- \n
- 4.5 hours (Kev…)<\/strong><\/li>\n
- 11 miles<\/strong><\/li>\n
- gain 479 m<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It did not take 4.5 hours…\u00a0 It wasn’t hard, but it took longer than that.\u00a0 Today was not hiking – it was walking.\u00a0 Sometimes alongside a road, sometimes on a path above the river.\u00a0 It was not challenging, but it was also a great last day, walking up the valley, through villages, finally catching a glimpse of the Mont Choco Matterhorn and eventually entering Zermatt.\u00a0 We even walked through a golf course!<\/p>\n
Here is the journal entry for today:<\/p>\n
WE MADE IT!\u00a0 We did not do the 2-day trek via the Europa Hut for reasons described earlier.\u00a0 We did the “Alternate route: Stage 13” as described in the Cicerone book.\u00a0 It took us awhile to find the way to the trail from St. Niklaus.\u00a0 But we knew we couldn’t go wrong, since all roads going south lead to Zermatt.\u00a0 Much of the “trail” today was actually walking on roads or unpaved roadbeds.\u00a0 Not always exciting, but occasionally interesting – going through small alpine villages.\u00a0 We made it to Randa by lunch time – which we realized was a mistake since everything closes at noon.\u00a0 We had lunch fixings but were psyched to enjoy a bottle of sodapop with it.\u00a0 We walked by a small shop just as the owner was locking up.\u00a0 I pleaded with him for 2 coca colas and he let me in to make my purchase – Danka!\u00a0 We found a park bench a little further on and sat down for yet another lunch of bread, cheese and salami – but this time with REAL coca cola, sugar and all!<\/p>\n
We alternated between paved road, path and unpaved road.\u00a0 Sometimes we were walking next to train tracks, sometimes over them, but always beside the river, fed by glaciers “gletchers” from Breitthorn and the Matterhorn.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zermatt-sign.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFinally, we walked around the bend and saw the Matterhorn, distinctive and obvious – for the first time! It was very impressive, though still far off.\u00a0 As we continued walking, we understood Kev’s comment that the north side of Zermatt is in a constant state of construction – which makes sense since that is the only direction for growth.\u00a0 At a certain point, only electric cars are allowed into the city, but before you reach that boundary, there is a lot of traffic and trucks, hauling and building.<\/p>\n
- 11 miles<\/strong><\/li>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zermatt-hotel-dufour.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zermatt-view-of-room-at-hotel-dufour-in-zermatt.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zermatt-hotel-view.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bktrent.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/zermatt-sunrise.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"