The second part from Filisur you continue your walk along the Albula River until you reach Bellaluna (a Restaurant), shortly after that you have a bit of an acent to reach the historic train station Stugl. In Bergün you can visit the Trainmuseum or just enjoy the village.

So the hike itself was fairly easy if you have a normal physical condition. That said, the part from Bellaluna to Bergüm, can be difficult. Some sections the path gets really narrow and to your side it goes a long way down. If you slip then well I didn’t like to think about to end as a number in the yearly statistics. It’s not the hole section just about 100m in total but apart from that great hiking trail.

The Route:
From: Tiefencastel to Bergün
Distance: 20km
Walking Time:  about 5h
Up: 825m
Down: 340m

How to get there by Public Transport:
from Zurich HB:  2 h 13min

The post Via Albula #02 – Tiefencastel to Bergün appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

It’s a nice hike to start the via Albula, some sections can be steep but all in all its a really nice hike.

The Route:
From: Thusis to Tiefencastel
Distance: 21km
Walking time: 5h
Up: 1207m
Down: 632m

How to get there by Public Transport:
from Zurich HB:  1 h 51 min

The post Via Albula #01 – Thusis to Tiefencastel appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

My plans for this 3 months?
The first thing on the agenda will be, my trip from San Francisco to Yosemite. In mid August I will join a guided tour and together we will be doing the John Muir Trail. It’s a guided tour, they organize all the food and such and you carry your pack and the shared food and other items.

After that I have another 2 month on my hands and my rough idea is to get a rental car and drive up to Yellowstone and spend some weeks there. From there hop to other parks (Grand Teton, Arches, Capitol Reed, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley)  and at some point end up again in San Francisco, I like this city and I am sure I will spend some days there (if there is some money left on my bank account).
To some degree I do procrastinate a lot of planning, but with the experience I had with myself on previous road trips in the US, was that no matter what I plan, at the end something else happend altogether and all the planning was usually for nothing.

I will get the first month sorted out and the rental car and probably some destinations, but everything else will come as it comes.

My preparation for the John Muir Trail:

1.  In mid march I started seriously with jogging/running. I try to go 2-3 times a week for 30-40min. Right know I run about 5.6km but each time I encrease the distance. If you start out (like me) I can only recommend the Couch to 5k program / app. I have the tendency to do more then it’s good for me at the beginning, with this program it actually slowed me down and I didn’t really get frustrated.
   My general condition has already improved with I just noticed the other day when I hiked the Pfannenstiel. The first time it took me 3h 45min and 2 weeks ago I did the same hike in 3h. I can only recommend people to do something for their fitness, it dosen’t have to be much, like I said I do 30-40min 2-3 times and that for now is enough.
2. Twice a week I do weight training (just started a couple of weeks ago). There I focus on the leg muscles, back, shoulder and also on ankle stability.
   I can’t say much yet about weight training as it is to early, but whatever happens it will be beneficial. Especially as I am a person who works in front of a PC all the time.
3. I try to go on as many hikes as possible but it is not always possible. So my go to hike if everything fails is the Pfannenstiel. When the days get longer in the next few weeks I might squeeze it in during the week.
4. My other big preparation should have been a big chunk of the via alpina but as there was a lot more snow this past winter then usually I had to look for another hike. A few month ago I stumbled upon this link here. It is in german but they have nice visuals. I have a week of holidays in 2 weeks and I hope the weather is nice and I can finish this route all the way to Italy. I will write more about this trip and some of the history about this trail.

Time wise, Nr. 1 + 2 take about 1 hour of my evening and if I hike the Pfannenstiel I count with 3h walkin so a morning or afternoon. If I go on a different hike it will be the whole day. And lets not forget stretching. At least 5 days a week, specially leg and hip muscles.
The training plan for me at the moment like something like this:

Mon: running
Tue: Gym
Wed: running
Turs: Gym
Fri: running
Sat: Hiking (if not Sunday)
Son: Hiking (if not Saturday)

Below the map from Thusis to Tirano (Italy). Hiking path in green and in read the Train route. You can hop on a train in Chur and take the Bernina express to Tirano.

The post Plans for 2013 appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

Last weekend I meet up with two good friends from London who where in Switzerland for business and holiday. We did some sightseeing away from the typical touristy stuff (they did that on previous visits).

The Places we visited where Walenstad next to the Walensee, Klöntallersee and the Aare Gorge.
I will just show you the pictures and I will try to do some hiking in these areas in the future.

The post Spring “was” here appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

This Hike can be done all year round an in winter its a prepared walking path. From Grütschalp to Mürren and back you get a fantastic view of the peaks Männlichen, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

My sister and I did this hike, which was a first. I asked her out of the blue a few days earlier and she agreed to join me on this one. It was a great day and I am confident that in the future, my sister will join me on other, similar hikes.

The Route:
From: Grütschalp   to: Mürren and back
Distance: 10km      UP: 150m  Down: 150m
Walking Time:  2h 30min in theory but if you want to enjoy the view…

How to get there by Public Transport:
from Zurich HB:  2 h 23 min

Männlichen and Wengen

Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau

Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau

Jungfraujoch with what I think looks like a skull just below

Me and my Sister

The post In company of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

From Gais I walked toward Stoss, where you find a monument commemoration the battle between the Appenzellers and Habsbugrgers in 1405. When you follow the Gäbristour a bit to the next farmhouse but instead of going up you follow the path to the right that goes to Altsätten you will find a really nice path. That part from Stoss until I decided to go back was my favorite part.

