The Great Hike – in 30 days across Switzerland

The project

The Alpine Culture Trail has a total length of 650km and is crossing Switzerland from Lake Geneva (St. Gingolphe) to Muestair, the Easternmost village of the country. Along its path it crosses 10 different Cantons (VS, VD, FR, BE, LU, OW, NW, UR, TI, GR) and all four language regions. Hence the goal is not to go across the country as quickly as possible but rather to learn something about the culture of the different regions along the way. Also, while 650km of walking is quite significant I found the altitude changes much more significant. During the 30 days the altitude gain was roughly 27,000m or in other words 3x Mt Everest and back! Why did I do all of this? After so many years of living in (foreign) big cities it was time to spend some more time outside and to learn more about my own country. Moreover I liked the physical challenge…

My path across Switzerland

The beginnings in St Gingolphe VS

 

Preparation

Almost none… I had done a lot of hiking earlier this year in Patagonia and Peru. That definitely brought me in shape and also taught me the importance of having the right gear. The weather changes in Patagonia are notorious and are well designed to check how weather proof your gear (and your personality) is. Back in Switzerland I did a couple of hikes to keep in shape but nothing too serious. Also I replaced, repaired and upgraded some items. Most importantly my hiking boots got new soles and I also bought a somewhat smaller backpack (that still ended up weighing 8kg…). Finally I bought kind of a travel guide for the Alpine Culture Trail but did not read it before I set out… Also did not bother bringing any maps – Swiss trails are marked very well (got lost only once or twice at my own fault).

 

Accomodation

I did not make any bookings in advance so as to keep the flexibility. I figured as a one man team I would always be able to find something and luckily it worked out. In most places the choice was very limited anyway and so I mostly stayed in lower end hotels but also some B&Bs, hostels and mountain huts. Because of the inexpensive nature of accommodation I did not expect too much in terms of service. Nevertheless the range was surprisingly wide (primarily measured in quality of the breakfast) and you could definitely tell who is wholeheartedly in business and who is not… And the highlight was of course when I got to stay at Melanie and Erwin’s where I got a great BBQ, comfy bed and probably the most comprehensive breakfast. Thanks again guys!

 

Food

As indicated above, breakfast was mostly included in accommodation but unfortunately the quality was skewed to the downside. The standard was pretty much just tea, bread, butter and jam. So whenever someone offered muesli, fruit or cold cuts it felt like Christmas. During the day I always had plenty of snacks and liquids with me while trying to minimize the weight on my shoulders…At times I felt like a cow because I was eating and drinking so much but it was necessary.  The body was asking for it and indicated quite well when it was time to refuel (in that sense the human body is a miracle). After a couple of days I also noticed that water was not enough anymore and partially had to switch to isotonic drinks (Gatorade etc). The prospect of having a nice dinner at night was one of the things that kept me going every day. So I was dining in restaurants every night and I quickly learnt the importance of eating right (carbs!). As with the hotels, the restaurant choice was also limited and I was quite happy to cross San Gottardo and eat some great pasta in the Italian part of Switzerland (thankfully Graubuenden also had great food, so I was almost spoilt in the second half of the trip…). A word of caution though – in Switzerland there is a serious risk of starvation on Mondays because everything seemed to be closed…

 

Weather

Some are claiming that we have had a mild winter rather than anything of a summer. Guess the truth is that weather has been quite unstable this summer. Particularly the first half of my trip was quite wet and cloudy. Temperatures were great for walking though. Fortunately I was lucky and avoided the worst rainshowers/thunderstorms with good timing or when I was caught in the rain it was typically during easy stages in the valleys. It could have been different. Some SAC mountain huts got up to 40cm of snow on July 18… The good thing about the bad patch of weather was that I really enjoyed the (many) sunny days in the second half of the trip. There is nothing better than a beautiful day in the mountains with spectacular vistas…

Swiss summer has been pretty wet

Sometimes the hiking paths turned into little rivers…

 

The walking

The Alpine Culture Trail is divided in 30 different stages. It is a good mixture of different distances, terrains, difficulties and its easy to lengthen or shorten the various stages. And just to clarify, I purely relied on my feet for 30 days – no train, no chairlift, no bus – just walking… On an average day I was walking for roughly 6-7 hours with a distance of 20-25km and altitude changes of 1500-1800m. That was quite manageable particularly after I had found my rhythm (probably around day 5). On the extreme end, the toughest days saw me walking for 10 hours, up to 44km and altitude changes of 3000m. Luckily those days were few and I can assure you that I always slept very well at night. But even after the toughest days when I arrived at my destination exhausted I was amazed about the body’s ability to recover over night. Some stretching, a good dinner and 10 hours of sleep can do wonders. What also makes a big difference is the surface. I definitely preferred to walk on natural mountain trails than paved roads. The latter make your feet burn badly after a couple of hours. In that respect days 3 and 10 were probably the worst since I seriously thought my feet were on fire when I arrived in Saanen and Altdorf respectively. On those days I tried to find a cold mountain river to reanimate my feet. From a technical point of view the trail was not difficult. Thankfully so given the long walks and the weight on my back… I also have to say that I was amazed about how far you can get with just a couple of days of walking. On any given day the day seemed long with little progress but when you put a couple of days together it makes a difference quickly. It’s actually great to go at a slower pace for once. It gives you more time to observe your environment and makes you realize how much we typically rush through life. The other advantage of walking is that it takes you to many places that are otherwise not accessible. It was impressive to walk on many paths that were historically important trading routes but have been rendered unimportant by the construction of (rail)roads. I guess times do change…

