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content/post/2024-07-07-ChamonixtoZermatt.md

@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ I said goodbye to Remi and Joanne. The refuge staff said it wasn’t safe to tak
 
 On the gradual climb out of Col de la Forclaz the views went from the pretty to stunning as clouds sat in the valleys and others rose up in the foreground, obscuring the views then revealing them again, sometimes creating a frame of clouds for the views, backed by vast snowfields in the far distance. Passing Bovine mountain refuge the clouds climbed up the valley so the mountains eerily faded in and out of view, clearing again shortly before I met groups of hikers coming the other way, a lot of groups. Friendly bonjours and bon courage exchanged. 
 
+![Clouds framing mountains](/img/chamonix_to_zermatt/cloud_frame.jpg)
+_Clouds framing my view of the mountains_
+
 My feet were soaked by a couple of rivers crossing the path that couldn’t be avoided then a rocky descent, I tried to run but there were still a lot of hikers getting in the way. I did laugh a little when they tried to keep their feet dry crossing puddles and small streams, knowing they’d be knee deep soon! I got distracted and rolled my left ankle twice on the descent and decided to walk for a bit until the trail got easier, then ran most of the way to Champex, arriving at about 11:45. I had sorbet for lunch and cracked on for Le Châble.
 
 The trails were easy running for about one and a half hours, downhill to Sembrancher. Dropping out of the alpine trails through wide tracks and some roads. The clouds were turning a little darker. It now feels like rural Switzerland with flattened fields and working farms between forested mountains, no longer full of groups being guided round the Tour of Mont Blanc, which my route left at Champex. It started raining heavily as I reached a forest track which climbed, though not steeply, eventually to a singletrack trail that dropped off steeply. The rain got heavier and I heard a loud sharp crack of thunder, then again a loud crack. That’s not thunder, it’s a supersonic rifle round. I descended quickly and kept hearing shots getting louder until I reached the river at the valley bottom and they were right over my head. The atmosphere felt very different since I left the Tour of Mont Blanc route. I ran quickly along the track with the river loud beside me, the shots quietened and I emerged onto a road in an unfriendly industrial area with vans and snowplough and industrial buildings everywhere, still heavy rain. I moved as quickly as I could be bothered and soon I could see Le Châble to the left, I breathed deeply and began to feel normal again. It’s easy to get worried with days of high mountain hiking alone ahead, my brain was ready to be scared.