Grand Saint Bernard Pass to Etrouble

[Bob from L.A. !]

Left the hospice this morning with heavy wind and hail stones falling.
Took the trail on the Italian side of the mountain and after dropping about a 1000 feet in elevation the hail finally stopped, but the rain continued.
Another 1000 foot drop the rain stopped, but the cold prevailed.
The entire day was steep downhill trails through beautiful forest lands and heavy flow waterfalls.
Several times I had to stop to relax the "thigh burn" from all the downhill pounding.
About 4.5 hours later I made it to my destination of Etrouble.
(I highly recommend when leaving the hospice that you take the trail route NOT the road route). The trail is very well marked whereas the road will add about an extra hour onto your decent time.

 

[grayland]

Congrats on getting on the downhill side of GSB!

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

No kidding! Most, like me, would think nothing of it. It's downhill, right?
Not even close to being true.
An absolute thigh burner.

 

[Corned Beef]

You can now start to enjoy the walk as you go through Italy.

Aosta is an interesting old town with a few Roman ruins in the middle. You'll also will be going downhill as you travel along the Aosta valley towards Bard / Ivrea but the gradient will not be noticeable.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

The entire day was steep downhill trails through beautiful forest lands and heavy flow waterfalls.
Several times I had to stop to relax the "thigh burn" from all the downhill pounding.

Hi Bob, You mentioned thigh burn but nothing about your knees; how did they hold up? Or don't you have any issues there? If not, lucky you!
Enjoy the Aosta Valley...I loved, loved, loved it!

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Hi Kaz- I have been wearing knee sleeves for the entire trip and have been pain free in the knees. (Ibuprofen also occasionally too).
This morning I woke up and my thighs were screaming at me though.
Thankfully today is a scheduled rest day.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Hi Kaz- I have been wearing knee sleeves for the entire trip and have been pain free in the knees. (Ibuprofen also occasionally too).
This morning I woke up and my thighs were screaming at me though.
Thankfully today is a scheduled rest day.

Enjoy...& give those pins a rest. Fortunately Etroubles is quite small so you won't be tempted to 'clock up the k's' (miles).
I had a wonderful dinner in Etroubles...just can't remember the name of the place...& yes, that is jet-black icecream RHS of the plate!

 

[timr]

I remember my delight at reaching Etroubles, not least at the thought that it was a wonderful name for the various problems some of us have from time to time with technology!

 

[Tassie Kaz]

I remember my delight at reaching Etroubles, not least at the thought that it was a wonderful name for the various problems some of us have from time to time with technology!

I never did bother to find out how it's actually pronounced!

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

I have to agree. My dinner last night was really good as well.

 

[sillydoll]

Left the hospice this morning with heavy wind and hail stones falling.
Took the trail on the Italian side of the mountain and after dropping about a 1000 feet in elevation the hail finally stopped, but the rain continued.
Another 1000 foot drop the rain stopped, but the cold prevailed.
The entire day was steep downhill trails through beautiful forest lands and heavy flow waterfalls.
Several times I had to stop to relax the "thigh burn" from all the downhill pounding.
About 4.5 hours later I made it to my destination of Etrouble.
(I highly recommend when leaving the hospice that you take the trail route NOT the road route). The trail is very well marked whereas the road will add about an extra hour onto your decent time.

In 2016 most of our group walked on the trail while I walked on the road. I could see the other's from time to time and eventually we arrived at St Remy within a minute or two of each other. From there we all walked on the trail to Etroubles

 

[Rex]

No kidding! Most, like me, would think nothing of it. It's downhill, right?
Not even close to being true.
An absolute thigh burner.

Unfortunately, that "downhill is easy" myth is hard to overcome, but as an old distance runner who participated in several multi-stage races (150-250 miles of relay stages), the veterans would always opt for running uphill vs a steep downhill. Downhill makes "hamburger"out of your quads as they are taking the brunt of stabilizing you from the weight of your body (and a pack) plus gravity as you descend. Anyone who planned to run a downhill stage would wisely do a heavy dose of squats in the weeks leading up to the race, but it is almost impossible to train for the pounding your upper legs will absorb.
I plan to walk that same path in early September and have begun to incorporate front squats and Romanian split leg knee drops into my weight training routine. Old legs don't like it much, but they like it less when I do NO training before tackling big descents. Your thighs will be sore for a couple of days with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), but your fitness level at this point of your trek should keep that response to a short window of a few days. The knee sleeves are a brilliant idea, I may check them out.
Buen Camino.

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Knee sleeves - I have no doubt they have made a difference for me on this trip.

 

[sgbmom]

Did you get a chance to see/interact with the St. Bernard dogs?

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Definable saw and heard them. Wouldn't miss it.

 

[sillydoll]

If you buy a ticket for the museum it includes a visit to the dogs. Some lucky people are allowed to accompany them and their handlers on their daily walk.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

....Romanian split leg knee drops....

Can always count on Forum members to continue my education on all manner of topics.
The mind boggles at this one...‍but I'm sure it can't be fun...