Bonavau to Van d'en Bas

The final day started in a similar fashion to the first, with a huge climb to a distant col. Initially however, we had to negotiate the seemingly impenetrable Pas d'Encel gorge...

We climbed into the gorge - never really clear as to how the route was going to unfold. Handrails were in place for the exposed and/or steep sections of the route. This had a feeling of a hardcore mountaineering route until an elderly lady gracefully descended past us with a chirpy 'bonjour'...!

Having successfully navigated the gorge, we found ourselves in another high secluded valley. We followed this valley, skirting under the hanging glaciers on Mont Ruan and up to the Col du Susanfe.

Descending from the col proved just as tricky as any other part of the tour and soon we found ourselves at the familiar Lac de Salanfe.

The Vallon de Van was just a short descent from the Lac and, before we knew it, we were having a beer and discussing what our next adventure will be...

Mex to Bonavau

Natalie and I were up and away this morning as we had a lot of kilometres to cover...

The morning was spent weaving our way through the forests from Mex to the eco-friendly refuge at Chindonne - occasionally popping out by a beautiful waterfall or in a summery alpine meadow.

Yesterday I moaned a lot about the yellow signs that mark every junction - taking the map reading challenge out of the tour. After this morning, I take it all back :)

In the afternoon, the terrain became more challenging. The narrow disintegrating paths clung precariously to the steep sides of the mountains. Again, we were rewarded with moments of jaw-dropping beauty, such as the view of the Dents du Midi. Natalie and I tried to balance and tip-toe our way to the Refuge de Bonavau and after eleven hours of walking, we made it!

Too tired to really appreciate the beauty of this delightful 'Heidi' style mountain hut, we ate a fine meal and turned in for the night...

ZZZZZZZZZZZ.