WARNING! A very very very long read!

Haute Route is a 115m/180km long walk from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland. Even if neither of the cities rings a bell, you are probably familiar with Mont Blanc and Matterhorn (it's on the logo of the Toubleron chocolate bar). The trail is not unbearably hard, unless you are carrying too much with you, which was exactly what I did.

I was going to travel for 2.5 months, so decided to bring a bunch of useless for hiking but necessary for overall survival stuff (my laptop, a pair of climbing shoes, a couple of dresses, my fancy camera..). Plus, I've learnt that Switzerland can be expensive, so my plan was to camp, cook for myself, and avoid restaurants and huts.

Unfortunately, WOW airline doesn't allow you to bring a tent into carry on, even if the bag matches the weight standards. So, I had to find a person with a tent willing to go with me right around the same dates (10-20th of July 2017). I posted a trip on trekkingpartners.com, the website designated to look for a trekking partner (obviously?) Even though most of the trips on this website are in Nepal, it works for Europe too. Aliocha, a 21 y.o. guy from Luxembourg responded quite quickly. We discussed the details and agreed to meet in Chamonix on 9th and start the Route on 10th morning.

Well, let me tell you that the bag with a bunch of crap for traveling, cooking gear, a gas tank, a sleeping bag, a mat and food for 2-3 days is a heavy bag. I am still not entirely sure how heavy it was - I was too afraid to weight it - but I would guess it was between 15 and 18 kilos. Aliocha's bag was 18. I am not sure why his bag was so heavy, but I know that I carried at least 7 kilos of useless stuff. Limiting the weight to 10kg is a must-do if you are looking to enjoy the trek and finish it without unwanted injuries.

I used several reports to prepare, the best one by far is Chamonix to Zermatt: The Classic Walker's Haute Route by Kev Reynolds.

Maps are not necessary if you read the guide: trails are really well marked (white-red-white lines), and there are a lot of people on the road to ask, though if you don't speak French and German, sometimes it could be hard to communicate. However, I feel too vulnerable if I don't have a map. If you choose to bring paper maps for the whole route you would need to buy at least 5-6 of them, each - 20 euros, which seemed ridiculously expensive. We used 'Hiking in Switzerland' and 'Alps4000' apps - they are both free, plus, the GPS is working even when there is no cell reception. The first map shows what altitude you are in right now as well, which is really convenient.

Among the trail there are plenty of accommodation choices from dorms to 5-star hotels, depending on your needs and finances. However, official campgrounds are only available on some stages. Wild camping is strictly forbidden though I found several people's reports of wild-camping: set up a camp after the sunset and pack with the sunrise. That's exactly what I was planning to do, but my trekking partner and I had different opinions on this topic.

Water and Food

Cooking your own food can help quite a bit if you want to do the trek on the cheap. Huts and cabanas provide dinners and breakfasts: the average price for a dorm bed half-board was 70-80 CHF, 25-30 of which for the bed, 10-15 for the breakfast, 20-30 for the dinner. I chose not to pay for dinners and having breakfasts only in case I was in a rush or didn't have any food with me.

Water is one big question: some people avoid drinking from the springs or melted glacier while I had it all the way, putting purifying pills only if I took water closer to the valley and to the cattle. It's different for different people, I guess, as I was okay to drink water from some springs even in Nepal. In Cabana de Prafluri I saw a sign saying "we are not responsible for you drinking the water", so I'd recommend using purification pills. On the other hand, I feel like the owners of the cabana put up the sign it in part to make money - one bottle of water was almost 2 ch.

Bring some cash, as ATMs are not available in every town: there are definitely ATMs in Chamonix, Champex, Zinal, Grimetz, and Zermatt. In the very beginning of the hike (until you get to Arpette), you can still pay with euros though not at the best rate. The prices stated in this report were based on the exchange rate for July 2017 (1 dollar = 0.87 euro = 0.95 chf). Most of the good hotels accept credit cards, but again, cash is always more reliable.

