Do the Tour du Mont Blanc with your dog
For all hiking aficionados, TMB are the initials of a mythical hike that you have to do at least once in your life. It sounds like the GR20, the famous hike that crosses Corsica.
The TMB is the Tour of Mont Blanc: 3 countries crossed (France, Italy and Switzerland) with 10 meters of elevation gain for around 000 km of discovery over 170 to 7 days of walking.
It is a hiking route that you can do entirely with your dog; if you follow the same route as Hina and Maryon. There is still an exception: the reserve of the red needles, totally forbidden to dogs. You can take this step by TER…
Before telling you about the Montblanc of Hina and Maryon, let me introduce them to you. Hina is a little border collie that Maryon adopted thanks to the BorderLineCollie association. Young female dog, she is sporty and enduring already. Since childhood, she follows free training canicross of Wally and Maryon, his other border. Maryon is a 26 year old canicross nurse! She is part of the canicross club “Afondchien, the association of dogs that move” in La Rochelle. Maryon did not leave alone, Clément accompanied them on this adventure.
Why the TMB with a dog?
For a long time, Maryon wanted to do the TMB with Wally, her 4-year-old border male. She had imagined this project several times without succeeding in programming it. A few months ago, Maryon lost Wally. “ I experienced a great loss, a lot of anger and sadness in losing my friend, my canicross buddy and my life partner… my Wally. I decided to do what I knew how to fill that void…I walked…It was my way of dealing with my grief. “Following this event, Maryon decided to leave this summer. She really needed to take on this challenge.
The big challenge
Leaving for 7 to 10 days of hiking in the mountains is a real challenge! This presupposes having specific training for both humans and dogs, having suitable equipment, having studied your itinerary… in short, above all not going in a hurry!
I've been wondering about this hike for several months: knowing if I'll be able to do it, if Musher will be able to do it, how to properly prepare for it, what logistics to put in place to get supplies, how to manage the water over several days of walking, where to sleep…. In short, dozens of questions that prevent me from taking the leap. Maryon agreed to answer it and gives us her experience of the TMB. But beware, hiking with your dog, it can't be improvised. Moreover, you will find our advice in the article of the same name on the Mag' of the site!
First of all, you should know that this hike can be done clockwise (direction followed by Hina and Maryon) or in the other direction (direction classically presented in the guides that describe this hike). The route is very well marked in both directions even if in Italy and Switzerland, the markings are different from those found in France. There are many possible variants to increase the sensations…
When you leave for the TMB, you are going hiking in the high mountains. The mountains are magical and incredibly beautiful but over ten days you can face violent storms, endure snowstorms and burn under the sun... You must therefore be equipped accordingly and be able to quickly find a plan B if the weather gets bad. Which means that you must have meticulously mapped out your route. Don't embark on this type of challenge without any preparation... Maryon has listed their stages with the mileage and approximate elevations.
How to prepare well?
Before starting, Hina went to the canine osteopath ((Fazia Gfour from DogZenAttitude in La Rochelle) and to her veterinarian to get their agreement for this adventure. Hina was 14 months old when she started the TMB, Maryon wanted be sure that the efforts required would not be important for his young age.
Hina followed all the trainings of cani cross of Wally free running alongside. So she had great stamina. Living in La Rochelle, Hina is a dog who is lucky enough to be able to go to the sea very often and that's good, she loves the water! A month before departure, they both did several swimming sessions in sea water to build up their endurance. She and Maryon had already tested several weekend bivouacs in the forest or at the beach around La Rochelle.
Walking between 10 and 17km per day with several hundred meters of elevation requires a sharp physical condition. This type of challenge cannot be offered to just any dog (or any human for that matter). That's why I ask myself a lot of questions about Musher. Sporty, she is! But will she like to walk as much for 7 to 10 days in a row?? We have already hiked with bivouac on a weekend and I admit that on Sunday evening, she is not tired, she is exhausted… and me too. You have to be physically capable and have a good mind not to give up when your legs are on fire on the slopes!
