Pain strikes
This has been a tough day. It started off well enough with a couple of nice TV interviews as I packed up and hiked out. But it didn't take long for the tendons running up from the outside of my knees to flare up.
They had both gotten very sore on the descent from Leysin, which was a huge surprise to me. So I took it very slow going uphill today, as I had 2000 m on vertical gain right off the bat, and was thinking of the next 2000 km. But high up in the spectacular wild flower meadows the pain really hit. After a while I tried wrapping tape around my leg just above the knees to hold the tendons in, and it helped enormously. I suddenly have hope for the hike again. The flowers looked more beautiful and I could enjoy the dozens of chamois and ibex all around me. By then the clouds parted and I saw that the border runs straight up a 150m vertical cliff. I had to abandon my plan to stay as close to the border as I wanted to. A trail system took me around the peak and near the summit, but I did not touch it. Looking ahead I see a series of similarly rocky peaks I can’t climb solo, so I’ll need to skirt them by nearby trails and easier slopes. But enough of my troubles. This is in fact an amazing and little-known pocket of limestone peaks here, just as beautiful as can be. Hiked 8am to 10pm, including a dinner stop, where I had to melt snow for water.
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