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September 5, Zinal to Gruben

Day summary:

    • 6 hours (Kev again)
    • 8.5 miles
    • gain 1199 m, lose 459 m

We followed (in the opposite direction) the Z’s marking the trail, courtesy of the Sierre to Zinal marathon:

Today we only had one spot when we weren’t sure of our path.  More people hike to Weisshorn, so that track is quite visible.  The trail heading up and over to Pointe de la Forcletta is a little less obvious.  We made the transition today from French Switzerland to German Switzerland – quite a contrast in language and culture.  The change is visible on the maps when “cols” become passes and “mont” changes to “horn.”  It took about an hour to get out of the valley – it is the hallmark of this trip that you hike up in the morning just to hike down in the afternoon just to hike back up again the next morning.  We are literally crossing the “nap” of this corduroy-shaped terrain.

Our journal entry for today:

Bonus at breakfast this morning: they had a great breakfast (petit dejourner) buffet today.  We were the first ones down there, waiting for them to set it all up.  Then they delivered up fresh-from-the-oven croissants!  YUM!

We had a great day of hiking today.  It was super clear, but COLD.  We saw snow in shaded areas and icicles on grass by a stream.  It was a steep climb out of Zinal – not surprising, but then the trail stays at a fairly level height, following along the west edge of the valley.  We passed lots of munching cows, one of whom did not want to relinquish the path to me.

Finally we reached the fork where we headed west, breaking off from the more popular route to Hotel Weisshorn.  There wasn’t much of a marked path – it was just up a steep slope with lots of rivulets of water running down.  Eventually we reached a road that took us to the farm house and cross described by Kev – the alp of Tshalet.  To reach the start of the pass (Forcletta), you cross over some grassy hills.  The pass was surprisingly easy, compared to the several we have crossed this last week.  It’s a steady climb, but there is no scrambling.  The view at the top is disappointing, though.  You can’t really see all the cool peaks to the south yet.  It was also very cold and windy, so we kept hiking down before finding a comfortable spot for lunch.

The view from Chalte Berg is magnificent –  Weisshorn, Bishorn and the Tete de Milon are massive and the glaciers impressive.  After that it was just knee-grinding downhill to Gruben.  We didn’t take the path recommended by Kev because the sign indicated that we’d get there quicker on the one we chose.  But when you get down to the road, you are still at least a mile (or more?)  from the center of Gruben, so we should have taken the other trail.  We got lucky because 2 men were finishing up their work and heading home down into the valley.  They offered us a ride in their van – and as you can imagine, they didn’t have to ask twice.  They delivered us right to the hotel door and Barry offered to buy them a beer – they accepted, but chose coffee, and then we tried sustaining a conversation with their limited English and our non-existent German.  Kristof and son, Erik, were both very nice and kind – what a great introduction to this German side of Switzerland.

Hotel Schwarzhorn is very comfortable.  We have a sink in the room and there are newly remodeled showers and toilets across the hall.  Dinner was only so-so.  Nothing like what we have enjoyed so far.  Soup – what kind?, nice salad, then thin slabs of pork with gravy, shredded carrots and PLAIN spaghetti noodles.  Dessert was cold chocolate pudding.

The hotel has a good supply of lunch items and other food – good thing since there is NOTHING else in Gruben.

Apparently the hot time on a Saturday night in Gruben is standing around in the street outside the bar, by the cows, drinking beer!?!

Good night – I’m beat!

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Hotel Schwarzhorn has several floors featuring private rooms with a communal bathroom down the hall, and a couple of dortoir-style rooms on the upper level.  There is a bar on the lower level and then a little grocery store, check-in desk and the main dining area on the first level.  Inside the front door is a 3-D relief map of the Alps that gives a good perspective of the trip.  I think there is one other dortoir in Gruben, but it is a very small town without much going on.  We probably saw more people and activity since it was a Saturday.

Once out of the valley, we walked at a steady level along the slope and encountered many cows.

Moooove over!

Signs along the way

It wasn’t hard to figure out why they chose to build here – Chalte Berg

The village of Gruben

Hotel Schwarzhorn – looks just like the book showed

A view of our room

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip

3 points

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yield: 5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)

  • Calories: 148
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Fiber: 1.5 g
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Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

Use a multitray bamboo steamer so you can cook all the buns at one time. To make them up to two months ahead, fill the dough, and freeze unsteamed buns on a tray in the freezer before placing them in a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag. Steam directly from the freezer for an additional five minutes.

Ingredients
Filling:
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt

Dough:
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 14 2/3 ounces)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Preparation
1. To prepare the filling, rub five-spice powder evenly over pork. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 18 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°, turning pork occasionally. Remove pork from pan, and let stand 15 minutes.
2. Cut pork crosswise into thin slices; cut slices into thin strips. Place pork in a medium bowl. Add onions and next 7 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt); stir well to combine. Cover and refrigerate.
3. To prepare dough, combine 1 cup warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
4. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flour, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
5. Punch dough down; let rest 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a clean surface; knead in baking powder. Let dough rest 5 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 10 equal portions, forming each into a ball. Working with one dough ball at a time (cover remaining dough balls to keep from drying), roll ball into a 5-inch circle. Place 1/4 cup filling in center of dough circle. Bring up sides to cover filling and meet on top. Pinch and seal closed with a twist. Repeat procedure with remaining dough balls and filling.
7. Arrange 5 buns seam side down, 1 inch apart, in each tier of a 2-tiered bamboo steamer. Stack tiers; cover with lid.
8. Add water to a large skillet to a depth of 1 inch; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Place steamer in pan; steam 15 minutes or until puffed and set. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Yield
10 servings (serving size: 1 bun)