I will be back to do the Gäbristour, the area is really nice and I am full of hope that the weather will be better in the next 2-3 weeks. I got a little glimpse of the view and landscape that you can get there and I can’t wait to actually see it. The same goes for the hike to the Sämtissersee, that will be done by the end of april or beginning of may.

Tomorrow Easter Monday, there should be sunshine in Lauterbrunnen and Mürren. And the best thing is, I will meet up with my sister and we will do the hike together. I will see how that goes.

The Route:

From: Gais  roundtrip
Distance: 14.5km  up: 320m down: 320m
Walking Time:  3h 30min

How to get there by Public Transport:
from Zurich HB:  2 h

The post Mud and snow appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

So my three options two of them are in Appenzell and the other in Lauterbrunnen Bern.

1. Gäbristour (map)

Gäbristour is a roundtrip hike. The hike starts in Gais and from there you hike over a chain of hills to Bühler. From Bühler up to the summit Hochi Bueche, highest point. In the next section you hike up the summit Gäbris just shortly after you reach the Gäbrisseeli, a moor lake. You ascend the summit of the Sommersberg following you reach the Stoss pass. There is a monument commemoration the battle on the Stoss between the Appenzellers and Habsbugrgers in 1405. From there the Hike goes through the valley to Gais.

© 2007 by MaPri76

2. Sämtissersee (map)

I wanted to go and hike there since last August. But for certain reasons back then I couldn’t go and it kind of hunted me since then. The route I want to hike starts in Brülisau and you start the ascent to Alp Soll. There you will have a nice view of the valley and hopefully also of the Santis (which I still didn’t get to see when I was on top of Kronberg). From Sämtisersee the hike goes through the valley to the Fählensee and then a different way back to Brülisau.
My problem to do this hike in winter was that the bus that drives to Brülisau only operates during the week in winter, and when spring starts the service resumes for weekends too. You can organize an alternative or reserve a bus, but it was to much trouble really and I think that option should be used for groups of hikers. Anyway normal service starts at the 29.03.13 and I really, really hope that the weather will be nice, so I can finally do this hike.

© 2010 by medXtreme

3. Grütschalp (map)

This Hike is a winter hike  with prepared path to hike without snowshoes. From Lauterbrunnen you take the cable car up to Grütschalp. The hike follows a prepared walking path to Mürren. With nice weather you can see the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The Lauterbrunnen valley is on my list for a long time and is just didn’t get around of going there. It will be on my list fro this summer, just look at these pictures.

© by Tourenguide.ch

The post Easter Hike plans appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

The Route:

From: Männedorf   to: Männedorf
Distance: 15km      UP: 538m  Down: 538m
Walking Time:  3h 45min

How to get there by Public Transport:
from Zurich HB:  20 min

The post Pfannenstiel #2 appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

In my Backpack you will find the usual suspects of first aid, water bottle and food. Some items I have with me on certain hikes and sometimes they stay at home but the following items are really always with me, it’s not even an option that I go out without them.

1. Navigation

In theory I break the rules with this one because let’s be honest those are already 3 items. Just let me cheat on this one.

For Navigation I manly use the Garmin eTrex 30 with the swiss Topo maps, but to be on the save side I also print paper maps. The reason for that is just, the eTrex is a gadget and it can break. I just want to be on the save side and let’s be honest you have a better overview on an A4/A3 map then on the small screen.
The combination with the paper maps and the eTrex works really good for me and that’s why they are always in my pack.

For the paper maps, I use the map.geo.admin.ch they are the official swiss Topo maps (the same as you get with Garmin maps) and you can print them for free.
What I like the most on that site is that you can show additional information. For example which area is for Hunting, used by the Military or protected environment. If you plan on camping in Switzerland this is a big help. For more information to this topic go here it is in german.

And of course my iPhone is always with me, Main reason is that I usually hike alone and if something happens…
Apart from that reason there are some apps in which without them I would have been lost more than once (SBB, Goggle map). I love to listen to music, if it’s on the train, bus to the destination, during the hike or on the way back home.

2. Camera

I never go on a hike without a camera, it is either the Canon G1X or the Canon EOS 500D. Depending on where I go and the weather I choose one of the two.
More often than not I choose the G1X over the EOS but that has manly to do that I don’t want to have the camera out of the bag to often. With the G1X I have a nice bag from Mountainsmith which survived heavy rain in Scotland.

Taking photos during a hike is really important for me.
1. I look at everything differently, you start to look back and see the hole trail different.
2. It is an excuse to take a little break eat something and really just to enjoy the view.
3. I have something to show my family and friends.

3. Keffiyeh

It can be a tricky subject a Keffiyeh, if you don’t know about it, you can read about it here. I wear one because it was a present from family friends about 4 years ago and I wear it nearly all the time. I know the meaning of a Keffiyeh in the political sense but when I take it on a hike it has nothing to do with a political statement, I take it because if its windy I can warp it around my throat, if it’s hot I can loosen it up and it still protects me of the sun. Then in summer when it’s really hot and sunny you can soak it up in water and just let it cool you down.

So these are my “three” items I never leave the house with.

With that I tag these Blogs:

• Die Beuteltiere, is in German and they have fantastic trip reports and gear reviews.
• Lady on a Rock, is just inspiring.
• Allison outside, great trip reports and the photographs.

If you are interested to see what others take with them on every trip go to outdoorseite.de, there is a nice list with Blogs that already participated and it gets updated.

The post 3 Items that I always have with me, Blogstöckchen appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.

I am not sure about my trips for the next two weekends as I have some commitments I have to attend, but I will try to do something. An idea would be a hike trough Zurich (here is a book about hiking in Zurich in german). Not sure yet if there are ideas please share them.

The post Männedorf Hometown appeared first on Lost Swiss Miss.