When you leave with your dog you form a team: it is absolutely necessary to respect the rhythm and the capacities of each one. If you feel your dog is tired (stays back, sits down as soon as he can, less spirited…): take a break! or plan a B plan. Maryon had imagined their journey by listing stages but she had also listed B plans in case Hina, or she, could not keep up the pace. It's essential! No need to disgust your dog with hiking. It must remain a pleasure for him too! On this subject, to go further, you can read or re-read the article “Hiking with a dog cannot be improvised".
Maryon, taking advice from her acquaintances, applied a tanning solution on the legs of his dog to prepare his pads (alternating every other day: Solipat and Dermoscent Biobalm).
What to pack for this adventure?
Maryon chose not to equip Hina with a bag of dog bats for this hike. She wasn't sure that her dog would be able to carry her things and the more miles to go. She favored the comfort of her dog and carried Hina's 2,5 kg of kibble in her own bag.
Maryon had prepared a first aid kit complete to deal with all the sores of Hina: Nutri-plus Gel from Virbac as a food supplement, Arnica in homeopathic granules in the event of injuries and Bawaw gel for massages on the joints. Regularly, Hina makes cures of salmon oil and turmeric paste. Turmeric paste has anti-inflammatory properties for the joints. Maryon used it in prevention to calm Hina's possible aches during the hike. She had also slipped dog booties into the kit, fearing paw injuries. If you want to get an update on your dog's first aid kit, you can read or re-read the article “my dog's first aid kit".
Hina was equipped with a Zero DC short pulling harness, which strongly resembles the sport cross harness. They didn't do canicross or canirando. Hina remained free throughout. The harness seemed more practical for Maryon when it was necessary to attach Hina (dog portions on a mandatory leash, crossing with groups of walkers, crossing herds, etc.).
Refueling and Dodo: what's the plan?
On the supply side, there are many guides on the TMB with a detailed list of all the places where you can buy food for you, human!
It is possible to find croquettes in the few shops crossed in the villages along the route. Be careful, changing kibbles for a dog can have consequences on his intestines so Maryon preferred to take Hina's kibbles to avoid this type of trouble. Moreover, to be sure that Hina had a sufficiently rich diet in relation to the efforts to be made, Maryon had changed her diet several days before the big departure to choose “sporting dog” kibble. This is what I will also do for Musher if we start soon.
Be aware that most shelters do not accept dogs. Hina, Maryon and Clément therefore favored the bivouac with their dog. Maryon kindly shared with us the list of their resting places; you can download it below.
Hina and Maryon have the final word
I interviewed Maryon for more than an hour to collect all this valuable information and share their adventure with you. Impossible to finish this lovely story without her sharing her best and worst memory with Hina.
Let's start with the worst: after 4 days in the mountains, almost alone in the world, they reached a bus stop that was to take them to Courmayeur in Italy. The stop was crowded, they waited for the next bus. Rebelote: so they got on the bus: crowded, standing, in incredible heat and a hell of a hubbub,… The transition was violent. Hina managed the situation perfectly: she lay down and watched, amazed, all this little world bustling around her. Maryon was afraid that she would be trampled...
Their best memory? Each arrival at the top of the passes has been magical: an incredible view and the pride of having managed to climb! The Grand Col Ferret is the one she preferred.
Hina, Maryon and Clément had a wonderful adventure in the Alps under the sun! They came back with magnificent images and memories in their heads. If they were able to do it together, it's because dogs are allowed all along the route (respecting the instructions in protected areas). Maryon wanted me to end this article by reminding you that it's a hell of a chance and not just “normal”. For them to remain authorized on this route, it is therefore necessary to respect the instructions on site (on a leash near the herds for example), to respect the places as well as the other hikers.
As for Musher and me, Maryon answered all our questions and made us want to get started! So we have a year to train, make other bivouacs and prepare our itinerary. And you: want to get started?
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