The mecca trail today!

train atop schynige platte
see all photos »

I woke up at 0630 to aches from yesterday’s hike. But the sun was shining through a cloudless sky! I slept for a little longer and then hastily woke up and got ready. I had to catch the 0722 train from Interlaken Ost. I asked the newer Korean guy where he was going because he, too, was awake.

“Shithole” he replied.

“Shithole?!” I repeated.

“yes, I go to Shithole.” said Lee.

6hrs to first
see all photos »

“Show me on the map” I asked as I was cracking up inside. It turned out he was going to Schilthorn by train and cable car (2960 m)! I was laughing so hard but his English is much better than my Korean so hey.

I stopped off at Coop to buy a croissant, two apples, and another bag of bread. Then I hustled to the train station to pay $60 to get to the trailhead, Schynige Platte, and for the ride down from the end at First.

I had to switch trains at Wilderswil. The train was very “Swiss” with wooden interior and simple glass-pane windows. The train slowly chugged to the top of Schynige Platte (2068m) and the views of Interlaken were great. But even more impressive were the views of Jungfrau (yoong-frow), Monch, and Eiger! They looked fantastic and it was a perfectly clear morning to see them!

beginning of the trail to first
see all photos »

My hike started at 0820 and it was amazing! It seemed like the others on the train were just going to hang out at Schynige so I had the Swiss Alps all to myself! The trail was fairly flat and easy to follow. It was lined with cow pies for a short segment. The cows wore bells that could be heard from very far away. The views of the mountain range were uninterrupted and continuous since the trail mostly followed the ridgeline!

Just like in Chamonix, the pictures I took do no justice to the beauty. I saw some pictures from Lee’s (one of the Korean guys) Nikon DSLR and they looked great! He was closer to the mountains though so maybe there was less haze to see through.

cow crossing
see all photos »

I hit Faulhorn at 1200 as planned. They had a couple of benches at the top where I ate my lunch and enjoyed the panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. Man it was breath-taking and amazing!

A man named Tom from New York was there too and we chatted a bit. I love meeting people with similar interests because they give me great ideas of what to try next. He suggested glacier hiking in Alaska so I’ll check that out.

Before hitting Faulhorn I came across only one group of people. After Faulhorn there were loads coming from First. The trail got considerably wider and easier so I guess I hit the road more traveled. I enjoyed the first 4 hours much more. Bachalpsee Lake was nice but it would have been better without so many people there. It was only 1330 so I probably could have walked down to Grindelwald and saved some money but I already had the nonrefundable ticket. I stayed at First and admired the towering Wetterhorn (3701m) and Schreckhorn (4078m) before riding the gondola down into Grindelwald.

swiss alps
see all photos »

I stopped by a couple of stores looking into more serious hiking shoes with Gore-tex material (waterproof yet breahes). I also looked for postcards but none had the Faulhorn or Schynige Platte since they weren’t very tall. I bought some Tiramisu ice cream and they caught the train back to Interlaken. I slept on the train from my long day (now 1500). In Interlaken I tried looking for sunglasses but they were all ridiculously expensive. I’d like to get some polarized lens glasses. I’ll probably just buy some cheap crappy ones. The four Koreans left this morning but one more came, this guy is named Ray from Toronto. Soooo many Koreans!