Day 12: Gruben to Gasenreid

We got an early start because of an ominous sign in Gruben stating: “St. Nicklaus 6 hr 40 min.” and we were headed 1-2 hours past St. Nicklaus! We left the hotel at 7:45, bought some groceries at an extremely limited shop at the main hotel in town, and started straight up! The views were nice but we felt kind of rushed by the long day. We made it up the Augstbordpass by 11:00. Unfortunately I was exhausted at the top. This was probably when the cumulative fatigue of the past 11 days really caught up with me and never really left. We were relieved but somewhat sad to leave the top of our last pass.

Our lunch spot was an amazing perch looking up the valley of our final destination. I admit to feeling very tired – almost more sleepy than anything else. I finally pulled out of it by thinking about my office, of all things, and how in a couple of weeks I would kill to be back on that mountain side, enjoying the limitless views and sunshine. So just remembering to appreciate the moment boosted my spirits immensely, although the insistent downhill began to get to both of our knees!

In St. Nicklaus I decided to respect my own limitations and took the bus to Gasenreid. Chris, with his superhuman powers marched straight up the valley side to the very small village. By the time he got there, I had checked us in to the Alpin Rosi (we were the only guests!), showered, and bought lunches and snacks for the next two days (and wine, of course!). The gracious hotel owner cooked us a comfortingly delicious meal of beef stroganoff. It was about time we stop just walking by the cows and finally eat one! We were both completely beat after dinner and barely finished our bottle of wine. I slept soundly but Chris was restless and felt bad in the morning.

Our last pass

Switzerland's tallest mountain, Mt. Dom (14911 ft)

Our lunch spot

Nice hamlet of Jungen

A nice church w/ a beastly-looking glacier spilling off Mt Dom in Gasenreid.