My Friend Alfred

There were many kids who hung around the Peanut Butter House site, and they were all great. But something about Alfred stood out to me. He’s probably about five and has a sweet smile. And, we understood each other, which to be honest was hard to come by. Even though the Liberians speak English, it can be really hard to understand! After a while, he said to me, “My pa is sick.” I asked him if his mom was alive and he said no. We’d been to a few orphanages by then and I just thought, “I do not want this boy to end up on his own.” I said maybe I could come see his pa one day to say hello. He said he didn’t live far so it was a date as far as I was concerned.

A couple of days later the opportunity came up to go to Alfred’s house. I decided that going along might not be the best idea, so Cindy and Chris came with me. We were also escorted by Abraham, another little boy who lives close by. We started to walk – past some houses, through a field, through a garden, past a school, past some more houses, up a hill … I guess Alfred’s idea of far and mine are different! Finally it became apparent where we were headed – to a burnt-out concrete building at the top of a hill. Honestly, it looked creepy.
The house on the hill is not actually where Alfred lives, but his house is just next to it and looks very similar.

We approached the house. It was three stories high, but completely gutted. No windows, doors, roof, or floors. All that was left was a concrete shell, blackened by the rains that fall in the summer. Alfred took us to where he lived – just one room – with his father Jerome. Jerome was healthy until about 8 months ago, when he fell (maybe he had a stroke?), and now he has lost feeling in half his body. I would guess Jerome is around 50-60, and Alfred has a brother and sister but they are both older than him and don’t live at home any more. So Alfred helps his father, he brings his cane and a small chair for Jerome to sit in while we visit. We said a prayer with him, and I could feel God working on me to do something to help.

About 2 or 3 other families are also squatters in this home. One of the women, Fatu, gave us the grand tour. The house must have been pretty magnificent before the civil war. It used to belong to Liberia’s former President Samuel Doe’s brother. Now the only decorations that remain are a few tiles in the bathrooms and some drawings on the wall. The drawings are of soldiers with large guns. Some of them have “boy” written above them. One looks like he is holding a knife and the head of a corpse that is by his feet. It says, “War in the city.”

A few of the kids who live in the house. 2nd from the left in pink is Abraham, and Alfred is in green next to him.

You can see the hardship in these people’s lives. Jerome can’t work anymore and can’t afford to send Alfred to school. Other boys living in the house have huge bellies from malnutrition. But they are all smiling and grateful to God for what they have today. Fatu was as hospitable as any woman wanting to welcome you to her home. Another older man who lives there took his machete outside and came back with 2 big sticks of sugar cane for us. And they have a poster of Barack Obama, who has brought great pride and hope to everyone we spoke to in Liberia.

After a while, we left but Alfred’s situation stayed on my heart the rest of the trip. The next day, I asked Christine for advice on the best way to help Alfred. Something hard to figure out while in Liberia was how to help people well. We have enough money to temporarily fix people’s problems, but setting up a pattern of sufficiency isn’t really the answer. She said she would go with me to see him and ask his father what we could do. So I know this is getting long so I will leave you in suspense for part two!
One of our gracious hosts showing us how he will get us some sugar cane! :)

Day 14: Domhutte to Zermatt in pictures

I can't find the journal I kept on the trail so for now here are some pictures from our final day on the Haute Route.


The view from the Domhutte as the sun rose was amazing. We wouldn't have seen any of this if we had stayed at the Europahutte or descended the night before because of the thick fog in the valley. So it was well worth the trek!

These are the stairs leading to the part of the hut w/ the beds. I met an interesting guy up here who said he had fallen on a glacier the day before trying to summit Dom. He asked if I could look at where he fell to make sure he was okay, and then pulled down his pants and showed me his butt! Luckily Chris was there but I tried to not make a big deal of it and kept talking to him. Then he pulled out some ointment and asked if I was a nurse! Eek! Apparently the whole time we were talking he was rubbing it ALL OVER but I was determined to keep my eyes on his face and no lower. Crazy Europeans!

It wasn't as scary going down as it had been going up the night before.




We made it to Zermatt! I don't know if I've ever been more exhausted! :)

Day 13: Gasenreid to Domhutte!

The Domhutte

Chris’ stomach hurt this morning and he didn’t eat much. I was wondering if he’d even be able to hike but eventually he felt a little better. By now, our anger, or any frustration we felt about the difficult trail, was taken out on Kev – the author of our guide book. We’d already grown tired of making fun of his disdain for the ski industry. We dropped to the level of speculating why he uses the word Pennine so much and that he has wet dreams about the hamlet of Jungu. Today was the last straw, because he hardly mentions the trudge up to the Europaweg and uses the word “belvedere” to describe what I can only guess is the trail. So our insults were in full force when we could actually gasp out a few words because the first 2 hours of the hike were brutal!

