Day 5 - Courmayeur - Rifugio Bonatti

Today we started the day on the road and once again quickly got lost. Apparently the “trail” went through a section of road that was under construction. We blew right past it and took a nice tour around the town until we found our way back onto the path.

The gentle switchback nature of the trail and the heavily-wooded cover protecting us from the sun led to a much easier day than we thought given that we were climbing 800m / 2,625’.

As we wound the trail approaching Rifugio Bonatti we were breathless, not from the altitude or the exertion, but from view up to the refugio and it’s tightly packed wildflowers heading down to the base of the river and mountains that towered above it.

Dinner was fabulous: pasta salad, soup, carrot salad, mashed potatoes and an unidentifiable bean patty. As we headed to sleep it was just the four of us in a huge room. Two other smart people got the idea and joined us in quiet slumber. Apparently they had reached their limit of their noisy group as well.

The story continues...