I hitchhiked from Grenoble to Chamonix on 8th in the morning. It went smoothly. As I stood near the gas station just for 3 minutes before the guy picked me up. He was transporting military climbing gear. For 8th and 9th I couchsurfed with a guy, who moved to Chamonix a couple of years ago mostly because of the outdoor activities it offers.

Chamonix -> bus to Le Tour -> Col de Balme -> Trient -> Col de Forclaz

Distance (km) - 10.5
Elevation Gain (m) - 1.061
Elevation Loss (m) - 1.013
Accommodation (CHF) - 12.5 (camping)
Food (euro) 15 (groceries), 3 (coffee), 3 (beer(
Transport (euro)- 3 (bus)
Total (euro) - 36.5

We woke up early, went to the supermarket by 8am, bought food at the grocery store (rice, lentils, bars, cousecouse, cheese, and bread), headed to the bus station on Place de Chamonix. We got there at 9:37, just in time to hide from the rain and to catch the next bus (9:42 - the bus schedule is easy to find, buses are going the direction to Le Tour every 30 minutes or so). In Le Tour the cable car was an option, but we needed to warm up - so we walked up the hill. While it was raining a bit and there were no views, it was overall an easy walk.

In 2.30h we were at the Col de Balme, where we crossed the border of France and Switzerland. Who would have thought that my 23rd country is going to be Switzerland?! We warmed up in a hut, had coffee and cousecouse for lunch. The hut was crowded, at least 20 people. Most of them were doing Tour de Mont Blanc. In 15-20 minutes we headed downhill to Trient. Out of three options indicated in the book, we chose the shortest and the steepest one. The weather cleared up just a bit - enough to see the views. After a quick descend we arrived to Trient, one of the oldest villages in Switzerland.

There was a campsite with a bunch of tents near Trient, but we decided to gain 200 more meters to Col de Forclaz to make the next day easier, which turned out to be the best decision in our lives! We set up a tent by 4pm, the campsite was just a flat space for the tents, showers, and bathrooms - nothing else. In a long line to the shower I talked to a Chinese girl who now lives in Spain - she does the Tour de Mont Blanc by herself and got lost a couple of times, so she is behind the schedule now.

We didn't sleep too much that night, even beer didn't help to hinder the noise of a pouring rain.

Col de Forclaz -> Fenetre d'Arpette -> Relais d'Arpette

Distance (km) - 13.6
Elevation Gain (m) - 1100
Elevation Loss (m) - 1100
Accommodation (CHF) - 13.5 camping
Food (CHF) - 3.5 coffee, 3.6 milk, 18 dinner
Transport (CHF) - none
Total (CHF) - 38.6

We were ready to go by 8:30. First, it was flat for 50 minutes, but after we passed Chalet du Glacier the trail became steeper and steeper. The views were amazing: a huge river from the glacier de Trient and mountains. Several groups passed us by - they had very small backpacks and walked really fast. After 4 hours of hiking we got to Fenetre d'Arpette (2665m), where we had lunch and headed downhill. The way down was much worse - I think it was definitely the hardest day for us: it was our second day, we still didn't get used to our huge backpacks, and didn't get into good shape. Rain, steep trail and awful sunburn (I had a 2 year old sunscreen!) didn't make it easier.

The way down seemed endless: it changed dramatically from huge boulders with pitches of snow to the deep forest. After the first part of the descent we could already see Relais d'Arpette far away, though the fact that we could see it didn't mean it was close. Every time we looked at the map we were horrified of how much farther we had to go. We gave up when we reached Relais d'Arpette and decided to stay there for a night.

