Pushed To The Limit
Nothing could have looked more welcoming than our mountain hut as we ended our trek across the Sofrenghetti Pass to land at Berggasthaus Golderli, Griesalp. This establishment is the most remote and rustic of our travels. Robert, the proprietor, greeted us personally and encouraged us to remove our hiking shoes and slide our feet into his alpine slippers.
His home is entirely built of wood. There was one shower for the entire establishment and a small toilet on each of the 2 floors that the guests shared. The toilet area was the size of an airplane bathroom.
We had no running water in our rooms, simply a rustic pitcher and a basin.
We had just enough energy to shovel food into our mouths before falling face-down on our beds.
The next morning I was the first one up and spent some time with Robert, the kind-hearted proprietor. Robert had studied to be a cook, and he and his wife came to this hamlet to live out their lives taking care of the trekkers that made it over the pass to their home. However, life did not go as planned for Robert, and he lost his wife to metastatic breast cancer on May 20 of this year and now lives alone. My heart aches for him right now as he is truly alone on that mountainside unless travelers as crazy as we are arrive on his doorstep.
Robert set up a robust breakfast for us, and the two of us chatted in broken English until Rebecca joined me for some coffee.
It was over breakfast that Rebecca shared the news with me that our dear friend Lynn was suffering from electrolyte depletion and overhydration. Lynn had spent the night vomiting every 2 hours and was shivering beneath the covers in her attic room. We were unsure what to do with her as today was an even longer trek than the day before.
We let Lynn sleep as Rebecca, Robert, and I tried to figure out how we could get her to safety and to a doctor. Rebecca and I tried to call Uber, Bolt, Lyft but to no avail. We tried to see if we could put Lynn in the luggage car that was transporting our bags from one location to the next, but the driver would not allow us to do so.
Lynn was far too weak to walk. In addition to the nausea plaguing her, she was a bit disoriented, and had a pounding headache. Rebecca and I settled on trying to get to our next destination by mapping out a route on a bus and connecting to a train. We packed our things and slowly and carefully moved Lynn out of bed, down the stairs, and out the door.
We bid farewell to Robert. Brave Lynn had the fortitude to sit upright on the bus as we wound our way down the mountain pass to the train station. We got her onto the train and traveled the rails vs. the hiking paths to our next stop in Kanderstag.
The staff would not let us check into our rooms until 3, so we put Lynn up in the salon where she was able to lie down on a sofa for five hours while we kept watch on her. At 3 pm sharp, they let her into her room, and we put her to bed.
She was told to ingest no more than 2 tbs of electrolytes every hour and NOT to eat any food. Her insides had basically turned against her, and we needed to follow doctors’ orders.
We visited the local droggerie (pharmacy) the next day and purchased medical-grade minerals to replenish her system. With hindsight, she needed to eat more than she did that day, probably should have ingested more electrolytes than she did, and definitely should have rested more than any of us did. She also drank 5 liters of water that day. Combining the water consumption with the sweat that poured out of us on that hike, she had depleted her body of the minerals it needed to function. I am mentioning this to all of you because this is no joke and you MUST take hydration, nutrition, and rest seriously on this trek.
Lynn slept fitfully through the night and had no strength to appear for breakfast the next day. We were definitely not moving anywhere without her and were fortunate to have booked an extra day at our hotel in Kanderstag.
While Lynn slept that next day, Rebecca and I decided to head out on my most highly-anticipated hike of the entire trip – Lake Oeschenensee! I have been dreaming of this vision since I first saw it in the guidebook. We made sure Lynn was recovering steadily and was tucked in, then we headed out the front door of our hotel to the gondola to go see the lake of my dreams.
Rebecca had purchased “floaties” and funny headband umbrellas for us, just for giggles, and today seemed like the perfect day to giggle.
Lake Oeschenesee is one of the most accessible sites we have visited to date in Switzerland. Visitors can enjoy the lake by taking the gondola up (as I did) or by hiking up to the summit (as Rebecca did).
Once at the top of the mountain, the Swiss provide e-carriages for the elderly and handicapped that will take passengers to the mountaintop restaurant with views of the lake. This was my most highly anticipated moment, and it did not disappoint! Take a look!
Rebecca and I walked down to the water’s edge, blew up our floaties and jumped straight into the glacial waters. This was one of those moments when my vision board became my reality. Dreams do come true.
We whiled away the hours, conferring with the flowers, and enjoying every blessed moment in this special spot. Everything seems all the sweeter when you have to work so hard to arrive to a spot. The past 2 days of trekking the Sofrenghetti Pass were behind us now and our dear friend Lynn was slowly mending and recovering at the beautiful hotel in Kanderstag where we treated ourselves to an extended stay for recovery for all.
It was so nice to be able to relax for an entire day and not have to think about the next trek. Sometimes a girl just has to stop to smell the roses and drink it all in. Thanks for sitting down with me at the lake and recovering from the most challenging day. Something in the pit of my stomach tells me we still have some challenges in front of us… Gulp.