Graubuenden, Switzerland, June 2010

[Kattt]

Now that I have internet at home :), I finally uploaded the pictures of the third backpacking trip my daughter and I did while in Switzerland.
This time we travelled south, in the Graubuenden region, not far from famous Davos. We took the train to Klosters, then walked through the town and up to a village called Montbiel, where the pavement ended and our trail began, large and well travelled at first. We meandered along a fast running river, the Fluela, next to freshly mowed fields of hay. The weather was warm and very humid, less than ideal for taking pictures

We started at an altitude of about 800 meters, and gradually started going up, leaving the river and up the sides of the Fluela valley. The lupins were almost as tall as us.

This is now looking back the way we came.

This must have been some kind of a clover, but it was almost black and the spike was nearly 3 inches

We are now hiking through some pretty lushious woods, mostly evergreen but some very large leafed annuals too.

n,

The theme on this trip was water, everywhere. The last of snow was melting fast and there were waterfalls around every corner. The only missing thing were Casey and Dylan…

We are now at about 1600 meters, have walked about 6 miles and plan on going another 3 miles and 200 meters in elevation, before setting up for the night.

We saw lots of marmots

The next morning Libby decided to stay and sleep in, while I I headed out for the day, hoping to hike around the top of the Pischahorn, and then to a couple of small lakes on the other side. This would be about 7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of almost 1000 meters.

As I got higher, I still found some patches of snow, a couple of sketchy spots trying to cross fast melting snowfields where I could hear rushing water below me.

A piece of quartz larger than me

Primulas

[Ken Thompson]

Beautiful! Take me next time and I'll carry your stuff.

[Scott Truong]

That's an idea for a trip. Can you just camp anywhere? or do you have to stay in bed and breakfast/hostel type facilities?

thanks for sharing.

[Kattt]

You actually have to be very careful camping, as it is only allowed in certain cantons, and mostly only above treeline. In this area, you are not supposed to camp, but if you are discreet, you are ok. In our first trip, we stayed one night in an alpine hut, which was not attended, but was open and relied on the honor system to pay 12 Francs per person, then camped the second noght. On our second trip we stayed in a hut, which was warded and met some climbers from Austria and Switzerland, that were trasversing several glaciers; we ate a great meal and paid 45 Francs each. Huts are the way Swiss people do it, and I can see why; they can travel very light and huts are fun and range from very basic, without meals, to quite nice with dinner and breakfast included.
If you camp, stay off trail, and where you can't be seen from the trail, try and set up late and pack up early.

[Frank Deland]

Google:" Foot Loose in the Swiss Alps" and "Hut Hopping in the Austrian Alps"

[Trevor Wilson]

Great trip report and beautiful photos once again! Thanks for posting!

[Author]

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