A. thought we should set up a tent immediately, while I was looking forward to have something hot. After setting up our tent I agreed that it was a good idea to do important things first. We had coffee and dinner, which helped me recover my mood - next day was supposed to be a bit easier

Arpette -> Champex -> bus/train to Le Chable -> cable car to Verbier -> Cabana du Mont Fort

Distance (km) - 10
Elevation Gain (m) - 1100
Elevation Loss (m) - 200
Accommodation (CHF) - 35 cabana (incl. breakfast, 27 - without, dinner - 28, breakfast - 15)
Food (CHF) - 12 groceries, 4 coffee
Transport (CHF) - 6.8 bus, 7.60 train, 10 cable car
Total (CHF) - 75.4

It turned out to be an expensive day - at least, the first out of expensive days. We skipped the stage to shorten the trip - my flight in Milan was on the 20th, so we had to make the whole Haute Route in less than 9 days.

We woke up at 7:30, later than we were going to, walked to Champex for about 1 hour - mostly flat. We enjoyed the lake for a while, then bought more groceries and headed to the bus station. In Orsieres we took a train to Le Chable, which we switched in Sembrancher. Trains aren't cheap, but the views are magical - luxurious mountains, what could be better! Every day I was thinking why would people come here instead of going to Nepal, where $30 a day would provide you 3 huge meals and a place to sleep? I remember talking to my husband that Switzerland is a country for old people, because there is not much to do. I was wrong, there are a lot of things to do, but they are expensive. I would say it's a country for rich people, not for old people.

We took a cable car to Verbier, by 1pm we were already on the road. The route was hard to find - a mix of dirt road, bike roads and a road for cars, it wasn't really clear where exactly we should go. There were not so many signs to follow in the beginning but once we found the way (by generally heading up and the right direction - turn right at the sign Cafe chez Dany, or something like that), the trail was steep but easy to follow.

I didn't even notice how we passed Combin - there was no sign. We asked a guy on the road, how far away is Les Ruinettes - it wasn't that far, we reached it by 3:25pm. We had three options from there: walk all the way to Cabana du Mont Fort, take a cable car somewhere and then walk, or take two cable cars and then walk. I voted for walking and was right - the road was easy and fast.

However, we clearly misunderstood each other about our accommodations: while I was planning to camp 100% of our hike and in the case of awful weather take cabanas, A.was sure we would do cabanas whenever we wanted. In the first place I chose camping as a cheaper way to do the whole trip - why would we carry a tent if we were going to sleep in cabanas? My Russian spirit was up for illegal camping, why A. wasn't that happy to break the laws? In addition, he caught cold the night before, so the sleepless night he had would have made him even weaker. We had one of the longest days ahead of us, so I went for a compromise and agreed to stay in the cabana for tonight. He paid for half-board (75), while I stayed with 35 and bed only.

I stayed in the dining room - there were only 10 people staying at Mont Fort that night (it was fully booked for the next day), which might be a reason why the chef wasn't against me eating together with A. Waiter brought us a huge portion - more than enough for both of us, which I really appreciated. We talked to American dude who walked the same way: his bag with camping gear was delayed, so he waited for a couple of days but never got it back, bought the essentials and decided to do the trek anyway. Good for him: 5 kilo backpack is much better than 17.

Cabana du Mont Fort -> Col du Termin -> Col du Louive -> Col du Prafeluri -> Cabana de Prafeluri

Distance (km) - 16
Elevation Gain (m) - 1630
Elevation Loss (m) - 1300
Accommodation (CHF) - 27 bed
Food (CHF) - 15 breakfast
Transport (CHF) - none
Total (CHF) - 43

Day 4 was both wonderful and miserable. The walk took us 9.5-10 hours to complete, which is to say, not a joke, especially when you go up and down so many times. However, the views were indeed amazing.

We started at 7:15 right after the breakfast together with another trekker. We were concerned there were no people behind us, soon we realized that we took the wrong path. There are three possible ways to go: through the high pass (2945), and two ways through Col du Termin. We took the longer path through Col du Termin, and walking for 5-6 more km than the other path, including the elevation lost of 300m and gain of 400m. Our enthusiasm quickly fall to zero, despite the fact that Combin massif on the right was breathtaking. After two hours of walking (instead of 50 minutes), we finally reached the intersection of the two paths - there were all the people. We saw a big group with a Spanish guide and a solo trekker from Madrid. At 10:35 we finally crossed Col du Termin.

