France

Day 20: Misadventures in Montgenèvre on a Monday…

Day 20: Misadventures in Montgenèvre on a Monday…

Day 20 - July 22 - 27 KMS - 10 HRS - 384 KMS TOTAL Start: 7:35 AM, Plampinet, End: 5:30 PM, Briançon Ascent: 1350 m (21 215 m total),...

Dec 16, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Day 19: Lazy day in Plampinet

Day 19: Lazy day in Plampinet

In one week, I fly to Cuba for my first non-hiking vacation in over five years. It isn't hiking I need a break from, but from the meticulous planning necessary...

Dec 15, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Day 18: The mountain air smelled like brown sugar and butter melting in a skillet…

Day 18: The mountain air smelled like brown sugar and butter melting in a skillet…

Day 18 - July 20 - 23 KMS - 9.5 HRS - 343 KMS TOTAL Start: 8:03 AM, Modane, End: 5:32 PM, Les Granges de la Vallée Étroite Ascent: 1500 m (19...

Oct 30, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Day 17 – Gawd bless Camping Les Combes in Modane!

Day 17 – Gawd bless Camping Les Combes in Modane!

Day 17 - July 19 - 21 KMS - 6.5 HRS - 320 KMS TOTAL Start: 7:51 AM, Peyra Levrousa, End: 2:35 PM, Modane Ascent: 625 m (17 840 m total), Descent: 1675...

Oct 8, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Day 16 on the GR5: hungry and agape!

Day 16 on the GR5: hungry and agape!

It has been five weeks since I finished the sometimes dangerous and always stunning 700-kilometre long GR5, including nearly forty thousand meters of ascent. Unfortunately, between all the hiking

Sep 11, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Day 15 on the GR5

Day 15 on the GR5

Day 15 - July 17th - 15 kilometers - 4.5 hours268 kms total so farStart: 10:07 AM, Refuge de CuchetEnd: 2:37 PM, Refuge du Plan du LacAscent: 715 meters (15...

Aug 20, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Days 13 and 14 on the GR5…

Days 13 and 14 on the GR5…

There is a slight sour taste to my morning mixture of powdered milk and three instant coffee packets with 400 mL of water; shaken, not stirred. I guess it’s time...

Aug 20, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
Days 7 to 12 on the GR5!

Days 7 to 12 on the GR5!

It is just after six and I have awoken to the call of Nature. Les sanitaires, otherwise known in English as the washrooms, are only 100 metres away here at...

Jul 19, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
The first 6 days on the GR5!

The first 6 days on the GR5!

The feet are mangled; their shape resembles a tightly wrung towel. Withered, wrinkly and snow-white in spots, they ache. The heel spur on my right foot is crying the saddest...

Jul 12, 2024 : Christina Laflamme
The Last Shower

The Last Shower

Unlimited hot water, excellent water pressure, no coin machine to race against or fee to pay, and I can stay under this warm and cleansing spray for as long as...

Jun 29, 2024 : Christina Laflamme