rounded a corner and saw cows. Now we knew we were close to the place called Bovine.
I'm guessing that might be Martigny, Switzerland down there, not sure
Climb approaching Bovine
Cows at Bovine
Passing cows at Bovine
We got to Bovine around 11am. Thanks to Rod, a tour guide my wife had chatted up yesterday, we'd made reservations for rosti dishes at 11:30am. They had a table with our name on it, and didn't make us wait for our food even though we were early. Very nice! The food was excellent - basically potatoes with bacon, but very well made. My only warning would be that you have to pay in cash (euros are fine). Credit cards and Apple Pay not accepted.
Lunch at Bovine
After lunch, we continued climbing a bit more. There are some nice views here, but the thing that stuck out to me was the heat. The mid-day sun was hot on my back; I think it was the hottest day on our trip.
Looking back at Bovine
Martigny?
The top is somewhat anti-climatic. It's a small area with trees on one side, and the view was better further down.
We passed through a gate and started the descent. We started the descent around 12:10pm. It's steep, but not super steep. I didn't enjoy it because of my knee problem, but it held up enough.
It's a mostly forested descent without much in the way of views. The trail was narrow and there were tour groups going in both directions, so we often had to stop to let them pass. We kept seeing the same people over and over as we leapfrogged. Many of them we had seen on earlier days of the trip, as well.
As we got close, we could see the road below, and finally Hotel de la Forclaz itself. We arrived around 1:40pm, too early for 3pm check in. We sat down for some sodas and some fruit tarts. We checked out the store across the road; they were selling the TMB shirts we'd seen before. The white ones looked decent, but all they had was small and XXL so we passed (didn't want to get the green).
As we waited we could see lots of cyclists cresting the climb and starting the descent. Looked like fun. Finally, 3pm came around and we checked in. We were lucky to have a private room for 4. We had to share the communal bathrooms and showers, but since we were probably the first to check in, we didn't have to wait. There was no laundry service, but there were drying lines outside in the back which we used.
Cyclists starting a descent from Col de la Forclaz
Dinner was at 7pm like everywhere else. It started off with some sort of squash or carrot soup which was so-so. Pretty bland. The main course was chicken, fries, and vegetables. Taste was ok, but the portion sizes were small. They did ask if anyone wanted more, though. Dessert was a small scoop of ice cream.
Our room was quite warm, so we slept with the window open most of the night. At least it afforded us a pretty nice view of the mountains across the road.
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