Distance: 8.5 miles
Ascent: 2,545 ft
Descent: 4,580 ft
Passes:
Col de Sorebois: 9,341 ft
The hike from Cabane du Moiry to Zinal made for a very pleasant day, and Zinal ended up being a lovely town. The day was relatively easy (only one 9,000 ft pass to cross!) and the weather was great.
The hike took a few hours coming off of the Moiry Glacier area and then paralleled a lake for a bit over an hour. At the end of the lake there was a nice cafe where we stopped for a tasty fruit tart.
The afternoon involved a climb of three hours or so, which took us through a field full of nasty Swiss fighting cows -- which were snorting, locking horns and stampeding periodically. It was the first and only time we felt uncomfortable around the many cows we walked by in Switzerland, but these were apparently a different breed than the usual friendly and indifferent common Swiss bovine.
Next Day: http://callihan-haute-route-2012.blogspot.com/p/july-24-zinal-to-gruben.html
Ascent: 2,545 ft
Descent: 4,580 ft
Passes:
Col de Sorebois: 9,341 ft
The hike took a few hours coming off of the Moiry Glacier area and then paralleled a lake for a bit over an hour. At the end of the lake there was a nice cafe where we stopped for a tasty fruit tart.
The afternoon involved a climb of three hours or so, which took us through a field full of nasty Swiss fighting cows -- which were snorting, locking horns and stampeding periodically. It was the first and only time we felt uncomfortable around the many cows we walked by in Switzerland, but these were apparently a different breed than the usual friendly and indifferent common Swiss bovine.
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| A last look back up the Moiry Valley. |
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| Zinal is just over the ridge - and down about 4,000 feet. |
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| Zinal is a fantastic town! Plus, it was Thursday and the tourist office was giving out free draft beer (which Michael thought was great!). We were happy and relieved to have completed several long days of hiking and be in a cute little Swiss town again ...and to have arrived earlier enough to chill and wash some clothes |
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| This turned out to be a great place to stay. We got some clothes washed as we arrived relatively early (3 pm or so). After putting our hiking clothes in the sink to soak I showed Michael the water and he said "weird - why is the water here so black?" We spent the day wandering the town, checking out the old historic area, and having a beer or two by the river. We had some excellent crispy Italian-style pizzas for dinner. Life was good in Zinal! |
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| A section of Zinal's old town, where people still live. The houses were old, but several had Audis and BMWs in the driveways. |
Next Day: http://callihan-haute-route-2012.blogspot.com/p/july-24-zinal-to-gruben.html
