Hiking

Day 41 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Reverse Journey

Today I ran and then walked a reverse journey of what I did yesterday. I wanted to take a picture of the corkscrew tree. It would have required for me to wait for two slow walkers and their dog to pass and because they insisted on walking two abreast it made more sense to turn around and take an alternate route. Slight increase in the number of cases in Switzerland.

Day 40 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Local Adventures

For this 40th blog post on the topic of self-isolation, I’d like to speak about local adventures. I feel the need to do this because I see people posting about their trips to someone two to three hours from live and work during a pandemic and I strongly believe that getting into a car to have an adventure far from home at this time is short-sighted and selfish. Between running, cycling and hiking I have got to know more and more of the local routes.

Day 38 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Contact Sports

By May we may be able to go back to doing sports in groups as long as they are not “contact sports” in Switzerland. For me this means hiking, running cycling and other related sports. For me climbing is a contact sport because we touch the same hand holds as everyone else climbing the routes, we use the same ropes and we share quickdraws and belay devices. This being said I also have no desire to do sports like climbing at the moment because they require us to stand around and socialise and I haven’t really socialised in at least 38 days.

Day 35 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – A Hike To La Barillette.

Today I went for a Hike from La Barillette to La Barillette. It’s a shame that the restaurant wasn’t open to the public. It is currently marked as private, and scheduled to open on the first of May. Today I didn’t expect to do a long and physical hike. I expected to complete my usual daily tasks and then to go for the usual walks around where I live. In the end I did do such a hike, but it involved a slightly different geographic location.

Day Thirty-One of ORCA in Switzerland — Plenty of Dust

You build up plenty of dust as you plow the fields at the moment. The drought continues, as does the desire for this pandemic to be over. For now, the downward trend continues so we could feel optimistic. I’m still optimistic than in two or three weeks recycling centres will go back to normal. At the moment recycling centres remind me of something else. [ View this post on Instagram

Day Thirty of ORCA in Switzerland -- A Strong Desire to Go Hiking.

I have a strong desire to go hiking. I would like to go on a hiking excursion that lasts for a few days. In theory I could do the Via Alpina route one starting in Nyon and ending in Lichtenstein. It’s a 21 step hike going north. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RsTPWkKZKk I had lunch watching one and a half episodes of this video series. They’re short, lasting just ten minutes each so easy to fill spare time with.

Day Twenty-Nine of ORCA in Switzerland – A Desire To Go On A Hike

We’re in day 29 of ORCA in Switzerland and I have an ever increasing desire to go for a hike. During today’s walk I listened to two podcasts about hiking and I walked yet another variant of my usual walk. Apple tree blooms are increasing in number and the Colza looks almost ready to harvest. We’re also going into a dry summer. During this pandemic we have hardly had any rain for a month.

Day Twenty-seven of ORCA in Switzerland - River Walking

My shoes are wet and my socks are wet because today I tried river walking. If a child was to do the same it would be called immature and irrational but when an adult does it then it’s adventure, and trying something new. My motivation to river walk came from the pandemic, or more precisely from how people behave during a pandemic. When I walked yesterday I had a runner pass right by me and then spit on the ground a few meters ahead of where I would have been going.

Looking Back In Time

For a few days now I’ve been looking through thousands of pictures to make sure that they’re synced from iCloud to the Photo app before they’re deleted. In so doing I noticed how far in front of a group I was hiking a few years ago. Instead of hiking with the group I was so far in front that I could get group shots without trying. Eventually, they did pose, as if it had been intentional rather than my walking habit.

From Grächen to Zermatt via the longest suspension bridge: part one

Hiking from Grächen to Zermatt via the longest Suspension bridge is an interesting two-day hike. It provides you with views of glaciers, boulder fields, scree slopes and more. It also provides you with the opportunity to cross a suspension bridge that takes six minutes. Hiking up from Grächen The hike up from Grächen takes you up through a forest. You go through a forest and there is a stream to your left and the nice landscape to your right.