Martigny-Orsieres 2nd June 2017

2nd June 2017

Martigny - Orsieres - 20kms

Overnight we had very light rain which was actually very good for us for a) it cleared the atmosphere a bit (it had been very muggy yesterday) and it softened the path. We started at 7:30am walking along the road. It all looked quite easy until we got to the railway tracks. The path then went steeply uphill, following the course of the River Dranse up and down narrow tracks, similar to those goat tracks that the goats refuse to go on! Several kilometres later we crossed the river over a suspension bridge and arrived in Bovernier rather the worse for wear. We stopped for drinks at the Tchyko Bar where the owner refused to let us pay!

After Bovernier we headed for Sembrancher where we stopped for lunch. This village has many old wooden buildings from the 17th century which served to store grain. Suitably refreshed we carried steeply uphill for about 500m, crossing the road that winds up the mountain several times. At the top the scenery was incredibly beautiful with mountains on all sides framing fields, boasting cows, cattle and even donkeys. We carried on following this pleasant scene but were soon rudely awakened as we found the "Route Napoleon". This went through woods via incredibly difficult and at times hazardous tracks. We were lucky that the path was dry otherwise it would have been an almost impossible and dangerous task.

Eight hours later we entered Orsieres where we will sleep tonight. Tomorrow we continue to climb towards the Great St Bernard Pass, which we hope to reach on Sunday, all being well. Our friends Peter and Johanna will wait for us there. They are one day ahead of us but have decided to spend two nights in the pass.