Day 19: Hiking to Grosse Scheidegg via the Romantic Road

 

Phil and I proposed doing Hornseeli backwards from the last time we did it. Kekoa and Cynthia were skeptical, because Hornseeli can be muddy and Kekoa's Five Fingers and Cynthia's sandals were not up for a soaking. We decided to just hike up and then turn around if it didn't turn out to be good, so after breakfast I got a bus pass for 5 people from Andreas and we set off on the hiking trail up towards Grosse Scheidegg. It was still cloudy, and the roads were wet, but we soon ran into cyclists riding up the mountain.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

Daniel Gries and his wife were on a month long trip, and planned to do some backpacking as well, so not only did they have panniers on their bikes, but they also had backpacks with gear on their back. That did not look too comfortable to me, but they were willing to get off the bike and walk, which is something I'm not willing to do.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

As we approached Schwarzwaldalp, we found the weather clearing up slightly. At Schwarzwaldalp, we found two signs pointing to Hornseeli, one coming from the way we came, and one pointing up the hill. Of course I chose the one pointing up the hill, thereby missing out on the Romantic Road once again. As Lisa likes to say, I'm not very romantic. The route we ended up on was some sort of cross-country ski path that rose steeply through the woods towards Oberlager. I had a tough time believing that cross country skiiers could tackle anything this steep, but since I'm not an avid cross-country skiier myself I must be under-estimating the amount of grip those skis provide.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

Upon emerging from the woods, we walked across a cow field full of cows, and the path kept rising to 2000m from there to the junction with the romantic road, while the scenery once again got better and better. The clouds lifted and we started getting sunshine, which together with the snow covered peaks made for some pretty nice pictures.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

At the junction with Oberlager, we had to decide whether or not to tackle Hornseeli, walk down the romantic road, or walk up to Grosse Scheidegg on the same. Phil and I wanted to do Hornseeli and the romantic road, but we were out-voted by Lisa and Cynthia, who wanted an easier day. I knew if I were to do the romantic road with Phil I would never hear the end of it from Lisa, so I reluctantly agreed to make it a short and easy day.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

Easy day it might be, but it was no less scenic. It was a good way for Phil, Cynthia, and Kekoa to finish their trip, with memories of what is still the prettiest place on the planet I've ever had the fortune to explore.

From Tour of the German Speaking Alps 2010

We had lunch at the top, took the bus back to Rosenlaui, and the others lounged and started packing while Lisa and I went to the Rosenlaui Gletscherschultz to spend an hour or two staring at the cascades that dug a gorge through the granite.

Dinner was once again another fabulous concoction. We repacked our bags. I wanted to get rid of everything so we only had 2 panniers and nothing hanging out or in between racks. I got rid of the useless Dinotte light, we gave the hiking stick for Phil to bring home, and I borrowed some of Phil's unused SD cards. We filled up our portable shampoo/soap containers with soap from the big bottles and left the big containers in the hotel. Cynthia wanted to catch the 8:45am train, and since Roberto had a ticket with them, we could use that ticket all the way to Luzern with them, thereby only having to pay for one train ticket to Meiringen.

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