The morning started off like any day on the Haute Route, straight on up. The trail steeply led through the woods for about 2 hours before it broke out to an open area. It was overcast, but we could see a beautiful view of snow-covered mountains and the valley below. The trail skirted along the side of the mountain for a while which was a nice change of pace from the steep terrain earlier.
There was a guided tour hiking along with us. They were moving up the mountain in a steady militaristic manner. We slowly started to gain altitude as the trail began to climb. The guided tour started gaining on us. They were marching in unison along the path and we paused to let them pass. We found it odd that no one was smiling or talking. They seemed to be quite miserable. Confused, we continued on.
Farm at top of the pass
We finally made it to the top of the pass. On the other side was rolling alpine pastures. The trail lead us to a dairy farm where path turned to a dirt road. We walked along the dirt road for a bit and came across a jeep. It had a mini electric fence set up around the perimeter. There was a wire coming out of the back of it that lead to a gas container underneath. It also had several balls of aluminum foil placed underneath. Gator joked that we better not get to close or it might blow up. As we laughed, the jeep started to buzz with a high-pitched ringing that hurt our ears. We quickly passed laughing even harder confused at the Jeep’s set up.
Jeep with mini electric fence
We continued to skirt along the mountainside for a while until there was a junction for a path that lead down to Gruben. We zigzagged our way through cows and down through the woods for about 45 minutes before reaching Gruben. Gruben is a small village that is only open during the summer months and closes up during winter. We stayed at the only hotel, Hotel Schwarzhorn. After we checked in and showered, we went down to the restaurant to sit and enjoy the patio.
View of Gruben
As we were enjoying a glass of wine, we saw many people we’d been hiking with over the past few days. An English doctor named Jeb sat down with us. We started discussing our experiences hiking and about cultural differences. Our friends Jeremy and Anne then showed up and sat down to talk with us. It came to be dinner time, and we decided to all eat together. Gator and Jeremy each ordered a bottle of wine to share with the table. Dinner was simple but delicious, salad, chicken and rice, and dessert. We sat for hours laughing and talking with our friends. After we finished dinner, it was getting late so we decided to call it a night.
