GR5: Day 50–56 from past Samöens to before Bessans | Hiking from Holland to Nice
The mountains are in full force this week, with steep climbs, rocky trails and some truly spectacular scenery. I meet a Tough Girl Podcast listener, get a taste of the Tour du Mont Blanc, and face a night of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. There are tough moments, but the mountains keep making it all worthwhile.
Day 50 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️ 24 degrees
From: past Samöens
Start time: 7.50am
To: By Pont d’Arlevé (1,579m)
End time: 6.37pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: gravel, rocks, grassy tracks, more rocks.
Cicerone guidebook stages: stage 4 & start of stage 5
🥾Km: 20.45
🥾Miles: 12.7
🦶Steps: 18,484
Ascent: 1,774m
Descent: 923m
Total Distance 1688/2,200 km
76.7% Done ✅
💰Costs: €4 apple juice
€6 apple juice (at 2,000m)
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: /10
⭐️Highlights: I seem back to normal! Honestly not sure what was going on yesterday it was just the weirdest thing. Had such a better day today.
😊Also met a TGP listener!! Always amazing to meet people out in the mountains!
🏕️ Setting up the tent at 7 pm was amazing. I can’t remember the last time I set up the tent so early.
🏔️Challenges: just trying to take it really easy today and listen to my body. I kept hydrated, I ate food. I took it slow.
💭Thoughts: the mountains are absolutely incredible. I’ve had so many moments of pure joy and those feelings of awe.
Day 51 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️ 25 degrees
From: Pont d’Arlevé (1,579m)
Start time: 7.17am
To: before Col de Voza
End time: 7.42pm
Accommodation:wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: Rocky, mountain paths, forests, rooty.
Cicerone guidebook stages: 5
🥾Km: 20.79
🥾Miles: 13
🦶Steps: 21,808
Ascent: 1,658m
Descent: 1,615m
Total Distance 1710/2,200 km
77.7% Done ✅
💰Costs: €45 new trainers - just need them for 19 days!
€4 drink, yogurt, 2x croissants
€24 resupply - protein bars, chocolate croissants, energy gels, water, blackberries.
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 5/10
Ease of terrain: 8/10
⭐️Highlights: amazing views of Mt Blanc, incredible mountain scenery, good chats with lots of interesting people.
🏔️Challenges: big thunderstorms and winds coming in… not sure I want to be camping in this! But not much I can do now! I’m set up - the tent is pegged down. I’m sure it will be fine.
💭Thoughts: another good day. the TMB has jumped to the top of my hiking list. The section I did which crossed over was epic!!!
Day 52 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: non stop rain 🌧️
From: before Col de Voza
Start time: 7.56am
To: Les Contamines
End time: 2pm
Accommodation: apartment - bed 🛌
Terrain: roads, tracks, forests
Cicerone guidebook stages: stage 6
🥾Km: 8.6 + 6.23 = 14.83
🥾Miles: 9
🦶Steps: 9887 + 7,713 = 17,600
Ascent: 248m + 217m = 465 m
Descent: 764m + 168m = 932 m
Total Distance 1,722/2,200 km
78.2% Done ✅
💰Costs: €12.80 - bakery
€21.79 resupply
€101 accommodation
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 5/10 - the rain made it miserable
Fatigue: 6/10 - it was not a restful night!
Ease of terrain: 4/10
⭐️Highlights: getting an early check-in and having a hot shower! Almost a rest day!
🏔️Challenges: last night was utterly horrendous with the rain, the thunder and the lightning. I was lying in my sleeping bag just repeating I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine over and over again wondering what would happen if the tent gave up? It didn’t - so I was fine, but I was thinking I might have to crawl under the locked cabin, which was next to me - to survive the storm.
💭Thoughts: what a night and what a day. I’m not where I need to be, but I also am where I need to be. It would’ve been such a struggle to do any more walking in this weather. Tomorrow is a new day.
Day 53 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: rain all day - apart from 30 mins when the clouds cleared. 15 degrees. Much cooler than normal.
From: Les Contamines
Start time: 9.30am
To: Gîte d’alpage de Plan Mya
End time: 5.33pm
Accommodation: camped - outside a gite
Terrain: mountains, rocks, shale, grass, gravel, roads
Cicerone guidebook stages: 7
🥾Km: 21.03 + 1.9 = 22.93
🥾Miles: 13 + 1 = 14
🦶Steps: 24,298 + 2,331 = 26,629
Ascent: 1,593m + 47m = 1,640 m
Descent: 836m + 101m = 937 m
Total Distance 1,741/2,200 km
79% Done ✅
💰Costs: €5 camping
€3.50 hot chocolate
€1,50 juice drink
€23 dinner - 4 courses - hot food!
