Gryon: Day 3 (8/29/19)
The plan was to get up early, around 7:00, and head out by 8:00. But Sydney woke up late and still needed to do some packing (he’s leaving this afternoon to catch a concert down in the valley and then a late-night train to his next destination) so we didn’t get out of the hostel until 9:00. We walked about an hour up the hill to the tiny village of Solalex and started on the Argentine Loop, named for the peak it circles. Perfectly clear weather, blue skies, nice and cool with a light breeze, totally ideal hiking conditions. Saw alpine rivers, high altitude cow herds, goats, big ass snails, tons of flowers, and some incredible views – everything I could have asked for from a hike in the Swiss mountains! The highest point of our trek was at 2020m, which is about 1000m above the hostel, so we did some serious altitude! And pretty quick at that, we crushed the trail in about 5 hours when the recommended time was 6!
Sydney and I talked for a good chunk of the hike, pretty much whenever we weren’t actively panting our way uphill. I found out he’s actually got a masters degree in music application and works at a club in Amsterdam. We both love music and being out in nature so we get along great. We were running behind schedule and worried Sydney would miss his train so we caught a hitchhike back to La Barboleuse. But even with the time crunch we couldn’t give up on one of our main goals for the hike – to ride on the same kids train that Sydney rode when he was here as a little kid! We found the kids park with the train and took a ride! 10/10 CHOO-CHOO Baby!!!
We returned to the hostel, Sydney peeled out to catch his train, and I went to the shower to clean up and survey the sunburn damage – spoiler alert: it is Extensive. I didn’t feel it with the cool temperature, but my arms and neck are fried to crispy perfection. All jokes aside though, its uncomfy and painful. I will definitely be wearing my long sleeve shirt and letting my hair down for future expeditions to cover the at-risk areas.
