Just the three of us in the bunkroom at Schaefler last night, and neither Kristof nor Corinna snore, so we all slept well. With the weather and the forecast once again perfect, we saw no reason to rush off, and had a leisurely breakfast outside on the terrace before starting out shortly after 9.
Yesterday's hike had been tiring, with over 1700m of ascent, but my overall level of hiking fitness seems to be excellent at the moment: I had no soreness and my legs didn't feel tired. No doubt the fact that we boot-skied a lot of the downhill helped too. Just as well: today's hike was going to have us descend over 1800m... in addition to, of course, a fair amount of uphill!
The first stretch was 800m of at times near vertical descent... I'll post a couple of pictures, but I'm not sure they'll do the steepness justice. It's an interesting way to start a day. We then left most of the weight in our packs at the Berggasthof Forelle, where we would be staying the night, and hiked on.
The next stretch took us up to and along a very nice balcony trail overlooking the valley from the side opposite Schaefler, and ending at the Meglisalp hamlet where we had lunch (for me a very satisfying Chaeserösti -- cheese on grated potatoes). Shortly after 2PM we were back on the trails, climbing up to what was billed as an Alpine ridge walk along the top of the cliffs opposite Schaefler and Aescher.
Most of the trails we go along are classified as mountain walking paths (Bergwanderwege), which are marked red and white and well maintained and secured. Alpine walking paths are marked blue and white and are typically unsecured... and this was the case here. I must confess that I felt a little exposed at times on the ridge, but since the weather was near perfect (sunny, no wind), and the sheep we passed seemed to be unconcerned, I decided not to worry. When, as we enjoyed another of Kristof's mountain espressos, a couple of hikers passed us coming the other way along the trail... and they looked less experienced and less well outfitted than we were... my relaxation was complete.
The views in both directions were stunning... an absolutely superb hike... and once again a tremendously varied palette of landscapes and trail types. It's a gorgeous region here... when the weather is good... and I suspect I'll be back again soon.
At the end of the day we descended another 800 plus meters back to our Berggasthaus, arriving with legs that felt somewhat the worse for wear, but nevertheless much better than I would have guessed given the gruelling nature of the last couple of days. Proof? I had no issues going up and down the stairs to my room (yep... I'm in a room here :-). A nice dinner, another game (Seven Wonders), delightful conversation, and off to bed. Tomorrow's a free day... at least for me... and though I might go out for a short walk, for the most part I'll take it easy, do a few chores, and let my legs recover. Gabi arrives tomorrow, with fresh legs, and there are more long hikes planned (to begin with, back up to the Säntis peak, via a different route).
I hear that there is WiFi here, so perhaps I'll be able to send this off tomorrow. And there are electrical outlets in my room, so I'll be able to recharge iphone and ipad! Bliss.
Sent from my iPad
