It was the only hike on the list of offers with backpacks.
I gave in to the impulse and reserved a place and ordered tickets. It was not an easy feeling, because for the first time in my life I had to pull the tent by myself. Without my husband. Who, meanwhile, remained in Ukraine. But with his moral support, and also because we had to meet a friend from Poltava whom we hadn't seen for a long time and met in 2020 on a hike, I decided to go. As it turned out, carrying the tent together was no longer so difficult. Some girls even did it alone.
This is what it means to be a Ukrainian woman!
Our team leader Yulia was also an inspiration, always in a good mood and carrying an incredibly heavy backpack.
It was so new when we all came from different countries. We talked a lot at the halts and in the evening, everyone shared their thoughts about the hike and not only, told about their experiences during the invasion. And as one of the participants said, real tourists gathered here, because we could have chosen an easier option, when things are brought or left in the camp, but all 13 of us consciously chose this path because we wanted to experience all the delights of camping life. When it's hard, when you sleep in a tent instead of a hostel, when there are no shops. Instead, you have unsurpassed nature. Every day there is a new picture. There are people towards us and next to us, and there is the Road.
I started dreaming about hiking around Mont Blanc back in 2019, when I first heard about this option. But then the quarantine and full-scale war made me forget about peaceful dreams. I didn't even look at the schedule of the Backstage, it seemed impossible that they were working and even more so, that new programmes were being created.
And here, like a breath of alpine air, is our journey.
Every time there was variety, pleasant fatigue and even a yoga class in the evening on one of the particularly early nights.
Despite the fact that my shoes failed me, I had a lot of fun. It was the coherence of the group's decision to walk 1000 metres radially uphill and the same amount back when one of the lifts was out of order. And from the wonderful, varied and nourishing food Yulia Yurasova fed us.
Most of all, I liked the day when we went up to the highest point by lift, went down to the middle and walked to the glacial cave. On the way, we saw a lake of incredible colour.
It was definitely the right choice, going in August.