Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

In Part 1 of this account , we outlined the project and covered our first two days, hiking from Mels to Elm (and taking transport to Braunwald). Part 2 took us on to Klausenpass and to Altdorf, home of William Tell. We resume the tale after taking a nice Thanksgiving break, with  Day 5: Altdorf to Engleberg We started this day with a fairly lengthy bus ride which took us a lot of places before dropping us at the base of a very small cable car, where we were to ring the mid-station when ready to go. Happily some other hikers with more German were there and got it all going. At the mid-station we paid for the trip, and continued on to the top at Brusti, about 5200'. That still left us a more than adequate 2500'+ climb to the Surenenpass at just over 7500' .  With the day heating up right from the start (did it ever cool off?), we were happy to skip the climb from 1500' Altdorf, and to jump right into the alpine scenery and alpine temperatures.     Ready to begin. Note th

In Part 1 of this account , we outlined the project and covered our first two days, hiking from Mels to Elm (and taking transport to Braunwald). One nice feature of this hike, like many in Switzerland, is that you can often shorten or ease hikes by using buses, trains, and lifts to cut out extra mileage or hills (up or down) that are just too long, steep, and/or tedious, and we did so whenever possible. Thus our third morning found us enjoying the stunning views from out hotel in Braunwald, and preparing for a much easier day. VA Day 3: Braunwald to Klausenpass First light touches the Todli. As usual, I awoke early to catch the best light. Happily, I had to move no further than my balcony to take the photos. Panorama from my balcony, looking down the valley below Linthal, as well as across to the Todli and at the nearer Ortstock. A hearty breakfast sent us off in a good mood, and since we'd dealt with the climbing yesterday (mostly on the funicular), we had a pleasant walk with onl

When last seen, our report of the summer's adventures had us hiking and lazing in Saas Fee, Switzerland. On July 19, we upped stakes and headed to Mels to be ready to hike on the 20th. There we were joined by Bob and Diane, bringing our party to 5. The night in Mels was far from ideal. The town is attractive enough, but just about everything was closed--happily, the grocery was open, so we were able to buy the needful for a picnic dinner--and it was hot. Really hot, and a little humid, making us all too aware that Europe isn't big on air conditioning.  We had hoped to do some exploring, perhaps visit Sargans Castle--an easy walk from our hotel--but the intense heat and sunshine scotched that idea. We spent the afternoon trying not to move too much as the thermometer climbed into the high 90s (mid-30s C). Inside my room.  The hotel-keeper was really nice, and took away the warm comforters and left us with sheets instead, but it wasn't a night even to use a sheet. My altimete