Last night, several people heard that there might be a storm today mid afternoon, so we decided to leave earlier so that we could at least be off the high part of the mountain if there was a storm. We also decided that we would hike with Terri today — Terri is from Calgary, Canada. She is a graduate student in geology and she is hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc by herself. We met her several days ago — since it sounded like a storm might be a possibility, we decided it would be a good idea to team up.
We ate breakfast at 6:30 am. and then got hiking by 7:30 am. The first part of the hike was a high trail that left the Rifugio and continued along the same mountain slope.
Eventually, we began a long climb down — after about 2.5 hours, we arrived at the Chalet Val Ferret which was on the side of a river. We decided to stop, take a break, and enjoy a mid-morning snack.
Our hiking partner, Terri.
Just as we left the cafe, it started to sprinkle, so we pulled out our rain gear including our rain pants and put them on before starting to hike again.
Today's hike had a lot of climbing up and climbing down. After we climbed all the way down to the river, we then started another long climb back up to our next Rifugio stopping point, Rifugio Elena.
We climbed for about 2 hours and made it to Rifugio Elena at about lunch time.
Rifugio Elena was rebuilt into the side of the hill after the previous Rifugio was destroyed in an avalanche.
We knew this was our last stop in Italy as once we left here and climbed to the next col, we would be stepping into Switzerland.
After lunch, we started our climb up to Grand Col Ferret which is at 8323 feet. If you look at the photo, you can see the river where we had our mid-morning snack and then in the lower right hand corner, you can see the copper roof of Rifugio Elena where we had lunch. As you can see, we did a lot of climbing today!!
All along the way today we saw multiple glaciers.
Here we are part of the way up towards the col.
Finally we reached the top and then had an amazing view of Italy on one side and a view of Switzerland on the other side.
This is one last view of the Italian side.
This is a photo of us at the col with the Switzerland side behind us.
We then began our long climb down — this stage had a descent of 4625 feet. I was a little concerned about how my knee would do; however, I'm pleased to report that it went much better than the first several days. I did some research online on our rest day and modified my descent technique (planting my heel first to take the pressure on the knee). I think that technique along with a day of rest helped a lot.
The descent trail was relatively easy in that at least it wasn't super rocky in most places.
Today, in addition to seeing some runners practicing, we saw quite a few mountain bikers.
By 4 pm, the sun started to appear and the light on the mountains was beautiful.
The last part of the day, we had to check the map several times to determine the exact route down. It always seems so much longer than you think, too!
Finally, we made our entire way down the mountain to a mountain stream. We then walked along the stream for about 30 minutes until we reached La Fouly.
We finally reached our lodging for the night — it is like a hostel, but we have a private room tonight. For dinner, we had Raclette which is a traditional Swiss meal that consists of melted cheese generally served with potatoes.
Stage 6 — 10.5 hours of hiking and 38,410 steps
We stayed for two nights at Hotel Alpina in Champex. Greg had read really great reviews online — all the reviewers specifically mentioned the owner, Marlène, as being incredibly welcoming and warm. 
I have been working hard to speak in French (un peu) and she has been very patient and affirming with me. 
We had breakfast out on the balcony overlooking the valley.
Later in the morning, we walked down into town and saw the beautiful Lac Champex. We actually had stayed here 3 years ago when we did the Walkers' Haute Route hike. 
The lake was beautiful — there were paddleboarders and people fishing. 
We then took a cable car up the mountain in order to get a panoramic view of the area. 
Views from up on top of the mountain. 
You can see Lac Champex in this photo I took as we were riding the cable car down. 
You can see the clouds moving in — we have been working for awhile to create some contingency plans for the last four stages of our hike. The weather forecast is 100% chance of rain for tomorrow and the next day. We did some research and have a plan in place. As the saying goes, "plan for the worse, but hope for the best!" :-) We also spent some time on the UTMB website to see when exactly we might meet up with the runners. Can't imagine what this weather forecast means for the runners who are running for 24-36 hours straight! We have figured out that one of the races that is starting tomorrow will most likely catch up to us on the trail tomorrow. So we are preparing mentally for rain all day with runners coming from behind us. We're ready for the challenge of tomorrow, however, after a lovely time of rest in Champex. 
Today was a completely different type of hiking experience in that we spent most of the day in the valley. As you can see from the photo we took outside of the place where we stayed last night, we had the promise of another beautiful day. 
Our first stop was the Super Marche in La Fouly where we bought a Swiss chocolate bar, a small loaf of bread, apples, and cheese. 
We then crossed the river and spent the first hour walking along a trail on the river bank.
Terri hiked with us again today and for the first part of the morning, we also had Robert and Deena join us (they are from Israel).
After we left the river, we walked for an long time down a long meadow.
At some points, the trail took us through some woods which were a nice respite from the strong sun. 
At about 11:30 am, we came to the first of 3 hamlets — Praz-De-Fort, Les Arlaches, and Issert. 
The small hamlets seem timeless with their beautiful chalets, barns, vegetable gardens, and flower boxes. 
We would leave one hamlet and be back on the trail walking down the long meadow.
We knew from our guide book that after the last hamlet, our long easy walk would be coming to an end. We would then climb for about 1.5 - 2 hours to reach Champex. So we decided to stop for lunch in Issert finding a step to sit on next to a weathered barn.
Terri enjoying her Swiss chocolate bar!
After lunch, we got back on the path and began the climb. Fortunately, some of the path up was a series of switchbacks in the woods, so we didn't have to be in the hot afternoon sun for the entire last part of the hike. 
Taking a break at a turn in a switchback. 
This was part of the way up — you can see the valley floor where we had hiked in the morning. 
Towards the top of our climb, there was a place to get water and cool off. The cold water tasted great and felt really good on our faces. 
Finally, we reached Champex-Lac. We then had to do a little more hiking before we dropped off Terri at the hotel where she is staying. She is hiking tomorrow and we are taking a rest day. However, we're hoping to connect again on a later stage of the hike. We've had an absolutely delightful time spending the last two days with her!
A short distance later, we reached our Alpina. I spoke to the host in French and she understood me! :-) We have settled in, done a bunch of laundry, and are just enjoying the beautiful view of the valley below us from our balcony. 
Laundry drying in the sun.
The view from our balcony! :-) All is good here.