Health

It was amazing… No blister, no scratch, no twisted ankle, no headache, no nothing…! The only problem occurred a few hours after I arrived at the final destination. I came down with a stomache flu just when I was getting ready for the 30 days of partying…

 

Support

While I was walking alone on most of the days, there were some friends who joined me for a hike during the last 10 days or so. A big thanks to Andrea, Melanie, Nicolas, Paulo, Dominique and particularly Aggi who joined me for 2 days and Christine who I got to see twice during the 30 days! Everyone else did a great job on inquiring about blisters, fitness level and weather via phone and text messages or at least thinking about me every now and then… A big thank you also goes to all the interesting people I met on the road and who shared the enthusiasm for my project.

Reanimating my feet with Christine at Kneipp’s in Fluehli LU

Nicolas, Paulo and Dominique hiking with me in Engadin GR

 

Highlights

 

Chateau Chillon, Montreux VD

Pays d’Enhaut VD

Storeggpass NW, looking towards Engelberg. Wow!

Surenenpass UR

Old mule track at San Gottardo TI

Romanesque church in Leontica TI

I kept being amazed about the clean mountain rivers (Brenno TI)

View from Capanna Motterascio TI

Hochebene Greina GR

Rheinschlucht also known as Swiss Grand Canyon

View from Val Minger GR, Swiss National Park

Convent of St John, Muestair GR (Unesco World Heritage)

 

There are so many more things I have to tell about this trip but rather than bore you with my blog I am looking forward to giving you the full story personally.

Cheers

Adrian

Mission accomplished!

Dear friends,

After 30 days of hiking I reached the final destination of Muestair in the South Eastern corner of Switzerland on Friday Aug 7. Its been an incredible experience and I am thankful for all the beautiful corners of Switzerland I discovered, for the many interesting people I met on the road, for all the things I learnt about my body while I was pushing the limit (650km and 27,000m  altitude gain) and for the support of friends and family while I was out there. I am back home in Amden now and shall be posting a detailed report in the coming days.

Cheers,

Adrian

PS – it feels great to make use of public transport again…

16 Days and still walking…!

Hi!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am still hiking! After 16 days I have arrived in Ticino (Airolo) today. I have come here from Spiez (from where I sent the last update) via Innereriz BE-Marbach LU-Flühli LU-Giswil-Melchtal-Engelberg-Altdorf-Andermatt-St.Gotthard. Fair to say that my legs are not super fresh anymore but I am still having fun out here. Particularly the last 4-5 days have been exciting since I have been hiking in the heart of the alps. What has been less exciting is the weather. Fortunately, it has been mostly dry but there are always dark clouds hanging around the mountains and you never know when they will take a leek. Somehow it makes you walk faster because you want to get to your destination dry… Also, still lots of snow out there. I have been walking across more snowfields than expected…

Anyway, I will be on the hiking trails for another 2 weeks (in Ticino and Graubünden) and shall give you the full details after completing this project.

Hasta la vista

Adrian

Holy Guacamole!!

It has been 6 days since I set off for the big hike across Switzerland. In that time I have made it from St-Gingolphe (Lake Geneva) via Montreux, Montbovon, Saanen (Gstaad), Jaun, Oberwil to Spiez at Lake Thun. So far everything has been going well, I mean no blisters, no overly sore muscles, no scratches, no other injuries. Nevertheless, it has been tough, actually much tougher than expected.  No matter whether you are in good shape, no matter whether you are using some of the best gear possible, after a couple of hours walking, the soles of your feet start burning and your legs get heavier. Also, there are no easy days. Even on “short” days with relatively flat terrain, 6 hours of walking are still 6 hours of walking… Interestingly, during any given day you feel like you are making very little progress because you keep seeing the same valley or the same mountains. However, if you sit down at night and have a look at the map (the big picture) it makes you incredibly proud to see how far you have come. In a way this is very similar to our every day life, isnt it? How do I make sure I can keep going? 8-10 hours of sleep every night (after my hiking days usually all I want is a shower and a bed), lots of stretching every evening, no or little alcohol and yes after day 3 I went straight to a pharmacy to get a magic gel that keeps my legs young and fresh… Every morning I get out of bed really slowly and then test all body parts to make sure they still function. Ah, and there has been a change in my diet. Basically I drink and eat like a cow… (to give you an idea, one of the farmers I met told me that a cow drinks 50-100 liter water per day and eats 70kg grass)… and it is very necessary! With regard to the weather, I have been very lucky. The first week was almost completly dry (many paths are still wet from all the rain we had early summer though) and the temperature was great for hiking, basically ranging from 10-20°. This week the forecast is for lots of sunshine with temperatures >30° and thunderstorms. We’ll see…

But after a little bitching and moaning I have to admit… it’s also a great experience, one that I will never forget. I get to see corners of Switzerland I never knew they existed, never would have travelled there if it was not for this crazy hiking plan. And there really are some beautiful spots outside the principal tourist resorts. I am actually amazed how tourists are more and more drawn to the brand names (Gstaad, Montreux, Zermatt etc) and willing to pay almost any price while other villages half an hour away are “dying” because there are no jobs and the young population is moving away because of this. Always thought that modern technology would make it easier to work from anywhere but in reality people still migrate towards cities (probably a global phenomenon).

