Stage 58 and 59: Aosta to Nus – 14 km and Nus to Chatillon – 16 km

Walking in 90-degree heat is crushing, especially when, as we have over the past 2 days, the path meanders up and down mountain ridges in the Val D’Aosta.  1500 ft up, 1500 ft down, 2000 ft up and back down again.  Drenched in sweat we seek the shade of a lonely tree to cool down, even for only a minute or two, gulp water and set off again.  The weather is unusual for this area, so the hotels are not equipped with AC or fans.  But we remain in high spirits for some reason.

Back in Bourg St Pierre and then across the GSB pass and through to Etroubles we spent some time with Duncan, an Australian walker.  He woke up early the day after reaching the pass to climb another 3000 ft to the summit of one of the nearby mountains and was down in time for breakfast.  He is a retired engineer and now a motivational coach. “What do you motivate people to do?” I asked. “To change” he said, “Marginal improvement, small increments, make change habitual.  Meet one new person every day. Power nap.  Daily walks. Eat something different.”  He had me at power naps. He was off to Paris to catch the Tour de France. We are off to search for air conditioning.