There's a fine belvedere over there somewhere ....

I just might not make it!

We finally reached the fine belvedere and our moods improved with the expansive views. The day before, as looked across the valley to the slopes where the Europaweg lays, I wondered where on earth the trail could possibly be – the mountainsides were so steep and rocky. It turns out that those two words also accurately describe the Europaweg. Sometimes the going was very slow because of all of the boulders we had to pick our way through. The Weisshorn, meanwhile, continued to look like one of the most bad ass mountains I’ve ever seen and a huge glacier on one of its flanks began to come into view.

We finally reached the Europahut at 3:30, after leaving Gasenreid 7 hours earlier! We held out a small hope that they would have 2 magical openings so we could stop hiking and enjoy the afternoon. So, to say we were bothered by what we found would be an understatement! First, the hut was full because someone had rented it for a private party, and every single one of the people relaxing on the deck with a beer had been flown in by helicopter! When I heard this, I had to get Chris and I out of there ASAP because we began to think of many not-so-nice things we wanted to say to the people walking around in $50 United Colours of Bennington t-shirts. This greatly diminished the Swiss Alpine Club in my esteem. I guess I thought they harbored ideals of outdoorsmanship, but when someone offers you a load of cash to turn away all hikers for a night – the very clientele you were purportedly founded to serve – well, who can blame you for accepting, right?

Second, one of the hut hostesses kindly informed us that the Europaweg was closed between there and Zermatt. We would have to detour down to the valley floor and then do the heinous hike back up if we wished to take the famed Europaweg all the way. Yeah, right. Well, as upsetting as these two pieces of news were, I believe things worked out for the better. We began hiking to the Domhutte on the trail labeled “alpine route” on our map. It quickly went from steep to SCARY! The fixed cables, hand-holds, and ladders were usually on some pretty exposed rock. The beginning was the worst because were going along a ridge or nose of rock that began to make me very nervous. I was also anxious about the trip back down the next day. Going down always seems scarier than up, for whatever reason.

About an hour into the trail, we took a break and almost decided to turn around. But we kept going and eventually left the crazy death-defying jungle gym for a boulder field which was much easier to navigate. Still, you can’t imagine our relief when the hut appeared above us. I was so happy I cheered and gave Chris a kiss. He was too exhausted to celebrate with me. The hut is on a broad slope below one of Dom’s many ridges. It is right beside an impressive glacier spilling down the ledges of the mountain. But the most impressive part was the view! The tallest mountain around, Monta Rosa, was a huge mass dominating the upper left side of the valley. Part of the mountain is in Italy, so it’s not officially the tallest mountain in Switzerland. That distinction belongs to Dom. Directly across the valley was the Weisshorn. And between that peak and Monta Rosa was the royal queen of the Huate Route – the Matterhorn. Yes, I’ve finally seen it in it’s entirety. It is an impressive pyramid rising imposingly above the valley. That mountain is really fickle though, it is often covered in clouds. I think some of the other mountains around it don’t get the proper attention for their own individual badassness. In any case, the vista from the Domhutte is probably one of the best anywhere in the world and made the strenuous hike up well worth it.

Staying in the hut was a humbling experience. While the “alpine route” had challenged our nerves and bodies, most of the people in the hut were preparing for an epic 12+ hour climb to the top of Dom in the morning. I was very impressed and have never been around so many crazy, death-defying people!

A couple of views along the Europaweg

I was so relieved to make it to the hut!

veg-heads

Chris and I decided to give up meat for Lent. It's not too much of a sacrifice, since we already don't eat a lot of meat. But, as Chris pointed out, knowing we can't have it makes bacon and hamburgers sound even better than usual! But our church is doing a focus on hunger issues for Lent, plus being in Liberia made us aware of what a luxury meat is in much of the world. So we are 6 days in and going strong. So far, we've made vegetable stirfry with tofu, french onion soup, and pizza (it's cooking right now and I can't wait!). We've also enjoyed eating at Chipotle, Spoons, and Mad Greens. And Sunday we had amazing hamburgers at Five Guys!

I tried being a vegetarian in college, but it was really hard and I ended up getting sick about once a month during my 6-month stint. Oddly enough, it took my family about 6 years to figure out I was back to eating meat. (Between studying geology, enjoying spending time in the woods w/out showers, voting democrat in the last 3 presidential elections, and marrying a guy with a big beard, I have definitely been stamped the family hippy, even though this is far from the truth!)

Anyway, last weekend I made a bunch of vegetable broth so we could have some stored up for making soups during lent. It was an interesting process, mainly because it involved A LOT of vegetables - carrots, celery, leeks, butternut squash, onions, sundried tomatoes, and red peppers. It was easy to make and basically involved cooking all of these together for about 3 hours. The only sad part is that all of those beautiful veggies turn into mush and then get thrown away. But we made french onion soup with it last night and I was pleased with the flavor.

