And away we go...

You can see our itinerary and fast facts about the trip using the tabs above. See photos by viewing our instagram #alpinetrek2016. (You must log in to instagram to see the latest photos.) See ya!

Trip Training!

Hike Stats--for the geeks in the group

Total distance: 95-100 miles
Average per day: 7.5 miles
Longest day: 13.7 miles
Shortest day: 2.3 miles
Days over 10 miles: 3
Days under 5 miles: 3
Most elevation gained in one day: 4760 ft.
Highest point hiked: 8835 ft.
Highest lodging: 6178 ft.


Daily Distances:

1. St.-Dalmas-le-Selvage to St. Etienne de Tinee: 5.6 miles
2. St. Etienne de Tinee to Roya: 7.4 miles
3. Roya to Refuge de Longon: 13 miles (highest lodging)
4. Refuge de Longon to Roure: 8 miles
5. Roure to St. Dalmas Valdeblore: 8.7 miles
6. St. Dalmas Valdeblore to Boreon: 13.7 miles (most elevation gained)
7. Boreon to La Madone de Fenestre: 8 miles
8. La Madone de Fenestre to Refuge de Nice: 3 miles (highest point)
9. Refuge de Nice to Refuge des Merveilles: 6.8 miles
10. Refuge des Merveilles to Tende: 8 miles (then train to Sospel)
11. Sospel to Castellar: 8.7 miles
12. Castellar to St. Agnes: 2.3 miles
13. St. Agnes to Mediterranean: 2.8 miles

About withdrawing cash...

This article from Rick Steves is super-helpful.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-machine-atm-tips


1. French bank ATMs charge no withdrawal fees.

2. Most ATM cards use either the Pulse network (linking Visa cards) or the Cirrus network (used by MasterCard, Maestro, and Diners Club). These networks typically charge a 1% currency conversion fee but the exchange rates are standard bank to bank, mid-market rates.

3. Many US banks, particularly large, big-advertising-budget banks will add fixed transaction costs or add up to a 2% of the amount withdrawn in fees to each withdrawal. These additional fees can be completely avoided if one is careful about the bank he uses.

4. As long as your ATM card is linked to either Pulse or Cirrus/Maestro, there is little chance that it will be rejected at a French bank ATM. If for some reason there is a problem at one ATM, do as twk suggests and try another location.

5. Most US banks limit the amount of money that can be withdrawn within any 24 hour period to approximately $500 or less than 400€. This might be a concern for those paying for accommodations in cash and withdrawals should be planned accordingly.

6. French ATMs will not offer a choice if you typically make ATM withdrawals from different bank accounts. Withdrawals will be automatically made from whichever account your bank has earmarked as your primary account. Bank customers may want to confirm their primary accounts before travelling.

Using ATMs offers the low cost way to obtain foreign currencies. ATMs are ubiquitous all over France including at the airports so obtaining euros is now a fairly routine and simple process.

Final Itinerary

7/7 (Thursday)

fly to Nice, drive to Hotel Ancien in St. Dalmas le Selvage (wifi)

7/8 (Friday)

• Walk to St Etienne de Tinee (2.15 hrs.)

http://www.gite-tinee-mercantour.com/hebergement.html wifi
40 euros half board, 9 euro packed lunch
2 minutes from telecabine Pinatelle, 4.20 euros, starts running at 9:30am (buy two tickets, get one free)

[buy food in St. Etienne de Tinee for next three days]

7/9 (Saturday) walk to Roya (4.30 hrs)-- [take gondola lift directly to Auron from St. Etienne de Tinee to cut out some of the time?]
http://www.gites-refuges.com/v2/detail-825.htm
half board 49 euros, cash or check only

7/10 (Sunday) walk to Refuge de Longon (6.45 hrs)
http://www.via-alpina.org/fr/point/881
half board 30-44 euros

7/11 (Monday) walk to Roure (2.30 hrs.)

http://www.aubergelerobur.fr/ wifi

 

7/12 (Tuesday) walk to St. Dalmas (5.15 hrs)

http://www.gite-marmottes.fr/index.html

Around 20 euros for night, 6 breakfast, 20 dinner

[buy food in St. Dalmas for next 4-5 days]

7/13 (Wednesday) walk to gite du Boreon (on the GR52) (8 hrs)

Gite du Boreon http://giteduboreon.com/

7/14 (Thursday) walk to Madone de Fenestre (3.45 hrs)

Chalet de la Madone de Fenestre (highest point in the Alpes Maritimes)

7/15 (Friday) walk to Refuge de Nice (3.30)

7/18 (Saturday) walk to Marveilles (4.30 hrs)

7/17 (Sunday) walk to les Mesches (2.30 hrs.), catch bus to St Dalmas de Tende, and train to Sospel (wifi). (Train timetable, runs 5x/day) (bus 923, 4x/day) I think they will be able to help us at the refuge/gite at les Mesches. Found online: Overnight in REFUGE DE MERVEILLES mountain hut. Last day with an easy walk down through the old mines valley (Vallon de la Miniere) to reach the regional road at 'Les Mesches' where you can take the local bus to Tende (railway station).

7/18 (Monday) walk to La Ferme Saint Bernard (GR 52 to Col du St. Bernard) (4 hrs.)

7/19 (Tuesday) walk to St. Agnes (11 km)

Hotel St Yves

7/20 (Wednesday) walk to Roquebrune-cap-Martin (2-3 hrs?) continue walking along Med. to Monaco? 

walk from Roquebrune to Monaco (1-1.30 minutes?) along the Promenade le Corbusier

Train to Nice

stay at airport hotel.

7/21--fly home!

What do you think?

In the little town of Roure, six days into the hike, there is a highly rated hotel/restaurant called Auberge le Robur.

The chef has a michelin star and the food and hotel get great reviews on tripadvisor. Click here to see the reviews. The question is, do we want to splurge on a special meal (and maybe staying in this nicer hotel) on this day? The hiking days in this part of the trip are pretty short, so we would arrive pretty early and wouldn't have to rush away.

Here's the price breakdown:

At the gite we would stay at if we don't stay here--

• 15 euros per person for the night. 
• We'd have to get dinner or buy food to make dinner and breakfast. (This is the town where Carrie and I were unable to purchase food except from a little truck that sold pasta and cheese. Doubt we'd have that same problem now.)

Click here to see pictures of the gite.

At Auberge le Robur--

• the "tout compris" (total package) includes lodging, dinner, and breakfast for 83 or 93 euros per person
• or, just dinner ranges from 35-65 euros per person (the meals are fixed price/multi-course)

By the way, the exchange rate right now is about 1 euro = 1 dollar

Some pictures of the place...