What an evening, actually. It only stopped raining at about 10 and until then it was just dripping on my tent. The pitch was again not the best, so I was sliding around in the tent the entire time.

But the worst part was that I found out last night that the high route of the Europaweg was closed. They had opened a new trail for safety reasons. And when I looked at it, it was actually completely unnecessary to go up where I went, because the new trail was just dropping down to the next town again, from where you had to go all the way up. So I could have just skipped the entire evening hike in the rain. And also the first part of today, because it was going to end up in the valley anyways and start over again.

So my motivation was really at its worst. Everything was wet. My feet were wet already. The entire trail was soaking wet. And it was a lot of unnecessary up and down on top. Not what I wanted for the last day. I wanted the spectacular views and everything.

Dark forest on a steep rock face with clouds rising out of the valley

Anyways, I arrived at the bottom of the valley again and from there had to climb all the way up again. The trail was actually pretty decent and pretty nice. They had to build an entirely new trail to link up with the old part that they were still using. And that was Swiss made, with a lot of funky stuff like ladders and bridges, because they managed to put a trail through terrain where you would never ever put a trail.

Shortly before I arrived at the Europa Hut I bumped into two Spanish hikers that I had already met yesterday. They had actually read the news about the closed trail, skipped the entire part that I did and just went up from the valley. So they did exactly what I should have done. If they don’t reopen the high part, at least the first section, skip this part of the Europaweg if you can. It’s a good trail, well maintained and well prepared, but it’s just not that interesting. Besides that it was misty and cloudy, cold and wet.

So the two of them stayed at the Europa Hut for the night and I just decided to push it all the way to Zermatt. And what can I say, the trail was just beautiful. I can only imagine how great the closed part must be when the second part already looks like this. Exactly what you want: narrow trails winding through the mountains and massive cliffs. Blue sky and sunshine.

A long narrow suspension bridge leading towards a snowy peak over a forested valley
On the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge above Randa.
The trail cut into steep rock cliffs with clouds and mountains behind
Larch trees and a blue sky seen over a blurred meadow with flowers

And at one point the Matterhorn came into sight.

The Matterhorn with snow and thin clouds above a forested slope in the afternoon light
There it is.

It was just a perfect ending. I booked myself a hotel for the night and hiked all the way down to Zermatt. A long day, I don’t even know, probably 30 to 35 kilometers.

Zermatt in the valley at dusk with the Matterhorn towering over the town
Zermatt. Done.

I got to the hotel, washed all of my clothes and dried them with a hairdryer. And then I went out for a pizza and a beer, which was also nice, but it was about 60 Swiss francs. It’s just ridiculous.

Seven days, a little more than 200km and 11 major mountain passes after I left Chamonix. Two years without a hike and I am back. Now I am going to bed. Tomorrow I will try to get a Corona test and then take the train back home. Good night.

Hiked in August 2021. The Europaweg has changed a few times since, so please check the current status before you plan this section.

See all the pictures of the tour in the Haute Route photo gallery.

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