Hiking abroad: crossing the pond

In 2019, I hiked the AT for my first hike. It was a singular goal for me at 55 years old. It was a dream of my childhood. I had no idea the trail would light a fire in my soul to push myself to my limits and beyond! The hiking bug hit me hard, I hadn’t even made it to the top of Kathadin and my mind was already on the PCT! I was so singularly focused on the AT that I never explored beyond it, so many trails, so many possibilities! I hadn’t even thought about or considered other paths.

In September 2025, I attended the ALDHA fall conference in Colorado. In addition to receiving my coveted triple crown award, I wanted to check out other trails and add them to my short list. One was AZT. I knew I needed to gather information on this trail, but more importantly, will it be fully open after last year’s devastating fire that burned the North Rim Lodge and a significant amount of trail? Even after the gala, I wasn’t sure if the last 100 miles from the Grand Canyon to Utah would be open or passable. The people at ALDHA were my people and the event was incredible. Of course, while there I planned a week of hiking trips throughout Rocky Mountain National Park and the weather and views were spectacular!

In October, through my research, it was time to decide! Next on my list was the TMB, the Tour du Mount Blanc, as the AZT would wait until next spring. Planning began in earnest! I initially wanted to make all my connections and make my own reservation. My biggest hurdle was that the TMB website crashed and ended up down for weeks. Putting together a plan involved booking cabins and connecting the dots in three different countries! A dozen unanswered emails did nothing to inspire confidence! I created a standard email, added dates, and then translated it into the language of that specific country. Time was passing and I stepped away from my laptop to get some fresh air!

When I walked in from the outside I had an epiphany about my problem! Before I could tell my wife my idea, she had the same thought but started researching it. We both agreed to the idea of ​​having a company do the booking! We researched companies and analyzed recent comments and ratings, I quickly decided on a company! Bookatrekking is located in the Netherlands and their entire staff are global hikers with an incredible resume of hiking around the world! I contacted them and within a week I had an itinerary!

I had the option of 7, 9, 10 or 11 days! My ego said I can easily do it on Seven! My 62 year old brain said: yes, I can, but why? As I get older, the internal struggle is real, but time and wisdom have tempered my ego! I decided on 10 days and, to feed my ego, there would not be a day of rest, there, a commitment!

Then I booked my flights: Daytona to Atlanta, Atlanta to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Geneva. I had the option of taking a bus or train to Chamonix, France. I would plan it later! Then I booked accommodation, before I retired I would go on a trip or vacation, return to the city and return to work without catching my breath. Now, with the benefit of time, I planned two days of travel and two days to just relax, one before the hike and one after! Geneva and Chamonix had very expensive accommodation. Also high storage fees for what you wouldn’t carry on your hike! I found Chamonix Lodge, a hostel that was 47 euros and free storage! Perfect, and they were great, linens, towels, breakfast, non-stop coffee, cappuccino, espresso, not to mention soap, shampoo and conditioner! Www.Chamonix lodge.com

I arrived at noon, showered and headed
Back to discover the city and stretch my legs after the long flights, I ended up walking eight miles, perfect! Being impatient by nature, I decided that on my rest day I would take a gondola to the south balcony at Brevent Pass and hike 5200′ descending to Les Houches, the official trailhead. I did this because I was looking forward to walking and my last day was equally ambitious as my first two days, so I would eliminate a big descent, see the trail and have a clear idea of ​​how to get to the next town to start tomorrow. At the gondola, I wisely bought a round-trip ticket that is good for the entire season.

The hike down was incredible – Mount Blanc was surrounded by glaciers and very scenic! Not a mile into my walk, I saw what would be my only chamois and a single groundhog. I walked on about 1/2 mile of snow, mostly loose granular. I had my microspikes but never needed them! It was a great hike to Les Houches. I had a hiker take my initial photo and I reciprocated by taking photos for several finishers!

I was excited because tomorrow would officially start! I took a bus 5 miles back to Chamonix and did some shopping and eating! Back at the hostel there was a mix of finalists and starters for tomorrow! I met Bella from Austin, Texas and we had the same itinerary, so we committed to at least starting together! Despite my excitement, I slept very well, woke up early, and had no signs of jet lag.

The BMR generally increases from mid-June to mid-September. It’s the busiest trail in Europe and from my research it’s crazy in July and August, June and September are wild cards due to persistent snow or early snow, usually also colder or colder temperatures. I tend to go early on each hike, which makes for cold, snowy crowds! Europe had a below-average snow year, as you may have witnessed watching the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Speaking of the Olympics, Chamonix, France, hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Another negative, besides a busy trail in the summer months, are thunderstorms and rain, like in the Rocky Mountains. They also host the UTMB trail race in August which must be a real mess! The time to book on your own or hire a company is October for the most flexibility. Ironically, this is the most difficult time to contact places, as they typically take a break from mid-September to November, before the ski season begins. Spoiler alert: all my future routes through Europe, South America and Nepal will be done with Bookingatrekking. Everything was perfect and perfect! Plus, they also provide a wonderful navigation app!

My weather was almost perfect, bordering on hot for many, as it was below eighty degrees almost every day. Coming from 95 degrees Florida, it was fine, but sun exposure is 85-90% of the day. We never exceed 8,000′ altitude. Fortunately, altitude does not affect this sea level dweller up to 9,000 feet! I never had any problems! Nighttime temperatures exceeded 60 degrees. Sleeping very comfortably, where we often had all the windows open. I want to emphasize that potentially in June, you might need ice axes and crampons and it might be cold! I was lucky, you may remember a heat advisory in the last ten days of June, as the Omega heat dome negatively affected places like Paris, Geneva, and Eastern and Western Europe.

As a point of reference, this was my first trip to Europe, although my wife and I paid for at least four trips for our daughters! Stay tuned for my daily recap and observations across this beautiful part of the Alps!

Happy trails!

Cat

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