On Thursday (June 30) it is supposed to rain in the evening according to the weather forecast. We hike uphill to Weissmieshütte, a place we know well from past ski trips, that we finally want to journey to on foot.
The path leads through light green larch forests next, which are replaced by pine trees with increasing altitude. The aromatic forest makes the hike worth it by itself, but also the flowers on the edge of the path and the glorious view of the mountains and valleys.
The path continues steeply uphill. The hike is bearable if you do not walk too fast, because you will quickly be out of breath otherwise. Kreuzboden (2400m) is diagonally ahead of us. However, we want to continue to Weissmieshütte, which can already be seen in the distance.
There are not many other hikers on the steep way upward; most people come from higher up and probably took the cable car to the top.
We finally arrive at the hut. We reward ourselves with a small break with coffee and hot chocolate. To avoid hiking back down (which would be too much for my glued-together shoes to handle), we want to continue to the Hohsaas mountain station and then use the cable car to get back down.
The path goes through bizarre rocky terrain, but also through snow fields. Despite the high altitude, beautiful plants grow in the protected areas.
When we arrive at the top, we stay not very long in the temperature that is right at the freezing point, so we take the gondola back down, this time without any weather-induced stops. Despite to the weather forecast it is not raining. The thunderstorm comes in the late evening.
Today on Friday, we want to end our hike over Saas-Almagell to Saas-Fee with an old-man walk. That means avoiding steep hills and significant altitude changes. We enjoy the hike along the Vispa River and then the slow hike uphill to Saas-Fee. Of course we visit the restaurant 'Waldhüs', which has a room with small animals (Hamsters and rabbits) set up, separated by a large window. In the past you could greet a camel outside named Anastasia. However, we did not see it this time.
Saas-Fee is not that far away now, where we can see the view of the Hannig Alp again. Has it really only been 5 days since we hiked to the Spielboden from up there? It feels much longer to us.
Even the nicest hiking vacation has to come to an end. Tomorrow we start the way back, but we will not take the Grimsel Pass this time. What route will we take? Allow yourselves to be surprised tomorrow!