Switzerland Backpacking Part 2

Check out Part 1 here for some background.

Days 3 & 4 were supposed to be Lauterbrunnen - Greisalp - Kanderstag. We decided night 2 to shorten the trip, and were going to pop out somewhere earlier. After hiking partway to Greisalp on day 3, we learned in Murren that the pass we were crossing that day was still covered in snow and was dangerous without crampons/ice ax. At least we figured that out before getting there eh? The friendly and knowledgeable visitors center suggested a new route for us and provided some rough maps. It was a less dramatic route, but stunning, more relaxed, and more 'wild'.

We had a delicious lunch of cheese and bread, and later found a lovely flat place for a campsite. There was a mountain hut a 10 minute walk up the hill from our campsite, so we struck out for a few drinks before settling in for our Backpackers Pantry meal and some frisbee.

At the end of Day 4 we took bus-train-train back from Saxeten to Mieringen where we had left our cars, had a much needed last meal with the boys, and said our goodbyes. The Alps were stunning, we loved 4 days outside, and had an awesome time getting to hang out with Bernie and Markus again.

We had one day in Zurich after that (already blogged) and had originally planned to fly back out of Munich, but at the last minute landed a much better itinerary home...so ended up calling Markus up about 6 hours after saying goodbye to see if we could crash at his pad the next night. :)  Sadly, there are no pictures but we had a really good time hanging out in Darmstadt, cooking some traditional German food with Markus, and then a tour and drinks out on the town.

This concludes our gorgeous Europe Summer 2013 trip. Finally! Reflections: expensive, easy travel, google offline maps are a life saver, we love having friends around the world, Alps are super rad and not like the mountains we have here, thankful for 6 nights of hotel points, afternoon/evening is plenty of time for weirdos like us in one city, european cities are adorable - period, and according to Matt Bavaria "looks just like Leavenworth"!

Swiss Alps Backpacking Part 1

We spent 4 days 'backpacking' in the Swiss Alps, in an area known as the Bernese Oberland - right by Eiger and some of the other well known mountains. It's one of the more popular areas in the Alps, so some parts of the trail were quite crowded, but many other places were totally deserted. One is never quite isolated when hiking in Switzerland - no matter how far and how high, there always seems to be a little mountain hut or restaurant within an hours walk, and you can easily just hike from town to town. We had originally planned to stay in hostels so we didnt have to carry much, but poor planning meant we ended up with our tents and sleeping bags.

Four years ago, we met some cool German guys while backpacking in Patagonia (Bernie & Chris). Against all odds, we've somehow managed to stay friends and in touch, and have each visited each other at least once. We met one of their best friends Markus, who ended up living in Vancouver, Canada and who we have spent many happy days with. If you're a longtime blog follower, you know all of these names. Anyways, Bernie and Markus were able to come down from Germany and meet us for this portion of the trip, which was awesome. Poor Chris had to go to Spain for work - we missed him!

So. The four of us had planned 4 days of backpacking. 12-15 miles every day, 3000-5000 feet of elevation gain and loss every day. I'm not entirely sure what we were thinking. Except that we wouldn't have tents and sleeping bags, which we did.  And the Germans had no idea what they were getting themselves into. It turned out to be both epic and arduous. Some intervention by nature ended up changing our plans a few times.

Alps were awesome. We spend a lot of time in the mountains in different parts of the world, and there was something distinctly big about the Alps. So, here's your photo journey.

Day 1: Meiringen - Grindelwald

Up up from Meiringen

first view of Wetterhorn

the boys...getting cloudy

me, Bernie, Markus

At this point it started raining. And then downpouring. And then downpouring harder. And then the water was over the ankles of my shoes. And I'm pretty sure I have literally never been so soaked in my entire life. This went on for 4000+ ft of descent. Almost to town, we hit a road and spied a public bus and hopped on it faster than you can imagine! We lost all sense of hiker shame and gladly welcomed the bus. With the rain relentless and every possible camping spot transformed into a puddle, we all chipped in to spring for the most expensive, dumpiest hotel room ever. It was for two people, so the german boys snuck us in. Luckily it was 8pm before we got settled, because we were stuck in the room for the night! We cooked our camp dinner on camp stoves on the balcony, laughed at ourselves, and strung clothes all around the room to dry. Memorable first night!

and then magically, the sun came out at 9pm.

Hi Eiger. 

 

Day 2: Grindelwald - Lauterbrunnen, dawned clear and sunny

Good morning Eiger

Markus, Bernie, Matt

Midmorning coffee break after 3k ft of climb

First view of Monch & Jungfrau

trail intersects with a high mountain train stop - lots of tourists!

the two nerdy photographers

a rare group shot: Markus, Bernie, Mackenzie, Matt

Lunch time

watching an avalanche

First peek at Lauterbrunnen, home for the night

a long way down still

waterbottle fillup

sweet waterfall just above our campground

midnight excursion to a cave under the waterfall

waterfall at night