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 6/10
⭐️Highlights: meeting Viv @daysawayadventures_hike_snow on the trail and her awesome group of badass women hiking the TMB. @adventuruswomen
Dinner at the gite. Met a lovely group of Chinese-American women - we had a fun dinner 🥳 It was great to eat hot food! I feel replenished!!
🏔️Challenges: the mist, the rain, the lack of visibility- has to do a road walk instead of a ridge walk due to the weather. Started to get really cold and needed to stop ASAP & get my tent up. The area I was walking through, you weren’t allowed to camp. So I knocked on a gite - and they had camping for €5 - plus they were able to get me in for dinner.
💭Thoughts: might have to start staying at more gites - the food was epic plus able to set my tent up before 7pm! It does make life easier. I’m also getting breakfast in the morning. A good way to start the day.
Day 54 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny! ☀️ 20 degrees
From: Gîte d’alpage de Plan Mya
Start time: 8.01am
To: Landry
End time: 5.56pm
Accommodation: Hotel - bed 🛌
Terrain: Rocky, road, forest, slate
Cicerone guidebook stages: 8
🥾Km: 25.68
🥾Miles: 16
🦶Steps: 28,880
Ascent: 1,150m
Descent: 2,235m
Total Distance 1,768/2,200 km
80% Done ✅
💰Costs: €13 breakfast
€104 hotel
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 5/10
⭐️Highlights: reaching Col du Bresson (2,469m) stunning views walking down the valley. Having sun again - the rain is very demoralising.
🏔️Challenges: the downhill really worked my quads! They feel very tight!! I need to do some stretching!
💭Thoughts: still 3 stages behind schedule! I need to do some more planning!!!
Day 55 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️ 19 degrees
From: Landry
Start time: 9.05am
To: past Tignes le Lac
End time: 8pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: Rocky, grassy, mountain tracks
Cicerone guidebook stages: 9 & half of 10
🥾Km: 28.47
🥾Miles: 17.7
🦶Steps: 32,750
Ascent: 2,282m
Descent: 797m
Total Distance 1795/2,200 km
81.6% Done ✅
💰Costs: €11.21 - cookie, quiche, muffin, drink & sweets
€42.25 - wrap, snickers, crisps, chocolate, yogurt, 2x protein drinks, protein bars.
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10
⭐️Highlights: the views were amazing, the valley walking - stunning, crossing the high passes, just beautiful.
🏔️Challenges: finding camping towards the end of the day. No flat ground - all boulder fields.
💭Thoughts: after tomorrow- if I do the rest of stage 10 and 11. I will only be 2 stages behind. Because I’m camping. It will be easier to get going earlier in the morning.
Day 56 🥾GR5 - 2,200km from Holland 🇳🇱 to Nice 🇫🇷
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️
From: past Tignes le Lac
Start time: 8.48am
To: before Bessans
End time: 8.39pm
Accommodation: wild camped - side of a mountain road - not a great spot!
Terrain: Rocky, narrow paths, slate, mountain roads & tracks
Cicerone guidebook stages: end of 10 & most of 11
🥾Km: 26.75
🥾Miles: 16.7
🦶Steps: 31,501
Ascent: 1,465m
Descent: 1,857m
Total Distance 1,822/2,200 km
82.8% Done ✅
💰Costs: €5.09 - 2x croissant, energy drink
€17.70 - chicken sandwich, cookie, 3x mini chocolate donuts, chocolate eclair.
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fatigue: 5/10
Ease of terrain: 7/10 - super steep & hard going
⭐️Highlights: reaching the highest point on the whole of the GR5. Walking past the cascades, stunning waterfalls.
🏔️Challenges: there was no camping at all on the stretch that I wanted to camp out so I had to keep on descending down in the pitched black. Realised I was going off route. so found a not very flat bit of ground right next to a mountain road. I will have to get up super early tomorrow.
💭Thoughts: I can’t believe I couldn’t find a camping spot. This is an absolute shocker. I’m also probably not going to sleep too well because I’m wired from walking so late.
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