We descended to the valley with a melting glacier and headed up to the Col de Louive (2921m). On the way there we met a group of 8 American folks with a couple of guides and one 73 y.o. man. The old guy didn't know how to use the poles, and I guess slowed down the group a bit. We reached the col at 1:10pm together with 2 German guys, who we saw many times later on.

The valley between the Col de Louive and the Col de Prafeluri looks like a graveyard - full of remnants of the dying mountains. It took us long time to reach the next col: there are two valleys to cross. Even if it looks like the col is right there, no - there will be one more descend and ascend. The second descend was quite steep group of stones with snow here and there. A.very unfortunately stepped to the snow and fall…to the waistline. The snow wasn't deep, but the fall looked dangerous. Later we would realize that this fall cost him the trip - he twisted his knee and couldn't continue the trek.

We kept walking through deserted high valley (full of boulders, pieces of glacier and glacier lakes) until we started our climb to the last Col - Col de Prafeluri (2965m). I decided to just power through and walk with no breaks - when I got to the top I swore as never before. A.'s knee slowed us down a bit, I gave him my poles, so we got to Cabana by 5:30. Without the first wrong path and the knee problem it could have been 7-8 hours instead of 10. On the way down from Col de Prafeluri we saw an ibis, such a beautiful animal!

We got to the cabana totally exhausted, and was quite pissed off when I paid for breakfast and bed - the lady said I am not allowed to go downstairs during the dinner. Because I had to stay alone in the room I went outside and cooked my own dinner - which made me feel better, but not good enough. The room was 20 mattresses (matraz…) next to each other, I took the one next to the wall. The staff lady came in to the room and started counting beds, when she counted till 8 - she told me to get out to another bed. I asked why? She said, there is a group of 8. I thought "f* her, no way I am moving from my wall". You could tell I was angry and tired. Also, there was no connection up until Arrola - the last place with a bit of civilization was Col de Prafeluri.

When in 30 minutes of my solitude, at around 7:40, a group of Americans showed up, I was really happy to see them. I believed until the end that they were going to make it! We chatted for a bit, turned out several people were from California. A woman who was sleeping next to me gave me an extra pair of earplugs because her boyfriend is snoring at night, which was really sweet of her to do.

I went downstairs a bit more cheered up, played games with A. and a dutch couple. Soon we went to bed, but didn't get enough sleep - a couple of people woke up at 5 and headed off at 5:30.

Cabana du Prafeluri -> Col de Roux -> Col de Reiedmatten -> Arrola -> bus to Les Hauderes -> La Sage

Distance (km) - 18
Elevation Gain (m) - 1000
Elevation Loss (m) - 1480
Accommodation (CHF) - 40 cabana (inc breakfast)
Food (CHF) - 2.8 chocolate, 3.9 cappuccino, 13.55 groceries
Transport (CHF) - 7.60 bus
Total (CHF) - 67.85

We had breakfast and headed out by 7:15 am among the first from Cabana. A.wasn't in a good mood - his knee was doing worse. I gave A. one pole, I was concerned that if I give up both of them, I wouldn't finish the trek myself.

"That's my last stage for sure" - said A. After an hour of 180m climb up to the Col de Roux (2804,). He took 600mg of ibuprofen, which didn't do much. On the way down we asked a guide of the passing by group if there is any transport near the Lac du Dix. There was indeed a rare bus and the taxi on the opposite from the pass side of the lake (near the tallest dum in the world). We got to the lake, exchanged hugs and items we were carrying and headed to the opposite directions. I decided to finish the trek myself.

It wasn't my first time trekking alone - in Nepal, after I did the Annapurna Circuit, my trekking partner left me right before the Annapurna Base Camp. I hiked by myself, which has several big advantages: meeting new people, practicing a language, listening to the music, being independent in speed, food, and accommodation. Unfortunately, for the Haute Route it meant I wouldn't be able to camp, unless I meet another wild camper, which was quite unlikely.

