The fourth day of the trek brought us to a beautiful little village called Trient, still in Switzerland. We hiked 12 miles and it was a great day.

A highlight was lunch at the Auberge Bovine. “Auberge” means :small inn” in France. This place was in the middle of a pasture, up 6,500 feet, and was home to a small herd of cows. They just stood by as we invaded their space.

We started out from Champex-Lac around 830 a.m. and it wasn’t that difficult. Then again, the beginnings usually weren’t.

This was the second day we had to climb like crazy people. I swear sometimes it felt like we were just going up the flat face of a mountain. Most of the time we had tree cover.

This was the day that the trail, if you can call it that, crossed over a stream full of rocks.  I was going slower than everybody else and taking photos. By the time I got to the stream crossing, I was basically hiking by myself.  At the descent to the stream, I saw Neil waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. (See photo). Do you see that trail? Thank you for your sympathy. 😉 

We had to walk down the middle a little ways, on rocks, to get to the other side and pick up the trail. No, we weren’t knee-deep in water. Hardly. But it was a little tricky. You really had to maneuver.

Once across, I just kept looking ahead and all I saw was a trail that kept going up with rocks, tree roots, rocks, flat, roots, rocks.  Then we came across even crazier people: they were on mountain bikes. (What?)

At one point, three guys passed me and one had a cut on his face, by his temple. I said, “Hey your friend is bleeding.” Yeah, he crashed, one said. Oh. OK then, I thought. And carried on.  

Finally, the Auberge Bovine was in view and I was very happy because I was damp from sweat, my feet needed a break and I was hungry. Before we left Champex-Lac, we put in a lunch order at Bovine for a rosti. This is a Swiss potato dish that’s nothing more than potatoes with cheese, cooked like a pancake. It was hearty, delicious and the best thing ever at that point.

AUBERGE BOVINE

As I described above, Bovine is in the middle of a pasture with these jet black cows. They also had large brass cowbells around their necks. We all took pictures, because, well . . . cows. It was kind of bucolic.

If you’ve ever been hiking in mountain areas like this, one of the best parts of the journey is stopping at these mountain huts and chatting with other hikers. The fact that people are from everywhere makes it even more special. The sense of community is strong, mostly because we’re all doing the same thing. We sat outside on picnic tables, admiring the view, and the cows, and just hung out with everybody.

You share experiences.  “Were you here for that storm the other day?” “Did you see those crazy people on bikes?”  

Inside the auberge was a well-oiled machine. This place wasn’t big, but it was efficient. The small staff were churning out rostis like nothing and they had a table of gorgeous cakes and tarts.

Back on the trail after lunch, we were still climbing but there were descents and then just up and down until we got to this one part. Neil called it a shortcut. I call it madness. It was muddy and steep. Yes, we all made it but it was not pleasant. He then decided to skip the next shortcut and we just walked on the wide road. We stopped at this shop/convenience store and  loaded up on some snacks. I bought two bandannas with edelweiss designed on them, a silly cowbell key chain and postcards.

As we headed down, we could see Trient, our destination. A small pink church that looked like it was on a pedestal stood out. And of course, as per usual, when we got there, our hotel was the last one on the street.

The boot room was in the basement. The bar was detached from the main building and it became a nice respite after such a long day. Joyce and Stephanie skipped the day. Stephanie was nursing a sore knee and Joyce stayed with her.  They were camped at the bar when we got there.

As hikers arrived, UNO cards, backgammon boards and other games appeared on the tables. Again – just the community chilling before dinner.

Dinner was in a big room that Jenny said reminded her of the dining room at Hogwarts (Harry Potter). She was right! We ate, we recapped the day, we rested. 

Next: we cross into France and hike to a summit