Wish You Were Here: A hiking trip to the Swiss Alps, but sleeping in luxury

Looking to escape Here s a new trip local readers took to the French Swiss and Italian Alps Check it out then find more reader voyage inspiration at www mercurynews com tag wish-you-were-here Related Articles Wish You Were Here An exceptional adventure on a narrowboat in Wales Wish You Were Here A trip to the iconic ice hotel in Sweden Wish You Were Here Two glorious weeks in Japan on a vegetarian diet Wish You Were Here Glacier spotting in Antarctica an elephant ride in India Wish You Were Here A -day Asian cruise with unforgettable views SWITZERLAND FRANCE ITALY Alamo resident Kathleen Dunlap had the adventure of a lifetime with her son Doug Dunlap as the two spent days hiking the French Swiss and Italian Alps While Kathleen was not excited by the idea of carrying -pound backpacks and camping or sleeping with strangers in huts and sharing bathrooms along the way she identified an alternative a lodge-to-lodge trip along Mont Blanc with hotel stays each night Curated by Berkley-based company Backroads the trip began in Geneva where Kathleen and Doug spent two days exploring the International City of Peace On Day they took a train to the Lavaux vineyards where the wine was delicious and views were breathtaking Kathleen commented On Day it was time for their adventure in the mountains to begin They met their Backroads group in Geneva then traveled to Chamonix in France to begin a six-day journey through Mont Blanc It s located in a stunning valley Kathleen mentioned Our warm up hike was up the side of the valley facing Mont Blanc It was a short hot hard hike but we were rewarded with jaw-dropping views of Mont Blanc with each step and we were aghast in the knowledge that in just a couple days we d be at the peak of Mont Blanc feet We stayed at the glorious Grand Hotel des Alps in Chamonix at the foot of Mont Blanc Alamo's Kathleen Dunlap with her son Doug Dunlap at Mount Blanc in Chamonix France photo courtesy of Kathleen Dunlap MOVEMENT TIPS Every meal was amazing but the best was the raclette at the tiny Refuge du Montenvers she stated It is nearly impossible for the average person to book this gem It is way way up in the shadows of Mont Blanc above Chamonix with views overlooking the Mer de Glace with mind blowing views We stayed in the Alexandre Dumas room Count of Monte Cristo author The next day we hiked a very long balcony trail that at last led us to the tram that took us to the top of Mont Blanc feet From there were we took the famous Chamonix panoramic gondola over the peak and the glacier and into Italy We hiked the Italian side of Mont Blanc for the next two days with base camp in the lovely Courmayeur We had gorgeous curated hikes each day for guests of majority of every level of hiking fitness We generally hiked - miles per day There were plenty of alternatives for less functioning guests The lunches each day were spectacular Glorious trip all around Definitely recommend it to anyone- especially hikers Kathleen shared her hiking itinerary below DAY Grand Hotel des Alpes Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Auvergne-Rh ne-Alpes France DAY Refuge du Montenvers Chamonix Mont-Blanc France DAY Le Massif Courmayeur Courmayeur Italy Join the fun Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures local domestic or international to jmastrodonato bayareanewsgroup com Tell us where you are who everyone is and where they re from and share a passage tip or two to help fellow readers go there too