In an hour I finished walking around the lake, and got to the trail up. There I saw the group with a guide again, and didn't hesitate to ask them directions. The trail divided into two - one, shorter way, leads to the Col, the longer one goes to Cabana du Dix next to the glacier. Apparently, the map and a guidebook I was using showed the trail that didn't exist anymore (I think because of the landslides). The way to the Col starts the same way as to the Dix, but divided into two way higher than you would expect.

I decided to go through the Col de Reiedmatte instead of the other Col (du Coure?). Col de Reiedmatte was really steep, but it was closer to where I was, and seemed to be okay. However, I didn't know that it was much more dangerous than the other way - with 4 metal ladders. On the way to the col there were only boulders, which together with steepness wasn't the easiest to climb though. I made it to the top in 2h15m instead of indicated 1h50m. At 12:15 I headed downhill.

After 10 minutes of going down I saw two German guys again - they did the glacier pass and headed to La Sage. Soon they disappeared in the horizon - people walk so much faster with light bags!

The 2-3 hour walk to Arrola was pleasant. It took me longer than supposed to because I lost the trail and followed the car road for a while. At 2:30 I was in Arrola, and saw the bus which was leaving in 30 minutes to Les Hauderes. I had enough time to buy some chocolate and coffee.

Initially A. and I were supposed to take the bus to Les Hauderes and then to La Sage to save some time, as I got to Arrola so much earlier - I decided to do it the same day. In Les Hauderes I bought bread in the boulangerie next to the bus station, and tried to find camping in hope to see familiar faces there. Unfortunately, the campsite in the further side of Les Hauderes was full of locals and families, there were no single people with a tent. All the tents for rent were booked as well.

Desperate, I walked to La Sage (the trail started right across the street from the campsite). 30 minutes and 200 m uphill later I was at the Restaurant Site L'Ecureuil, where I booked the dorm. I definitely enjoyed this place much more than Cabana de Prafeluri - I was alone in the room, the common area was awesome, the showers were free, the owner - a nice enthusiastic guy - didn't speak any English, but had a friend who translated everything for him. As a bonus, the germans were staying there as well.

I got some groceries and sneakily cooked rice for dinner. This night I definitely had enough sleep.

La Sage -> Col du Torrent -> Barrage de Moiry -> Zinal

Distance (km) - 19
Elevation Gain (m) - 1850
Elevation Loss (m) - 1800
Accommodation (CHF) - 38.5 (with breakfast)
Food (CHF) - 5.5
Transport (CHF) - none
Total (CHF) - 44

When I've heard that the germans were going to make it to Zinal in one day (two stages), I was sure it was going to be extremely hard. They woke up at 5 and I think at 5:20 were already on the way. I was planning to start at 7, but instead overslept until 7:30. At the breakfast I talked to a French girl form Lyon who was also planning to make it to Zinal as well. Maybe it was worth a shot for me too after all?

I haven't paid for the room in the evening and had hard times finding a person to pay to. I didn't have enough small bills and decided I would collect all the small euros and dollars I had. Soon after I already found a decent amount of money of various currencies I saw an old lady coming downstairs. I asked if she had any change - and realized that I ate her breakfast. I decided to pay for the room and the breakfast to her. Hopefully, they figured it out with the owner.

I walked uphill to Villaz for 15 minutes, where I started the trail to Col du Torrent. All the way to the Col was one big green hill with a zig-zag trail full of cute marmots.

Half the way to the top I saw a big group and heard people's "Mariiia!" - it was an old friendly American group who took a bus from Arrola and then a private van a bit higher than La Sage. We walked up together. After starting the day at 9:20 I got to the Col by 12:00 which definitely meant I started walking much faster.