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Rajas Poblanos

2-3 poblano chiles
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb flank steak, trimmed and cut into ¼” strips
1 c chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ c plain fat-free yogurt
½ c (4 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 ½ c fresh corn kernels
1 tsp chicken-flavored bouillon granules
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
16 (6”) corn tortillas

Preheat broiler.
Cut chiles in half lengthwise, and discard the seeds and membranes.  Place chile halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand.  Broil 10 minutes or until blackened.  Place chiles in a zip-top plastic bag, and seal.  Let them stand for 10 minutes.  Peel and cut into ¼” strips.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add steak, onion, and garlic; saute 6 minutes.  Add chiles, and saute 2 minutes.  Add yogurt and cream cheese; stir until cheese melts.  Stir in corn, bouillon, black pepper and cumin.  Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes.  Stir in cilantro, if desired.  Spoon about ¼ c steak mixture into the center of each tortilla, and fold in half.  Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.  Yield:   8 servings.

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Sweet Potato Chicken Curry*

4 points

Yield:  7 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.

CALORIES 196 ; FAT 3.9g (sat 0.9g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.8g); CHOLESTEROL 54mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.9g; SODIUM 467mg; PROTEIN 23g; FIBER 3.5g; IRON 1.9mg

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Sauteed Tilapia with Honey-Scallion Dressing

5 points

Yield:  4 servings

Dressing:
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Fish:
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups gourmet salad greens

To prepare dressing, combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

To prepare fish, heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Arrange 1 cup greens on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 fish fillet; drizzle with 2 tablespoons dressing.

CALORIES 230 (30% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 1.8g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.4g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 113mg; CALCIUM 35mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.5g; SODIUM 485mg; PROTEIN 34.2g; FIBER 1.4g

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Avocado Soup with Citrus Shrimp Relish

6 points

Relish:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp, steamed and coarsely chopped

Soup:
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 3/4 cups chopped avocado (about 2)
1 cup water
1 cup rinsed and drained canned navy beans
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco cheese

To prepare relish, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, tossing gently.

To prepare soup, combine broth and next 9 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a blender; puree until smooth, scraping sides. Ladle 1 1/4 cups avocado mixture into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1/4 cup shrimp mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

  • Calories: 292 (41% from fat)
  • Fat: 13.2g
  • Fiber: 7.3g
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September 6, Gruben to St. Niklaus

Day summary:

    • 7 hours (Kev time)
    • 9 miles
    • gain 1072 m, lose 1767 m

This was not the day that we had originally planned.  We were going to hike into St. Niklaus, then take the bus to Gasenried and spend the night.  From there we would hike to the Europa Hut….  But you have already heard our change in plans.  This was a day of firsts and lasts…. first unplanned night, arriving in town without a hotel reservation and our last pass of the entire trip 🙁 or :)…  hard to tell – happy to be close to the end, sad to be almost done with this adventure.

Here is the journal entry for today:

Today was another long day, not for the amount of vertical, but because we kept expecting to go around a bend and see the end in sight.  Today we would go over our last pass!  Bittersweet thought.

We left Hotel Schwarzhorn at around 8:30 am, after almost everyone else – AGAIN!  It was a frosty morning:

It took 1 1/2 hours to get out of the valley – I think we were prepared for that.  Then we started heading over to Augsbordpass, the last pass of the trip.  The bad part was that it had a “false front,” so we thought we’d made it, but then had another steep climb to go.  It wasn’t particularly difficult, just long.  Cold at the top and view of new mountains, then we scurried down to a warmer spot for lunch (have you heard this before?).  We encountered several groups headed in the same direction, and saw our first group of campers on the whole trip.  We were surprised to see a little green tent settled in amongst the rocks.

Again – not psychologically prepared when we got down and out of the pass, we had a LOONG  valley wall walk before getting the pay-back panoramic views Kev promised.  Finally we did make it around that bend, and the skyline was fabulous!  We both took 360 degree shots to stitch together later.  Then DOWN, DOWN, DOWN again.  For the third time today it seemed to take forever to get down to where we were headed: the cable car at Jungen.  Once we reached St. Niklaus, we used the tourism office to find us a place – now we are both tired but showered and ready to relax until tomorrow.  We have an extra day since we did not go via the Europa Hut.  We could stay here another night, but will likely head to Zermatt and spend another day there.

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It is interesting to re-read this journaling.  It is obvious as the days go on that we’re getting tired, but this trip was so amazing and beautiful – it was worth it!  Be inspired – not discouraged.  This is a view worth hiking for:

I could tell that Barry was feeling much better – he beat me up to the pass!

Somewhere along the trail today, I saw this mangy looking thing:

For the first time (since my little detour to Prafleuri) we walked over snow along the valley wall.

The valley wall walk was more boulder-jumping – but as we got closer to Jungen, there were stretches that were more “developed” or man-made.  It was beautiful – views down the valley to the north and of Alps in every other direction.  Can you ever really get tired of this?

The walk down to Jungen involved hiking back and forth down the slope to reach this remote little farming enclave – an isolated village accessible only by cable car (?).

When we arrived at the cable car access, there were three people sitting on the 4-person-capacity car waiting to descend.  Without any English, we figured out that there was a camera and “call button” to let the operator at the bottom of the hill know that someone wanted to go down.  Why these 3 were still sitting there, I’m not sure.  Anyway, we waited for awhile, and were frustrated that nothing seemed to be happening.  Thank goodness that a Swiss German-speaking couple arrived and communicated with the operator – Voila – the car descended and another ascended – and we were able to board and glide down the very steep hill into St. Niklaus.  Neither of us has been that far off the ground and NOT been in an airplane – the slope was that great!

Narrow street in St. Niklaus