Last year we hiked the Via Alpina from Sargans to Adelboden about 225 miles before we had to return home to Durango.  This year we’re finishing the Swiss portion of the trail, four more days to Lake Geneva.

It feels good to be “thru hiking” again, going from one town to another, always over a pass, which gives you not only grand vistas into and from the next valley, but a sense to accomplishment when you see that last pass way off in the distance.

  
The elevations are a bit lower than earlier in this trip but the daily ascent and descent are just as dramatic. We’ve been averaging about 12 miles a day, when you count getting around town before and after each day’s hike. It’s real interesting to compare all the digital “steps” devices we have (iPhone Health apps and Stanna’s FitBit).  Stanna’s FitBit and my Health app seem to agree most of the time, and to give you an idea they are often both a couple thousand over 30,000 a day when we get in 6 hours on the trail.

  
The last several nights we’ve been staying in very small (5 to 7 room) hotels where we are the sole guests. We like these places better than the larger hotels primarily because of their character and because they’ve managed to remodel older structures into very comfortable accommodations.  This also forces us to search for an evening meal, rather than the half-pension meal provided by the hotel (always very good to excellent) and we’ve lucked out each time finding wonderful meals even though they aren’t four-course.

  
So far we’ve only hiked two days with less than two hours each of rain. It’s been unusually cool and often cloudy, however this has made for very pleasant walking and hardly detracts from the scenery.  Only two more days to Lake Geneva and then we will be finished with the hiking portion of the trip.  Knees, ankles, shoulders and waists are holding up well, despite the abuse. Sure wish we could share the experience “live” with you.

We’ll spend the 17th in Zermatt again for our requisite fondue and meringue  binge.