the swiss alps

what an amazing adventure. i am kind of an idiot for doing what i did. scary scary

pierette and her friend went about 3 hours south to a town called evolene. its right in the alps. i went along for the ride not knowing where i was going to sleep that night, so i brought a sleeping bag and tarp. when we got into the town we went to a nice restaurant and pierette and her friend sylvia bought me a delicous pizza and some wine. she was friends with the owner of the restaurat and asked if it was ok with him if i slept in the ski storage room that was connected to the restaurant. after the meal i was shown to my room. i put my sleeping bag on the floor and slept sooooooo good for 9 hours. i woke up around 7 and packed up my things and headed for the mountains. it looked so much closer then they were. it took me an hour to get to the start of the trail. by the time i got there i needed a rest. i started making my way up and everything was going great, and then i kind of lost the trail. i ended up walking up on some sheep. we both starteled eachtoher. the sheep started baaahing and then all the others started. i walked for a while through the woods and then up this real steep part with alot of help fromthe walkng stick. then i came to a road. i was a little annoyed to see a paved road after the ordeal of getting up that slope. i ate some chocolate, found a trail and headed up the mountain. there were lots of icy streams gushing down the mountain. at on point i got to a stream that was to wide to hop over. there was a rope to hold onto to help get across. the water was flowing fast under the ice and i couldnt make out what were icy rocks and what was ice. i started making my way across and then the ice broke away and flew down the stream and my boot went shin deep in the water. but it wasnt a problem because i was wearing water boots that pierette let me borrow. there not very good for hiking but they kept my feet dryish.when i was crossing the stream i was so happy and excited i started making noises and screaming and whooing.
soon after i again lost the trail, so i made my own way, which i like to do but at the same time i dont for the reason that trails are there so the area doesnt get ruined by hikers and what not. i found a really awsome walking stick that really helped me out alot. i am incredibly thankfull for that stick. more on the stick later.
i was soon back on a trail and everything was going really great. the view was amazing. snow capped mountains all around. i could see the small villages below, way way down below. then piertte sent me a text message asking me to come down because they wanted to leave in about an hour. and i had been hiking for maybe 5 hours by then and i was way up there. i wanted to keep hiking and get to the top but i needed to get down quick. this is when things started getting intense. i realize now that i should have turned around on the trail i was on and went down that way, but i just started sliding down the steep mountain. sliding down wet grass, and rocks, and when i started going to fast i would jam the stick in the ground to stop, then start again. i did this for a while until i got to a cliff. terrifying!!! i am very very bad with heights. no way i could have gone back up the mountain to get back on the trail.much too steep. i had to find another way down. so the walking stick and i slowly edged over to the right crawling along the slide of the cliff holding onto small trees so i wouldn't fall. if i didnt have the stick helping me i dont know what i would have done on that part of the mountain. the stick and i were making are way over to an area where i saw that it was possible to get down a bit further onto a more flat part. when we got there i sat on the edge and put my foot on a branch sticking out the side, then i jumped down putting the stick in the ground at the same time and landed safely. then i realized that i lost a shoe that i had attached to my bag. with a good bit of trouble i climbed back up just a bit and got the shoe then jumped back down. for a while i was able to make my way down by doing the same thing, just find branches sticking out where i could grab onto and jump down and jam the walking stick in the ground to keep my balance. then, there were no more places where i could jump down onto a flat area, it was steep steep steep, and no grass, just icy rocks. i was getting really nervous which was probolly my biggest problem.i put the stick in between some rocks and i was about to make a step when i dropped the stick and it rolled and rolled then fell off the cliff. i was upset that i didnt have the stick any more , and i was even more bothered that i lost the stick that i had somewhat of a bond with. i took off my gloves to get a better grip on the rocks and slowly slowly made my way across. at one point i had to crawl along the side of the cliff on my stomach. then i found more places where i could jump down a few feet at a time. then i looked over and saw a steep but not too steep grassy area where i could just slide the rest of the way down. with alot of trouble and nervous sweating i made my way over and rested knowing that i wasnt at risk anymore of falling off the cliff. aarghhhhh. it was ridiculous.
so i found another walking stick that reminded me alot of the other one, and i just started sliding down the mountain and jabbing the stick int he ground when i got to fast. i did this the rest of the way down for about 15 minutes until i got to a trail.
i walked down the trail and soon came to the main road. it was an hour past the time that pierette wanted me to be there. they were waiting for me at a restaurant and i still had an hour to walk. fortunetly, the second person i showed my thumb to gave me a ride all the way. his name was philipp. sooon enough i was back safe and with a big big smile on my face. ill never forget this experince. and i will never go down a mountain like that again. probolly not, maybe.