Stage 8: Waterfalls, Wildflowers and Wrong Turns

Arolla to Le Sage

Saturday, July 13

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

After a rest day in Arolla, Switzerland, at the Hotel de Galicer, we had breakfast and met another group of Americans who were also with Alpinewild. We also got to meet the owner of Alpinewild, Greg. He has hiked the Haute Route many, many times and has never seen the amount of snow we hiked through in Stage 6. 

After packing all our gear, turning in the key, and saying goodbye to the manager and hikers around us, we set off on the trail to La Sage.

We headed up the hill through forest sometimes steep trails. It was a particularly beautiful day and we were going up and over the valley. One of the amazing things about this particular trail was that there was almost a waterfall at every turn. I couldn't help myself, I just had to take pictures. 

Another thing that struck me about Switzerland and walking on the trails here, were the beautiful variety Of wildflowers. Even their. Dandelions look amazing. 

These are Alpine Roses I believe

I did not saturate the colors on this photo-- very bright violet

Did Horton Hear a Who?

We kept we kept increasing elevation as we went higher and higher on the side of the hill. 

Finally we had an open pasture looking over, the bluest lake I have ever seen. It didn't even look real it was so blue. Which is why they gave it the name Loc Blu.  

The trail then started downhill passing through a hamlet of small cow houses. The guidebook said that this would be a place where we could buy cheese and milk, but the owner wasn't home.  

Slate Roof Shingles

While looking around the hamlets, a lady we had seen from Arolla wandered in and greeted us. Her name was Markella. She was from England and traveling alone, however had befriended a group of other travelers on the Haute Route. I invited her to join us and so we all walked together down the hill into the valley. We learned that she had got her PhD in science. 

We continued to wander down the road and trail through villages and while taking a lunch break, Rick and Anne, our speedy American friends, came along and I didn't miss the opportunity for a photo shoot :)

Anne and Rick from Maine

Markella, from England

We finally reached the bottom of the valley where we got to the city of Les Haudueres.  It was a small town filled with the wonderful dark wooded houses we've seen earlier in Le Chable. 

We wandered up through the houses, up the steep slope next to some gardens and mules.  When we got to the road I saw a waymark and crossed over to the other side and started up.  However, I didn't realize that this was taking us to a different village than we had planned on. 

We continued up the dry, steep switchbacks in the hot sun, until we labored into a steep hillside village called La Forclaz, which was perched in front of the beautiful mountain and glacier. While waiting for Markella and my father to catch up, I decided to take off my boots and socks, and put my feet in a nearby stream. The long day of hiking made my feet very sore and hot, so the glacier, cold water was so refreshing.  

After talking to some of the local people, and finding out that we had taken the wrong turn, we headed up the road through houses again to search for the way to Le Sage. 

We finally found some trail markers, and headed down the road towards the city of La Sage.  We stopped at the first hotel that we saw and checked the price, which was right. One of Markella's companions, Marcus, was there relaxing with the beer. Marcus is a German engineer, whom we would continue to see on the trail and enjoy a beer with, from time to time.  

After stowing our bags and paying for the bill, we joined Markella and Marcus for the beautiful view, overlooking the valley with mountains and glaciers. My dad and I also ordered a beer, which after a long day of hiking, it's very refreshing. 

There was a large group of French travelers who were signed to our floor, so we moved up to the top floor where Markella and Marcus were staying In different rooms. 

After paying 5 Francs for a shower, which was worth it, we went downstairs to wait for dinner.  The owner was also the cook, and he made a delicious potato soup, along with bread, green beans, carrots with a very interesting sauce, and a stewed type of beef mixture, which was excellent.

After dinner, we talked a little more, and then went to bed.