It’s beautiful to be outside all day long and observe the changing landscapes, weather, architeqture, languages etc. Walking is one of the slowest forms of moving around, so it really gives you lots of time to record your impressions and it also gives you lots of time for thinking. It also gives you real life experiences. For example in finance we always talk about herd mentality. Believe me, I have talked about it many times but there is no such thing as actually experiencing it. One morning I passed some cows and looked one of them straight in the eye. She did not seem to appreciate that and for some reason started to charge after me. Well guess what, the other 19 followed promptly. After I caught my breath again, I told the farmer to name his cow Warren Buffet but he probably thought I was on crack. Also actually saw a snake in the mountains (they always tell you we have snakes in school but I never believed it) and some other wildlife like fox and deer. The only species I did not find a lot was other hikers. I know I am not walking in brand name territory and probably no one else is doing this crazy hike but come on this is summer time, the main hiking season. Thankfully, the trail is taking me through several villages so I get to catch up there or often I stay at small hotels and lovely B&Bs where the owners are very interested to listen to my stories. Oh, and my favorite real life experiences are the bloody electroshocks from the cow fences and getting lost on the hiking trail (an extra 45min loop really hurts when you have an 8 hour hiking day anyway).

Almost forgot to mention that it is not all just about hiking. I was very lucky to cross the Montreux Jazz Festival and got to see a performance by Alice Cooper (whats the connection to Jazz here?). His face is a little wrinkly now and his belly has grown but his shows are still quite bloody… Also when I stopped in Saanen (Gstaad) they had a major Beach Volley Tournament there. No wonder I felt like the smallest kid in town but luckily I still managed to order some beer. In Gstaad I also spotted former UBS CEO Ospel and his wife. The were dining in an alfresco place and seemed to enjoy themselves. And finally tonight I took a dive in Lake Thun. The water temperature was a refreshing 19°, just perfect after a day of hiking…

Anyway, despite all the ups and downs that you naturally go through on such a hike, it has been really fun and unique and I have learn a lot about my country, nature and about my body. Will keep you posted when I have a chance but unfortunately there are not too many internet cafes in Switzerland. For the same reason I will upload the pictures when I am back home.

So long

Adrian

A summer in Switzerland

After spending a couple of months in new territories and meeting new people, it was nice to take a break and go back to familiar areas and faces. So I spent the last 5 weeks catching up with people in Singapore, Switzerland and the US. It was great talking about my travel experiences and getting first hand information from the real world…

Over the last 10 years I had almost forgotten how beautiful Switzerland is in summer and I keep joking to my friends that the whole country really comes across as one big national park. Summer days are very long around here (daylight from 5.30am to almost 10pm) and the Swiss are surprisingly relaxed during this period. There is a strong desire to soak up the sun and spend as much time as possible outside (preferably at a lake or in the mountains), beer gardens and outdoor cafes are popping up like mushrooms and for a short time we may rival Argentina and Australia as BBQ champions. Thanks to the financial crisis, the Swiss are rediscovering their own country and many are planning to spend the summer vacations around here.

Over the last 5 weeks or so I have been fortunate to discover many beautiful corners of my country with some simple one day hikes. It has nurtured my appetite for more and I have decided to go it all the way. Hence, from July 8 I will be hiking all across Switzerland on the Alpine Culture Trail, from Lake Geneva all the way to Val Mustair at the Eastern end. The total distance is 650km divided into roughly 30 stages. The trail crosses the four language areas of Switzerland as well as ten different Kantons and 15 alpine passes. Lowest point is 372m above sea level (Lake Geneva) and the highest is at 2585m (Vereina). Apart from the physical challenge, the trail is really all about learning more about history, culture, customs, craftsmanship of the different areas. After travelling all over the world, this is well overdue.

Anyway, depending on the infrastructure I will keep you updated during my trip. Also would like to invite anyone interested to join me for a couple of hours or a couple of days. The fresh Alpine air, stunning scenery and healthy lifestyle will give you a new perspective – guaranteed! Just take a look at the pictures below…

So long,

Adrian

 

View from my parents house (!) in Amden

Alpine pasture around my hometown Amden

Scenery on Murgsee Trail

 

Toggenburger Hoehenweg

Lovely Alpine hut…

…and the friendly locals

Seealp See, Appenzell

…and yes, you will find them everywhere!