Here are the veggies before and after broth making:




If you have recommendations for vegetarian meals, let me know! :)

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.

Day 11: Zinal to Gruben

Today didn’t start out too well, except that breakfast was a smorgasbord of cheese, ham, chocolate granola, yogurt, and fruit. Then we realized that somebody (me) had made a slight scheduling error. If we continued to Cabane Bella Tolla as planned, we still had five days of hiking, but we need to be in Jena for my conference in five days. So we changed plans and decided to hike over the Forcletta directly to Gruben. We spent the next few hours making sure we would have a place to stay that night and the last night on the trail. Staying in the Europa hut and hiking the Europaweg were billed as the crowning pinnacle on this amazing hike, so we were upset to find out that the Europa hut was full Friday night. We looked at the map and decided to reserve beds at the Domhutte, on the slopes of Switzerland’s tallest mountain.

We finally left Zinal around 11 AM, a disappointingly late start since Gruben lay a solid 6 hours away. The trail out of Zinal was straight up but then leveled out to a very beautiful, nearly flat trail. The vista behind us (up valley) was impressive! On the other side of the Forcletta, we were treated to the visual wonders of the Turtmantall valley. The most impressive part was the Weisshorn, whose knife-edged summit was creating its own weather as snow blew off the ridge. The hike was beautiful and only gradually downhill until the end.

We walked through a sheep farm with some very cute, confused, and noisy inhabitants. At one point, the farmer lit a small fire. They all started bleating and ran toward him. Then just as the first sheep got to him they suddenly realized that you shouldn’t run into a fire, and the whole herd took a sharp right turn, bleating even more. They were very wary of us, too, but were cute even when they were running away baa-ing.

We had to stop for several pictures on the way down on account of the views. Once the trail started descending in earnest, we high-tailed it to Gruben in a record downhill time for the Harper’s. We made it to our hostel right about 7:00 – a long day!

On top of the Forcletta, we had decided it was time to eat/”cook” the food we bought in La Sage. So Chris poured macaroni into his nalgene to let them soften. Then in Gruben we combined the wet, mushy noodles with a can of diced tomatoes, tuna, and cheese. Holy crap, it was disgusting!! We both ate as much as we could but were gagging by the end and threw a bunch away. We took our cheap butts into the hotel restaurant and each had a beer. Chris had an enormous plate of fries and I had some delicious homemade pumpkin soup. I think it made up for the awful macaroni mixture and only cost about $16. Our beds were in the attic but were the only ones up there and the beds were amazingly comfortable.

Leaving Zinal, far below

Hiking up the Forcletta

The Weisshorn is my new favorite mountain.

Our hotel in Gruben, the Waldesruh

Day 10: Moiry to Zinal

Compared to yesterday, the views today were only okay. The best part of the day was finding a hotel by 2:30 and having all afternoon to unwind. It was so cold when we woke up! We broke camp and were on the trail in 30 minutes. We passed the Alpage again in time to see a cow herder taking the cows out for the day. It was a funny sight – this rough looking man yelling in a monotone voice, the cows spilling out of a barrack, blinking in the sun and slowly picking their way through the shit-strewn exit. Now that’s a slice of Switzerland not everyone gets to see!

We made it past the dam (“barrage”) of Lac Moiry after an hour, had breakfast, removed some layers, and were on our way again. The climb up Corne de Sorebois was supposed to take 1:50 but we got into a really nice rhythm and made it in 1:30. Woohoo! I guess 9 days of hiking is starting to pay off. Also, Chris was brought down to my pace because he carried all the food, to help give my knees a break. What a guy!

The hike down sucked, except for the views of the 4500 m tall Weisshorn (14,700 ft). It was definitely knee-jarring, and Chris took my sleeping bag to make sure mine weren’t completely destroyed. The other good thing about the descent was a playground near a lift station with an awesome zip line.

We spent the afternoon drinking coffee, browsing the grocery store and sports shops ($30 for a pair of hiking socks!?), searching for a mysterious sizzling cheesy dish (maybe Raclette?), making phone calls and writing post cards. We also ran into Mike and Jenny, it was good to see them! We splurged on dinner since last night was free. I accidentally ordered a plate of meat (“asainette Valainase”) that turned out to be delicious (bacon, salami, proscutto, and something else salty and amazing), and Chris got glorified macaroni and cheese. Mixed together, the two plates were phenomenal!

I'd been wishing for a zip line on every down hill.

The nice town of Zinal, which we had several hours to enjoy.

One plate of meat, coming right up!