A complication has arisen in trying to reserve the last few refuges. It's August in France and now everyone is on vacation. Some of the huts are full all week. It's particularly busy around the Refuge des Merveilles, an archaelogically protected area with thousands of petroglyphs (rock carvings) from the Bronze age. Thanks to the multilingual staff of Hotel Le Cavalet in Le Boreon, we were able to get on their PC and rebook a slightly different, longer route. We'll also have a chance to spend the night in a more remote hut next to three alpine lakes (douche froid - cold shower) but that's ok as it's saving the last stage of the hike. So the walking continues!Actually, a one day layover at this lakeside hotel is a welcome break. Hotels can be a big step up from a refuge and the trick is to enjoy and move on, before getting too comfortable, if that's possible. Yesterday's walk was very pleasant - up thru a col then traversing along a single contour line on a grassy trail for several miles (finally, flat is the new up). Saw chamois, small deer-like with curved horns, in the bouldered plateau down from the col. Overcast skies and threat of rain kept temperatures lower and us moving faster. The hike was preceded early that morning with two efficient bus transfers crossing the complex Tinee Valley to get us on to GR 52, our high level variant.
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