Botanischer Lehrfpad

After another hearty breakfast today we set off in the Swalps for adventure. We chatted with one of the owners of the hotel for a bit this morning and she recommended a hike to someplace called Trift. This coincidentally was one of the hikes I had wanted to do when I was researching activities.

The hike sets off from downtown Zermatt and (quickly) starts climbing. We ducked down an alley and headed up (and up and up and up).

The first part of the hike is still in town and as it climbs (it always climbs), it passed several quaint little chalets, like the Hotel Romantica.

After a few more minutes you start to leave the town behind and enter into small fields spotted with traditional, historic chalets. And of course you are still climbing.

The hike also started to offer elevated views of Zermatt.

Then the hike really started to take off. The ascent became more steep (gotta climb those alps somehow) and it also started to reward us with spectacular sights seemingly at every turn.

We really had no trouble following the well marked path for Botanischer Lehrfpad (don't let this picture fool you).

Our host at the hotel had said the climb was quiet steep at first but then it would flatten out. She got the steep part right. Neither one of us was truly prepared for the rate of elevation change but it allowed us to take many breaks along the climb. The first was a small outcropping of rocks next to one of the many waterfalls.

It was just off the main path but we adventured over to it.

Forded the mighty Triftbach.

Past the Yeti cave.

Then soaked in the grandeur of the panorama above the town.

After a brief rest here we continued our ascent (up and up and up). Every time we would turn around and look back we could see the town farther and farther below.

At one point we heard whoop'n and holler'n. The forest thinned and paragliders swooped into view (pretty much at eye level).

Soon after, we came to what I thought was the destination of our hike. A little hotel, perched high atop a bluff above Zermatt, the Edelweiss Hotel.

It looked charming enough and had a little zip line which we guess is for supplying goods and carrying luggage up to the hotel. You don't want to be carting luggage up those steep slopes (and we weren't even done climbing yet, not by a long shot).

After the hotel, the trail did level out, a bit. But only for a brief while. I think there might have been some cultural differences between us and our Swiss hosts but no matter, we pressed on towards Trift.

We even found some honest to goodness climbing ropes in some areas.

Up and up we went still, high into the secluded canyon. The Triftbach always winding along beside us, ever rushing down the Alps to Zermatt below.

Further still up the mountain we went. Sweaty, tired, not knowing if this trail would ever end or if there was ever going to be a level stretch of trail. Or even if Trift existed at all. The more I thought about the name the more it sounded like a magical, make believe place for Swiss children. We pressed on. I even found a stick for Marissa to help with the journey.

After sitting at a well placed bench for a few minutes, way back in the canyon, we set off for what we hoped was the final stretch. It was.

Past that panorama we spied a flag waving in the distance. Our epic journey was almost at an end.

Trift! I thought it would be a small village, 5 or 6 houses/chalets set on the mountain. This is the actual Trift.

The Hotel du Trift sits at the cross roads of half a dozen or more hiking trails, 2.5 miles above Zermatt, alongside the Triftbach river. A solitary hotel beaconing to weary travelers on their way up the Alps. Four or five other travelers were seated outside when we arrived on the overcast day.

We needed nourishment after the adventure up. Draft beer and hash browns hit the spot perfect.

It was a very rewarding hike for me and my new fiancé (it's fun to say that). It was more intense and a bit more exhausting than we expected but well worth the journey. All in all we climbed more that 2,500 feet up to Trift over 2.5 miles in not quite 2.5 hours. And stickless at that!

After our meal we felt raindrops and made a quick pace back down the mountain.