A Saturday Hike

Saturday we took a family hike. It was to be shorter than usual as Zoë was leaving the next day to go home to Portland, and Jed was also leaving for a conference in Spain.
We all piled on the train for a "short" excursion. The first train took us to Montreux, east around the Lake, the second train took us up to the trail head.






We disembarked in front of a decommissioned train station building that had been turned into a private house complete with someone's toy train tracks and dump truck right in front. Guess who jumped right in to play? We donned our packs with water and lunch and grabbed our poles and off we went to see the postcard scenery of the nearby mountains. Our very first sight was the happy cows, tinkling their bells and sunning themselves in the meadow.

We climbed steadily through gorgeous meadows to the snow line and stopped for a lunch of cheese, bread, salami &apples. Tern found a little lake fed by the melting snow and gleefully indulged until his hands & feet were icy. Auke climbed every rock he could manage and some he couldn't.

 

As we climbed higher we reached the snow fields. At first they were firm enough to walk through. Then the going got slippery and our feet were sinking with every step. The final climb to the return train, a little cog rail train that collects climbers from the top, was grueling. I had to use every ounce of discipline to get up a slope so steep that I could neither look up nor down. My eyes were planted at the ground below my hands and I found my way by following Zoë's encouraging voice.





We all made it, Helga with Auke on her back, Jed & Tern holding hands, Zoë sprinting, Steve plodding  with poles, Anita on all fours. The train came shortly after we arrived at the top and minutes later Tern was asleep.