Swiss Via Alpina Day 7: Lenk to Château-d'Œx
Friday 6/30/23
Lenk to Château-d'Œx, 30.5 miles, 7,733ft gain, 8,071ft loss, 5:37am start, 11 hrs 40 minutes (Strava Activity)
I had been dreading this day all week, as 100% chance of heavy rain had been predicted. I thought about even making it a "zero" day as I imagined how miserable it might be. I figured any miles I could get in today would put me in a great position for my last day tomorrow (Saturday), as only 57 total miles remained between me and Montreux. I could do no miles today and still finish by Saturday evening.
I started luxuriously late past 5:30am after a full night of sleep. It was the first morning in a bit that I truly felt nicely recovered. To my surprise and delight, it was foggy and not raining. In fact, most of the day ended up being foggy and overcast with barely a sprinkle of rain. The weather in the mountains can be truly unpredictable, and in this case that held true to my advantage. I couldn't believe my good luck. And it just goes to show that it can be a waste of energy to worry about things in the future you have no control over. I had been dreading this day all week due to the forecast, as I said. Then it ended up being quite pleasant and beautiful.
The terrain was easygoing compared to previous days. There were some neat tree-covered sections where I felt as though I were in a rainforest, and another neat section of rocky slabs and corridors. Over the pass from Lenk to Gstaad I felt as if I had been transported back in time by hundreds of years, as any sign of modern technology or architecture disappeared with only old farms and huts dotting the landscape. I got over both passes of the day without issue, and only on the mostly flat five mile river walk at the end of the day did it start to rain. However, it was a warm rain and I had plenty of layers, and it was really quite relaxing and pleasant. Who would have thought the day would go so well?
I took a shortcut into Château-d'Œx as the most direct way to get to the inn I had booked a stay at. What I dumbly didn't realize was that if I had kept following the actual Via Alpina trail, it would actually literally go right by the inn. This would have been easy to see, but I didn't want to get my phone out while it was raining to check. So basically I had set myself up for an extra mile of walking the next morning to retrace my steps back to the trail, only to walk by the exact place I had stayed at the night before. It was so silly.
For dinner I just blindly ordered from the menu as it was written in Swiss German and ended up with the most deliciously cheesy concoction: layers of bread, ham, tomatoes, copious amounts of Gruyère, and a fried egg on top, served while still bubbling on a hot platter. I thought, “there’s no way I could finish this” before polishing it off entirely.
💫
Thanks for reading. If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, please consider buying me a coffee or becoming a monthly member for $5/month. Members receive a 4-pack of unique stickers and occasional surprises in the mail from me.. including (spoiler alert) a little something from my time in Switzerland! Thanks to all that read and support, I’m so appreciative!