Zinal - Forcletta - Gruben
- Distance: 17km
- Duration: (with breaks): 7h 30min
- Elevation gain/loss: 1250m/1100m
It was a cold night as the rain did not stop. We also woke up to a surprise – white peaks of the hills that were definitely not white yesterday. Did it snow? In August?…
With all the warmth enforcement (layers of clothes and gloves) we quickly packed and walked to Zinal. It was really cold in the morning and so we went to a supermarket to warm up. Ok ok, not only for that, to get groceries too.
We dreamed about a warm breakfast and went for it at a local bakery. I love French bakeries! The day looked gloomy again, but we hoped that the clouds would clear out later in the afternoon. Little did we know what this day will bring.
The climb up was pretty pleasant and soon we could see the mountain peaks that were hiding from us yesterday. During the night it snowed at around 2000m height and I was kind of hoping to see snowy peaks at the pass. For some reason it sounded like a fun idea to encounter snow in August.
While ascending we saw in the distance a huge gang of cows walking on our path (yes, it’s OUR path, not theirs) in our direction. To avoid possibly aggressive cows we had to scramble on the slope of a mountain and circle past them through bushes and rocks.
You’d think oh, as you passed the cows, now the walk will be smooth. Well, it wasn’t. We had to walk on what used to be a path, but after a gang of cows became a mud and cow shit bath. I’ll spare the details, but just so you know, Alpine paths are not all edelweiss and green grass.
As we progressed, the weather also progressed towards a bad autumn day. I saw dark clouds circling the valley and soon we were greeted by rain. Close to the pass we decided to have lunch at a nearby farm and thankfully the owner was kind enough to let us sit at the bench against his house. This was probably the only place saving us from the wind and rain. We lingered there for a while hoping that the rain cloud would pass. It didn’t. We were getting cold despite our shelter so the only way was to continue.
Despite the rain, it was pretty cool to walk alongside the paths covered in a light layer of snow. However, the weather decided to “align” with the landscape and upgrade from rain to snow. At some point I could not see further than a few meters. I wasn’t scared to get lost though as the path was easy to follow and signs were still visible.
Once we reached the highest point of today, Forcletta (2874m), we were welcomed by a complete mist, wind and more snow. I used the opportunity to take some eerie pictures of Edo being a ghost in the storm, I’d say we even had fun given the circumstances. Yet, the weather was deteriorating even further and in a couple of minutes we proceeded down not wanting to risk a dangerous descent or getting lost if we waited any further.
After 30 mins down we finally got out of the storm cloud into the early spring weather. Hello (some) views! We followed a beautiful path with a mossy and rocky stream on the side and snowy peaks in the distance.
It was around 1.5h left to hike when we found out that the path is closed and we need to take a detour, adding at least 45mins. Nooooooo… At least the route was easy to follow and we even got rid of some layers.
At last around 16:30 we arrived in Gruben, where we stayed in the only hotel in the town – Hotel Schwarzhorn. In this hotel you can find a mixed crowd – from backpackers like us to people who just want to be around mountains, while not really exploring them.
We shared a room for 10+ people with two Swiss hikers, where a room was basically a row of mattresses. Anyway, we were happy to be warm inside. Our fellow hikers Yves and Jonas were also staying here, so we had a fun evening together with food, drinks and playing cards.
What an interesting day. Tomorrow the forecast looks better, fingers crossed.
Day 11 tips
- There are no sitting places in the Boulangerie in Zinal, but they do serve coffee. When we visited they also had two standing tables for eating
- Some of the farms on the way have benches, a good lunch option. If someone lives in the farm, just ask if you can use the bench and I'm sure nobody will say no
- If you decide to wild camp above Zinal, keep in mind that there are quite a few farms with hordes of cows in the area. Zinal side was a cow-heavy section