I waited for the American group at the col. 73 y.o. guy gave me useful advice on how to hike the mountains even when you are 73:

1. Stay in good shape (he was running for a very long time)
2. Have good friends who are ready to support you
3. Travel a lot
4. Don't believe in God. If you don't believe in God you take the maximum out of your limited time here.

He started traveling late, because he got married early. When I mentioned that I am already married too, he was pleasantly surprised that I am traveling without my husband. Everyone was also surprised that I moved to LA only a year ago - my English was much better than that of an average recent immigrant.

While the group was planning to have lunch at the nearby lake and then head to Grimetz, I decided to get to Cabana de Barrage first, and then think what to do over lunch. I got to Barrage by 2pm - a small, overcrowded restaurant near the huge lake is a popular destination for visitors of the Tour de Lac. After waiting for the iced tea for 30 minuted I realized that the place was clearly too crowded for me and headed to Zinal. I tried calling Le Trift hotel, cheap and good accommodation, but it was full. They recommended Auberge Alpine - I booked a bed there instead.

On the way to Col du Torrent, I met Mike, who was having lunch near the trail. His bag with camping gear was lost in Munich airport. Mike waited for it for a couple of days in Chamonix. After the bag didn't show up, he bought all the essentials and started the trek anyway.

The wind at the Col made me move farther (5:30pm). I hoped to take a cable car, but it was already closed. The way down was endless and incredibly steep. I fell once and tried to be more careful after that. At 6:30 I was in Zinal, but still had to walk for 1.3 more km to get to Auberge Alpine - the small place was in the old village, far from Zinal's center, but a walkable distance. The owner lady was very welcoming. She suggested I take a free bus and a gondola next day to get to Gruben through the shorter pass (Meidpass).

Zinal -> bus to St.Luc -> cable car to Cabane Bella Tola -> Meidpass -> Gruben

Distance (km) - 10
Elevation Gain (m) - 444
Elevation Loss (m) - 968
Accommodation (CHF) - 33 cabana
Food (CHF) - 15 groceries
Transport (CHF) - none
Total (CHF) - 48

I woke up at 7am, quickly packed to have enough time to have breakfast before 7:36 am bus to St. Luc. 10 minute breakfast was delicious - fresh bread and cheese, good coffee. The free day pass that I got from the hotel owner worked all day for buses and cable cars. She said it was free because I am paying tourist taxes. I wonder why I can't get other buses for free too - I think it required a bit more investigation than I could have done back then.

The bus went to Vissoie, where I quickly got some money from the ATM and changed the bus to 8:15 St. Luc. After getting out in the city center I walked for 15 minutes towards a funicular stopping by the grocery store on the way. Funicular runs every 30 minutes, I just missed the 9 o'clock one and had to take the 9:30 one.

A lot of people were walking the same direction - most of them were locals, hiking over the weekend. When in 40-50 minutes of walking the trail turned to Meidpass, I suddenly ended up walking alone. Gaining 500m was extremely hard because I was sick. Near the Col I met the first person doing Tour de Matterhorn on the way - a dutch girl was carrying camping gear, her bag looked even bigger than mine.

I cooked some tea at the Col and talked to a French group who got there a couple minutes later. At12:50 pm I headed down hoping to get to Gruben by 2:30. First, the trail was gentle, but then it gotten much steeper.

At 2:30 I arrived to Gruben, which surprised me by the number of cars and people there. I came to the Schwarzhorn hotel, which wasn't hard to find - the biggest building in town. All the dorm beds were already taken, so the manager sent me with a personal driver to a hut two km down the valley.

The hut room had 11 beds, 5 of which were taken by night. I cooked dinner and a lot of tea and journaled. There was no sign of connection or wi-fi: only one bar of 2G, which wasn't enough even to open fb messenger.

