- \n
- 6 hours (Kev again)<\/strong><\/li>\n
- 8.5 miles<\/strong><\/li>\n
- gain 1199 m, lose 459 m<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We followed (in the opposite direction) the Z’s marking the trail, courtesy of the Sierre to Zinal marathon:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-z.jpg\")
<\/p>\nToday we only had one spot when we weren’t sure of our path.\u00a0 More people hike to Weisshorn, so that track is quite visible.\u00a0 The trail heading up and over to Pointe de la Forcletta is a little less obvious.\u00a0 We made the transition today from French Switzerland to German Switzerland – quite a contrast in language and culture.\u00a0 The change is visible on the maps when “cols” become passes and “mont” changes to “horn.”\u00a0 It took about an hour to get out of the valley – it is the hallmark of this trip that you hike up in the morning just to hike down in the afternoon just to hike back up again the next morning.\u00a0 We are literally crossing the “nap” of this corduroy-shaped terrain.<\/p>\n
Our journal entry for today:<\/p>\n
Bonus at breakfast this morning: they had a great breakfast (petit dejourner) buffet today.\u00a0 We were the first ones down there, waiting for them to set it all up.\u00a0 Then they delivered up fresh-from-the-oven croissants!\u00a0 YUM!<\/p>\n
We had a great day of hiking today.\u00a0 It was super clear, but COLD.\u00a0 We saw snow in shaded areas and icicles on grass by a stream.\u00a0 It was a steep climb out of Zinal – not surprising, but then the trail stays at a fairly level height, following along the west edge of the valley.\u00a0 We passed lots of munching cows, one of whom did not want to relinquish the path to me.<\/p>\n
Finally we reached the fork where we headed west, breaking off from the more popular route to Hotel Weisshorn.\u00a0 There wasn’t much of a marked path – it was just up a steep slope with lots of rivulets of water running down.\u00a0 Eventually we reached a road that took us to the farm house and cross described by Kev – the alp of Tshalet.\u00a0 To reach the start of the pass (Forcletta), you cross over some grassy hills.\u00a0 The pass was surprisingly easy, compared to the several we have crossed this last week.\u00a0 It’s a steady climb, but there is no scrambling.\u00a0 The view at the top is disappointing, though.\u00a0 You can’t really see all the cool peaks to the south yet.\u00a0 It was also very cold and windy, so we kept hiking down before finding a comfortable spot for lunch.<\/p>\n
The view from Chalte Berg is magnificent –\u00a0 Weisshorn, Bishorn and the Tete de Milon are massive and the glaciers impressive.\u00a0 After that it was just knee-grinding downhill to Gruben.\u00a0 We didn’t take the path recommended by Kev because the sign indicated that we’d get there quicker on the one we chose.\u00a0 But when you get down to the road, you are still at least a mile (or more?)\u00a0 from the center of Gruben, so we should have taken the other trail.\u00a0 We got lucky because 2 men were finishing up their work and heading home down into the valley.\u00a0 They offered us a ride in their van – and as you can imagine, they didn’t have to ask twice.\u00a0 They delivered us right to the hotel door and Barry offered to buy them a beer – they accepted, but chose coffee, and then we tried sustaining a conversation with their limited English and our non-existent German.\u00a0 Kristof and son, Erik, were both very nice and kind – what a great introduction to this German side of Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Hotel Schwarzhorn is very comfortable.\u00a0 We have a sink in the room and there are newly remodeled showers and toilets across the hall.\u00a0 Dinner was only so-so.\u00a0 Nothing like what we have enjoyed so far.\u00a0 Soup – what kind?, nice salad, then thin slabs of pork with gravy, shredded carrots and PLAIN spaghetti noodles.\u00a0 Dessert was cold chocolate pudding.<\/p>\n
The hotel has a good supply of lunch items and other food – good thing since there is NOTHING else in Gruben.<\/p>\n
Apparently the hot time on a Saturday night in Gruben is standing around in the street outside the bar, by the cows, drinking beer!?!<\/p>\n
Good night – I’m beat!<\/p>\n
————————————————————————<\/p>\n
Hotel Schwarzhorn has several floors featuring private rooms with a communal bathroom down the hall, and a couple of dortoir-style rooms on the upper level.\u00a0 There is a bar on the lower level and then a little<\/span> grocery store, check-in desk and the main dining area on the first level.\u00a0 Inside the front door is a 3-D relief map of the Alps that gives a good perspective of the trip.\u00a0 I think there is one other dortoir in Gruben, but it is a very small town without much going on.\u00a0 We probably saw more people and activity since it was a Saturday.<\/p>\n
Once out of the valley, we walked at a steady level along the slope and encountered many cows.<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-cows.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMoooove over!<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-mooove-over.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSigns along the way<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-sign.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt wasn’t hard to figure out why they chose to build here – Chalte Berg<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-chalte-berg.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe village of Gruben<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-village.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHotel Schwarzhorn – looks just like the book showed<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-hotel.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA view of our room<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/gruben-room.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Day summary: 6 hours (Kev again) 8.5 miles gain 1199 m, lose 459 m We followed (in the opposite direction) the Z’s marking the trail, courtesy of the Sierre to Zinal marathon: Today we only had one spot when we weren’t sure of our path.\u00a0 More people hike to Weisshorn, so that track is quite … <\/p>\n
- 8.5 miles<\/strong><\/li>\n