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.State 7 — 6 hours of hiking and 26,090 steps.
