Stanna broke up this next leg into a short and medium distance legs because looking at the distance and the elevations might have been too much for a Wednesday hiking lady. As it was, taking a more leisurely hike worked out fine with the sun finally shining and the desire to do things like pick blackberries (who’d have thunk, this late in the summer) along the way.

Our guidebook, (Kev’s Via Alpina), actually suggests taking the funicular off route to a “ledge-locked” and car-less resort community above Linthal called Braunwald. Similar to Zermatt, only in that they don’t allow or have anything motorized except a variety of golf carts. Views from here looks both from the pass we came from and the mountains we’ll cross next.

Photo above with the arrow is the snowy pass from yesterday. The long traverse across a number of alps took us to tiny village (dorf in German) with not even a post office or a grocery store. Far more cows than people in this neck of the mountains. We re-supplied our lunch provisions from a small cheese factory on the highway passing thru.

Fortunately, our hamlet hotel had what every hiker needs in the way of rewards.

Richetlipass from Elm to Linthal was challenging because we encountered snow once again the last hour before each of two passes we crossed. The second, higher Richetlipass wouldn’t have been a problem except we were only the second folks to cross since the latest snow storms. There were just 8 to 10 inches of snow near the top, but as it was warming it was necessary to kick steps in the snow to bare dirt and gravel to keep your footing the last several hundred feet or so.

The backside was a bit steeper and we needed to sink our heels in first to avoid glissading down off the traversing switchbacks. All went well, just slow, focused and concentrating. Views when the clouds would part were spectacular. Looking down into our destination valley 7,000 feet below was similar to looking down from the Durango/Denver commuter flight over the Rockies.

Once we got below the snow level we took time for a quick lunch on one of the rocks mid-alp. Here we using the true definition of an alp, which is the high meadows leading up to rocky peaks. A Swiss farmer grazes his or her cattle on the alp, and makes alp cheese, which of course is from cows that feed on not just the alpine grasses but the flowers and varieties of plants that cling and grow on the slopes of the alp.

Long day with 3224′ ascent, 6569′ descent into the Linthal valley. Not quite Kev time, but our moving average matched that on the yellow Swiss hiking signs. Almost too tired to wash socks and clothes but we managed, especially when we found the hotel radiators were turned on and could dry things.