Single post Chris Hill-Scott’s photo blog

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Leaving Péron I crossed into Switzerland, then back into France, then left France, for the next few weeks at least, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva.

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Lake Geneva

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Lake Geneva

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At lower altitudes Switzerland can be slow and frustrating to ride in. Higher up it is a beautiful castle of a country, fortified by endless chains of mountains with roads like battlements. There is a sense of separateness, of something preserved and hidden from the Europe surrounding. It is a place in between—in terms of my trip, in terms of the languages they speak, in terms of its borders—but also a place outside, and fascinatingly so.

The Swiss seemed defensive too about wild camping, or at least they had many signs with a crossed-out tent and "no parking 2200–0700". I don’t know how strictly they enforce them, but it wasn’t hard for me to find somewhere that I wouldn’t be discovered.

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Gadmen

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Gadmen

In the morning I took the first cable car up towards the Trift Bridge. I was going by a picture I’d stumbled across online. I also knew that it was one of the longest pedestrian footbridges in Europe: 170m in span and 100m above the gorge below. All the same it surpassed every expectation; for the hour’s hike up beyond the cable car station I had the trail entirely to myself and feel truly privileged to have been there.

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Trift Glacier

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Trift Glacier

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Trift Glacier

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Trift Glacier

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Nufenen Pass

Ibexes

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Nufenen Pass

There is a good loop of high passes around the Andermatt area. While there was still a lot of snow I had none of the problems with closures that I did in France. At the Furka Pass I did some more sightseeing: The Rhone Glacier is right by the road, and there’s a cool (literally and figuratively) tunnel into the ice that’s open to visitors.

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Furka Pass

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Furka Pass

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Furka Pass

In Péron I’d been able to plan this section of the route in detail. I aimed to take things more slowly. But despite being up at 5:30am I didn’t have much of a break until I found a camping spot at 7pm, unfolded my tarp, laid it flat, and with string and pegs and sticks and rocks held it to the shape of a shelter. Planning is mostly deciding on places to visit, points on the map. The fulfilment—and work—of travelling is unfolding these points into routes and again into new surroundings.

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Next time: Leaving Switzerland for Italy, Austria and Germany…