Gruben -> Augstbordpass (2894m) -> St.Nikolas -> train to Tasch -> Zermatt

Distance (km) - 19
Elevation Gain (m) - 1272
Elevation Loss (m) - 1767
Accommodation (CHF) - 33 hostel
Food (CHF) - 8 breakfast, 14 beer
Transport (CHF) - 18.8
Total (CHF) - 73.8

All guests at the hut had to get ready by 7 to catch a van towards the center of Gruben. When everyone else headed to have breakfast at the main hotel building I already started walking towards my last col on the trek. In 1.5 hours Mike passed by: we got to the col together at 10am (2.5 hour) - I clearly felt better and could hike faster.

It was very windy on top, so I started walking down. Also, because there was no grocery store in Gruben, I didn't have anything for lunch except for a sneakers I bought at the hotel - I had to walk fast.

The way down was decently easy, except for one weird fork where it was unclear where to go. One arrow pointed to Jungtal valley, another - back to the pass. The next destination was Jungen, which sounded similar to Jungtal. I tried to google where to go, but suddenly saw Mike walking from the direction of Jungtal. It was a wrong way, good that I didn't go there. Instead, we had to turn left on the intersection and go even more downhill. At 12:45pm we reached Jungen. I found a gondola, but somebody said the next one was at 2pm. It didn't make any sense to wait and spend money (about 10 chf), so I walked all the way to St.Niklaus. The trail was actually one of the best out of the whole trek - very long zig-zags down allowed to walk quite fast.

By the time I got to St.Nikolas (2pm) I was so hungry that I couldn't make up my mind what to do next. After meeting Mike once again near Margis supermarket I bought some food and ice-cream, and sat there for at least an hour, trying to make a decision. I wanted to get to Zermatt but didn't want to spend money on a train. The plan was to walk to Randa and stay there, while do the day hike to Zermatt next day. I started walking to Randa (3 hour walk), but after 15 minutes I realized that I couldn't walk anymore - and came back to the train station. I got the ticket to Tasch, but missed the next train (4:13) because I was on the wrong side of the platform. While waiting at the station I booked the hostel - they said If I didn't show up by 7pm, they would give up my room. However, I doubt that would have been the case as my room had 4 empty beds that night.

I arrived to Tasch at 5:10pm and started walking towards Zermatt - 1h30m walk with 200m of elevation gain. I must admit - the walk wasn't great: I saw construction everywhere, too much dust. Finally, in 1 hour or so of walking Zermatt and Matterhorn showed up in front of me. I knew Matterhorn since I was 14 or 15, but never learnt the name until a couple of years ago. It was my favorite mountain since I was 15, and finally I saw it. No need to say I was almost crying from happiness to see it (and that I finally done with the trek).

Zermatt is known to be car-free, but there are cars - most of them for construction, 90% are electric taxis (very annoying! They take up all the space and so quiet that you don't hear them approaching), but there are normal cars as well. It was definitely an emotional overload to see so many people all of a sudden. I got to Matterhorn Hostel by 7pm, checked in, took a long shower, and got some beer to celebrate. I got here! I made it!

Zermatt -> 5-Seenweg (Five Lakes Walk)

I stayed in Zermatt for one day 2 nights. The day hike felt obligatory, so I chose to see 5 lakes, which sounded like a fun opportunity to get cool pictures of Matterhorn.

The hike goes through 5 lakes of different sizes (Moosjisee, Grunsee, Stellisee, Grindjisee, Leisee) and takes 9.3km and 400 elevation gain if you take gondola up and down. I wasn't ready to pay 100 chf for cable cars and just walk all the way, which added up to 900m gain and loss - a stroll in the park, compared to what I've done during the last week. I felt like I forgot something all day - no 17 kilo backpack with me!

Grunsee and Leisee were great for swimming, the second one was clearly good for kids. The best view was near Stellisee, it was totally worth gaining 250 meters more to see the famous reflection of Matterhorn in the lake. I somehow missed Grindiisee on the way up, but I think I saw it on the way back.

It took me total of 5 hours to make it (including sitting next to the lakes), I made it downhill in 45 minutes instead of indicated 2h20m. The hike is nothing comparable to Haute Route, but is worth doing, I think!