HIKING HUNGRY
BELOW RIFUGIO EMILO QUESTA – REFUGE DE LA MADONE DE FENESTRE
VIA ALPINA DAY 70 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2026
DISTANCE HIKED: 27.2 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,455 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 1,854.43 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 95,168m
It was a cold start to the day. We had camped just below the rifugio, stopping as soon as we spotted a patch of flat grassy ground. It was nice to be off the sharp granite rocks.
This morning we could see the lights of a city below us and a haze of pollution on the horizon—perhaps a sign that we are getting close to the sea.
Today we followed the route from our campsite to Pas du Préfouns/Passo del Prefouns at 2,615m. It was more of yesterday’s bouldering, but on much better-built and better-marked Italian trails.
Progress was slow once we left the greenery behind. The last few hundred metres were very steep, but numerous switchbacks made the ascent to the pass much easier. There was a historic ruin near the summit that would make a good shelter if it were cleaned out. The views in both directions were spectacular.
It took us two hours to cover just 3km, with 300m of elevation gain.
The descent was breathtakingly beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. A large lake lay in the shadows of the rising sun, looking almost magical. The only downside was being continually buzzed by numerous wasps.
We descended to the beautiful Lac Négre and had the whole lake and surrounding bowl to ourselves.
That peace and solitude didn’t last long. We soon started seeing campers and day hikers around the lake. By the time we descended from the lake, we had passed at least 60 day hikers heading up. It was Sunday and a gorgeous day, so it’s no surprise to see people out enjoying this beautiful landscape.
I was getting hungry and keen to reach a restaurant another 5km down the trail, near the lake trailhead.
It was a reasonably quiet walk down to Lac du Boréon. We were so happy to reach the restaurant L’Ô à la bouche, attached to the Parc Alpha entertainment centre. But the waiter turned us away—it was fully booked, despite several empty tables.
We walked another 2km to a second restaurant, Restaurant Alphage. Same result—fully booked, despite empty tables.
We were quite hungry by this stage, having eaten only a biscuit for breakfast. And I knew we had a climb ahead of us. I’m still not sure what I could have said to get a different result.
So we hiked on.
The next couple of hours were really hard—steep uphill climbing, with what seemed like hundreds of day hikers returning from Lac de Trécolpas.
By now, the combination of hunger, tired legs and the relentless uphill was really starting to test us. My legs were empty and Hammer was just barely plugging along.
Somehow, we made the climb, very slowly, and then descended towards the French Alpine Club’s Refuge de la Madone de Fenestre. As we approached the refuge, I played various scenarios through my head. I was hoping for the best— a bed and dinner—but also prepared for the worst: fully booked.
As it turned out, we got a bed, dinner, breakfast and even a lunch box for tomorrow’s hike. I nearly cried when the host said, “Sure, you’re welcome to stay.”
Dinner was a sensational four-course meal, and we couldn’t have been happier. Our dinner companions were a French couple from Gap who have been coming to the Alps to hike for more than 40 years. They were so lovely to talk to. All the knock-backs and rejections of the day were quickly forgotten.
Sharing a beautiful meal and conversation with two such lovely people was an unexpected and enduring memory of the day.
