Things I Learned in the French Alps




by marc


Use the fork end of your 3-in-1 utensil for pasta and the spoon end for hot chocolate, or your ho cho will taste like spaghetti sauce.

You can’t average 15 miles a day for 15 days in one pair of underwear, even if you go commando sometimes.

Abandoned ski lift shelters make awesome places to sleep in a thunder storm.

There’s a big difference between waterproof and water resistant boots (mine were water resistant).

When something needs to get done and quick, I can totally kick it into gear and get it done.

I LIKE being social.  Just not with anyone I don’t already know and like a lot.

Those walking sticks I’ve been making fun of for years: they actually serve a purpose!  (But still, you don’t have to go out and buy posh versions of something you could have picked up in the woods.)

Trekking is a great excuse to eat tons of junk food.

I can get used to sleeping on a hard ground.

I can’t live without Katie.

A high, pure lake surrounded by rocky cliffs and ravens is an intensely awesome and intensely cold place to camp.

Reapplying sunscreen doesn’t work when you’re immediately going to sweat it off.

“Positive self-talk” really works!

If you put 3 eggs in a small pot with cold water and cook them for 6 and a half minutes after boiling, the eggs are perfect and easy to peel.

How to use toilet paper very conservatively and still get the job done.

How to set up a tent like nobody’s business.

Training actually works.

It takes 11 hours to hike 23 miles with 8,000 feet of ascent with a half hour break to eat some dried meat, an egg, and change your socks.

The Alps aren’t messing around: trails go over things, not around them.

I can walk 205 miles in 15 days with all my gear on my back and come out of it with a few blisters, sore hips, and a profound appreciation for hot showers.



      4 comments:

      TheBenandKaties said...

      all I can say is, nicely done. Seriously, that is incredible.

      Katie said...

      Ben, Marc here, I've been wanting to tell you! I walked through this town called Lanslebourg, about which my guidebook says, "Hannibal is reputed to have passed through here in AD218, crossing the Col du Mont Cenis to fight the Romans on their own soil."

      Kelli said...

      Nice work! But you left me wondering: one pair of underwear per day for 15 days or one pair of underwear total? And how on earth do you go hiking with eggs? I can't get them home from the store without breaking them :(

      Katie said...

      One pair for the whole 15 days, baby. Turns out you ACTUALLY need two.

      The trick with the eggs is to put them at the top of your pack. And boil them when you buy them, so you can eat them throughout the day.