Stephanie Danler reflects on her journey through the Alps, specifically the Tour du Mont Blanc, after experiencing personal upheaval. Once feeling unable to undertake such a trek due to her responsibilities as a mother, her recent divorce allowed her the freedom to explore. She seeks a connection with nature and herself, aiming for a harmonious alignment between her body and mind. The trek symbolizes a return to her adventurous spirit and a reclaiming of her identity.
"The Col de Balme is a 7,228-foot pass that marks the transition from Switzerland to France. Before us was Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe. From here the mountain, which had acquired a feminine pronoun during our hike, was broader and softer, but also larger and surrounded by jagged aiguilles and compact glaciers."
"Until recently a 10-day trek through the Alps felt impossible to me. Not because I don't like treks - I love them. I grew up back-packing in the Rockies. After my first divorce I walked the Camino de Santiago alone. But then I became the married mother of two small children."
"After the tumult of the previous few years, I could have lain on a beach. But I wanted to walk. I wasn't after catharsis, exactly, but I was after a connection: with nature and with myself."
Read at CN Traveller
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