The Last Pass!

Today was the best hiking day ever! All the planets were aligned . . .my blisters were healed, my knees were pain free ( thank you Advil and Biofreeze) and the weather was perfect. We walked right of the hotel and started the 3,500 ft climb to the Augstbordpass!

The hike was beautiful today and I had pulled out my iPod so I was listening to music the whole way. The music really allows me to relax and get in the zone. I was really filled with gratitude today to be ablest experience this adventure and to enjoy the beauty of nature.

In the above picture you can see my friend, Colleen is leading the our group. I called her the "metronome", she kept a steady pace the whole hike and it was wonderful to hike behind her and be able to follow her footsteps.

Looking back at the pass we have crossed yesterday and the shadow the pass we are hiked to today was awesome! It is amazing that we have traveled that far on our own two feet, a true accomplishment!

Carol enjoying our best morning rest stop of the whole trip! Cafe Daniel! Our trip leader, Daniel carries a little expresso maker with him and he was brewing fresh expresso and served cookies as well! Pure Heaven to us to rest and get some energy before our final ascent to the pass!

Colleen ( the amazing metronome) and her shadow!

The gang headed towards the steep ascent to the final pass!

Looking back to the far peaks of yesterday's pass!

Our packs on the final sign post at the top of the Augstbordpass!

Starting on the downhill journey! Today with the help of the music the downhill was not a problem. Jeanna caught me using some dance steps on the trail :-)!

Traversing across the boulder field!

Did I mention it was the never-ending boulder field . . . .

The first glimpse of the Matterhorn . . . Way to the right . . .can't really make it out but it is an excuse for a celebration!

Cheers for a great trip!

Barbara, Dede, Jeanna and I enjoying the moment!

Still have a while to go downhill to the hamlet of Jungu where we will catch a cable car ( thank God!) to the train to Zermatt.

The cable car is in sight!

The tiny hamlet of Jungu is only accessible by foot or cable car! The cows will soon be lead back down the valley to winter in their barns.

We finally arrived at our hotel and caught a great view of the Matterhorn from our room. This is the closest I will get to the Matterhorn on this trip :-)!

Grimentz to Gruben

I am finding it a little hard to blog about this hiking trip. . . Not much happens during the day. We wake up each morning, pack, eat breakfast, and leave to go hiking. When we are hiking it is about putting one foot in front of the other and taking in the breathtaking views a round you. Honestly, there are times when I am only thinking about the one foot in front of another that I need to stop and remember to look around.

Today we are leaving the French speaking area of Switzerland and heading to the German speaking area. We are heading to a tiny hamlet named Gruben tucked into a remote area of the alps. Our hike today is only 2,050 ft up but a grueling 3,200 ft down. I am an uphill hiker. . . even though up hill can be strenuous I love the uphill. I HATE downhill. . .my legs tense up. . . I am glacial slow going down!

The beginning of the hike was through green meadows with our now best friends the cows!

Okay. . . Perhaps I haven't hit my stride yet. . .it was early in the morning!

This a photo of the tail end hikers of today. When hiking in groups, there tends to be fast, moderate, and slower hikers. In this group, we have 3 very fast hikers and the rest of us can move between the moderate and slow groups depending on the day and the terrain. We call our fastest group, the Tribex (3 ibex). I do not have a picture of them because we are never in the same place at the same time! I am usually a last moderate or a first slow hiker on the uphills. Downhill I am usually the last of the slow!

You can always tell when you are getting closer to the actual pass when the terrain turns to stones!

Jeanna and I at the pass! I am trying to enjoy the moment because I know it is all downhill from here!

We are hitting the tree line and the path gets very steep heading into Gruben.

Okay for a moment we thought we were seeing a mirage. . . a large teepee in the middle of the alps! I guess there is a Swiss fascination with American cowboys and Indians!

The drinking water in Switzerland is very fresh and you often see these faucets and troughs that you can fill your water bottles from! The water is ice cold!

We can see our goal but there is MUCH hiking before getting to the bottom!

We finally made it to the the inn, it was great to sit and have a drink outside with our friends!

Arolla to Grimentz

It was wonderful to have our rest day in Arolla so that my blisters had a little time to heal! We took the van to the village of Les Hauderes to begin our hike. We passed quite a few cows with their huge bells ringing in the fields.

We figured that this cow had to be an award winning cow because her bell was so big and it was engraved with some dates!

We hiked about 6 miles today. We climbed about 3800 feet to the Col de Torrent (9,570ft). The views were magnificent and we saw the Moiry Glacier.

Iwa and I surveying the terrain!

The clouds framing our view. . . We have been very luck no rain on the hike!

Jeanna hamming it up on the way down! We hiked about 2,200ft down today! We saw two beautiful lakes with very blue water! Stunning against the mountains!

We ended the hike at a small cafe at by the lake. We then took the van to a charming village called Grimentz. The village was beautifully restored with the classic Swiss Chalets. I was too tired to go back to get my camera so you could see how cute it was :-)!