Who doesn’t appreciate a good loop trail? I know we do. Every bend in the trail leads to new vistas, never retracing our steps until we return to the origin of the journey.

After years of hiking our favorite loop trails in the Olympics, we thought about hiking further away from home. And then we heard about the Tour du Mont Blanc. The Tour du Mont Blanc, also known as the TMB, is a 100-mile trek around a mountain range in the Alps called the Mont Blanc massif. This mountain range extends through France, Italy and Switzerland.

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe, and it is surrounded by many other impressive peaks, glaciers and alpine valleys.

Since people have been hiking the TMB for more than 200 years, there are well-established mountain huts to stay in along the way. Some huts, or refugios, have been owned by the same family for generations, and they each have their own character.

Hiking the TMB allowed us time to think, talk, or be quiet in the moment, and to take a break from our lives back home.

We knew this was a popular hike and we would not be the only ones on the trail, but we didn’t realize how much we would enjoy our encounters with other hikers — especially when we met them on the trail during the day and then again at the refugios in the evening.

We met a three-generation German family easily surpassing our own hiking abilities on the trail; we met a British mother and adult son hiking to heal the brokenness of losing a family member to cancer; we met a Korean group who arrived at dinner each evening in matching edelweiss lounging pants; we met Australian professors combining the TMB with a European academic conference; we met a group of French middle school boys wishing Kevin “Bonne chance, monsieur!”; we met a Scottish couple trail running the whole circuit in four days; and, one evening as we sat down to dinner, we met other people from the Pacific Northwest, because it is a small world after all.

Hiking the TMB also allowed us to experience the diversity of weather that the mountains have to offer, from hot sun to icy sleet and drenching thunderstorms.

Because we chose to hike in the early season, I had ample opportunity to identify wildflowers and search for my favorite elusive edelweiss. Kevin was able to photograph landscapes with glaciers, mountains and waterfalls on a grand scale.

There were also tiny subjects that ended up in his wildflower photos, like butterflies, beetles, and bees. And after a full day of hiking, indulging in the local food and drink always tasted that much better.

Each morning we picked up our packs with anticipation of the trail ahead. Each evening we set our packs down with sore muscles, tired feet, and full hearts. Tour du Mont Blanc was a loop trail that brought us back to our original point on the map, but we were not the same people who originally started the hike — we were richer for the experiences we had along the way.

About the presenters

Heidi Kanning and Kevin Froese have lived and worked in Sequim for 30 years. You can often find them hiking in the Olympics or cycling the Olympic Discovery Trail. Since Heidi’s retirement in 2021, they have enjoyed taking their outdoor activities to more distant locations including Iceland, France, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia.

This Robert Louis Stevenson quote resonates with Heidi and Kevin when asked why they travel: “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this featherbed of civilization and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.”

About the series

Traveler’s Journal, a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition, raises funds to buy project supplies and food for volunteers working on Olympic Discovery Trail projects. Shows start at 7 p.m. at the Dungeness River Nature Center, 1943 W. Hendrickson Road.

Admission is a suggested donation is $5 for adults. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to wear mask.

For more information, email Arvo Johnson at amjcgj@gmail.com.

Photos by Kevin Froese/Heidi Kanning A sunset dazzles in Chamonix.

Photo by Kevin Froese/Heidi Kanning / Kevin Froese and Heidi Kanning begin to enter the Italian Alps mountain range.

Edelweiss, an alpine plant, brightens the trail on Kevin Froese and Heidi Kanning’s Mont Blanc adventure.

Looking back at Glacier du Miage.

Photo by Kevin Froese/Heidi Kanning / A sweeping view of the Mont Blanc region as Kevin Froese and Heidi Kanning make their way back to Chamonix.

Photo by Kevin Froese/Heidi Kanning / Kevin Froese and Heidi Kanning enjoy a stunning view from their Swiss hotel.